New technologies such as 5G, machine learning, and the cloud enable businesses to boost their time to market while at the same time addressing customer demand for more or improved services. The rise of the distributed workforce has added a new dimension to digital transformation. From an IT standpoint, a distributed workforce also implies decentralised IT resource management.
Businesses are only as versatile as their network infrastructure. It can be challenging for IT departments to keep up with the rate of change as the number of devices, endpoint types, and connectivity grows. Despite constantly changing objectives, IT should ensure that company networks deliver stability, security, scalability, and compliance.
IT professionals require visibility and control across their whole infrastructure, but service delivery can be difficult because of the wide diversity of work patterns. Without proper visibility and control of the network, security risks and performance bottlenecks are virtually unavoidable.
Individuals working remotely or in hybrid environments need to be able to log into virtual events and conferences. Legacy information technology networking is insufficient to support present demands. Instead, what is required is a new kind of flexible network that SD-WAN can support.
Traditional wide-area networks are not adaptable and typically have excessive provisioning for the worst-case scenario. In contrast, SD-WAN gives IT administrators total control over the infrastructure, which enables them to respond more quickly to shifting requirements. Distributed networks are inherently more challenging to operate, but SD-WAN eliminates this complexity, which allows organisations to focus on projects that are part of digital transformation efforts.
Network-as-a-service is here to stay
Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) is a new way of consuming enterprise network infrastructure designed to stimulate innovation at every step while minimising risk, accelerating ROI, and allowing organisations to accomplish desired business results while maintaining financial flexibility.
In Aruba’s recent survey of more than 5,400 IT leaders, there was an evident need for a network that can adapt to a rapidly changing and increasingly digital environment. According to the survey, the three most critical network requirements for businesses are:
- The capacity to scale quickly
- Alignment between network and business demands
- Network security.
According to Aruba’s survey, access to new technologies was cited as one of the top four drivers of network investment (72%). This was closely followed by network security (70%), network update (60%), and reaching corporate development goals (57%). Businesses are already investing in their networks, and for the most part, for the right reasons.
Businesses need to ensure that they are spending in the correct areas at the right times in a continuously changing climate and guarantee that the network fulfills its full potential as a strategic asset. They can also look for ways to free-up their employees to focus on other critical concerns.
NaaS delivers a comprehensive business networking solution that includes equipment, capacity, and proactive administration for a single monthly subscription charge. It’s low risk, has a reduced total cost of ownership, and allows organisations to efficiently futureproof themselves by ensuring they always have the network they need.
NaaS marks a significant shift in the delivery of network services. Instead of paying exorbitant fees and settling for a one-size-fits-all connection solution, businesses can now get a customisable networking solution that is customer-centric and suited to their individual business needs for a fraction of the overall cost outlay. Network design is shifting from CAPEX to OPEX, providing organisations with significantly better control and flexibility as they grow.
HPE Greenlake for Aruba
HPE’s GreenLake for Aruba is a comprehensive NaaS solution that enables businesses to use Aruba’s Edge Services Platform in a cloud-like way, with a single monthly subscription payment and flexible consumption options. This service is provided where and how businesses need it by leveraging HPE’s extensive resources and the geographic reach of Aruba’s channel partner network.
HPE’s GreenLake for Aruba “service packs” are created around popular networking use cases to ease procurement and delivery while accelerating time-to-value. Each service pack contains all necessary Aruba hardware, software, support services, and access to the Aruba Central cloud management platform and Customer Experience Management. All are supplied through a monthly subscription and with flexible consumption choices.
Three standard service packs include wireless, wired and SD-Branch as-a-service. HPE GreenLake for Aruba Wireless as-a-service offerings are designed to enable major wireless use cases such as hybrid work/learning, connected retail, IoT and hyperaware facilities, and many others. It delivers the performance, scalability, and automation needed to service IoT, mobile, and cloud applications on the campus wired network. With a single monthly subscription payment, HPE GreenLake for Aruba SD-Branch as-a-service integrates wireless, wired, WAN, and security technologies into a single platform. With unified administration businesses can improve performance and security while minimising expenses at branch locations.
Conclusion
Just as the rapid digital shift was critical to surviving the pandemic, continuous digital transformation will be the key to managing this ongoing wave of change. This requires both an IT workforce capable of driving transformation and a network equipped to support it. To deliver this, technology leaders in every industry and geographical location are rethinking their present infrastructure and network setup.
Models such as NaaS provide a safe solution for IT departments to meet new workloads and business requirements. HPE GreenLake for Aruba is a comprehensive NaaS offering that simplifies network resource procurement and deployment, decreases time-to-value, and ensures your network is always available to serve ever-changing business objectives. Contact us, your IT partner, to see how GreenLake and Aruba can help fulfill your business networking needs.
