Your Network's Need for Speed

The business world is changing. People no longer need to be at work to do work. The problem is that many enterprise network architectures place restraints on how users can access information, resources and each other. This results in diminishing the productivity possible with an increasingly mobile workforce. If this is true for your company, it's time to get your network up to speed.

If you're like many businesses we work with, it's likely that your network has evolved over time. New innovations spawned one-off projects that enabled new capabilities, but didn't take into account a long-term view. These ad hoc changes kept costs low and served the purpose-meeting compliance regulations, solving problems or addressing specific initiatives.

This worked really well for companies that weren't growing fast or didn't need to address rapid changes in their marketplace.

But that's changed. Growth and change are two of the driving forces in business today. Add in complexity driven by the consumerization of IT and companies are finding that a piecemeal approach is no longer feasible. One-off projects create management and consistency issues that drain time and resources and impact the performance of the networks workers rely on to conduct business.

The separate management of endpoint devices and equipment also creates a lack of visibility across the network. Consolidating that view can help IT gain the insights needed to improve overall network performance as well as to implement a strategy that moves their companies forward in step with user demands.

Consider these 5 Components for Network Improvements:

Reliability Impacts Productivity
As the need for real-time access to applications like video, voice and desktop sharing grows, productivity is impacted by insufficient bandwidth and lost connections.
Ubiquitous Coverage
With more remote and mobile workers, networks need to be accessible beyond the workplace-from wireless LANs, WiFi hotspots on the road and via broadband connections in hotel rooms.
Comprehensive Security
Users preferences for endpoint devices needs to be enabled, not restrained. Because users will access sensitive information from any device at any time, security must reach beyond traditional borders. This includes policies for authentication, encryption and remote disablement, should a device be lost or stolen.
Unified Management
Administrators need a single view to reduce tasks and improve visibility across all equipment, a growing array of devices and users. The ability to enact security policies from a central point that are enforced by the network-across the network.
Workplace Experience
Different devices present different user experiences. The ability for the network to determine session conditions and adjust accordingly can play a big role in removing disruption from user productivity. For example, consider the automatic resizing of video for a specific device as well as adjusting for the available bandwidth capacity.

Improving network performance is not a nice to have, but a requirement to compete effectively in today's marketplace. Through analyzing the network's current performance, applications in use, inherent security, management policies and integration opportunities networks can be purposefully architected to drive big-picture business strategies.