How to deal with the impact of digital transformation on the network

Digital transformation has increased the importance of the network, especially as customers, employees, cloud applications, and IoT devices are all connected to the enterprise edge network. For many reasons, the static and non-differentiated edge networks of past years are no longer sufficient, so as enterprises embark on digital transformation initiatives, their networks must evolve.

Network professionals should look to improve security and adopt software-defined networking (SDN), which supports the rapid propagation of changes across the network, to adapt to the many challenges posed by digital transformation.

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Obstacles to digital transformation

Many applications have been redesigned and are being migrated to public and private clouds, and at the same time, many applications now rely on services across cloud platforms. These cloud computing services are tied together through the network and must be available at all times, because any interruption to the network means that the application will not function properly.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged from the shadows of operational technology and has become a core component of most enterprise digital transformation strategies. As IoT adoption increases, so too will the number of network-connected endpoints.

Almost all of these devices are connected at the edge of the network, so problems at the edge can have a significant impact on IoT applications. Historically, the data center has been considered the highest in terms of network value, while the edge has been considered the lowest, because the data center is where the applications and data are located. The IoT changes this and distributes the value of the network more reasonably.

Advances in wireless networking technology are also having an impact. With Wi-Fi 6 providing access speeds comparable to wired network speeds, Wi-Fi is moving from a convenience to an essential method of connecting to the network. Additionally, many mobile devices and IoT devices are wireless; they have no wired interface. The combination of these trends has made Wi-Fi the primary access method, and the network edge is where all of these devices connect to the enterprise network.

Mobile devices, IoT endpoints, and cloud computing have created many new entry points and moved them to the edge of the network, which creates new security issues. Traditional networks only have one entry/exit point, which means that a firewall needs to be installed there and scan all traffic in and out. Now network security must move to the edge of the network to maximize its effectiveness.

Manual management processes have become the norm for network applications, but this will affect business operations if they are not replaced by faster, more proactive automation technologies. First, automation removes time-consuming burdens, allowing network engineers to focus on more strategic initiatives. In addition, automating the repetitive tasks involved in running the network is the first step in the evolution to intent-based networks, in which the network automatically responds to requests from network administrators.

Many things can be automated, but a good first step is to automate the most time-consuming tasks, which include firmware updates, operating system upgrades, applying patches, and implementing policy changes.

Achieving Agility with SDN

Today's networks must be highly agile so that changes can be propagated across the network in near real time, allowing IT to keep up with the needs of the business. Network agility comes from centralized control where configuration changes can be made once and propagated across the network immediately. Ideally, network changes can be coordinated with application changes so that lagging performance doesn't slow down the business.

If the enterprise network is more than 5 years old, to achieve greater agility, it may be necessary to update the infrastructure, which means adopting SDN. Traditional infrastructure has an integrated control and data platform, so changes must be made one by one. This is why the network takes so long to configure and lacks agility.

With the SDN model, the control plane is separated from the data plane, enabling centralized control so network engineers can customize changes and push them across the network instantly.

Many legacy devices were not designed to be software-first, so it is important to look for infrastructure built on modern operating systems such as Linux that can be programmed using current languages ​​such as Python and Ruby.

Understand the APIs on network devices

As the network moves to software, it needs to have software features. One of these is an exposed API that allows the network to talk directly to applications, creating a higher level of automation. For example, a video conferencing application could signal the network to reserve bandwidth while a call is in progress, then remove the reserved bandwidth when the call ends.

Network engineers should look for infrastructure with rich APIs and, importantly, learn the necessary skills to take advantage of them. Most network engineers have never made an API call and rely on scripts they have written themselves. In order to take advantage of the simplicity and speed of APIs, it is critical to learn modern software skills.

Intrinsic safety

Intrinsic security is not implemented as an overlay, but is tightly coupled to the network. With this type of security, the network itself acts as a security platform that encompasses a broad ecosystem of best-of-breed tools that provide integrated and automated compliance checks, threat detection, and mitigation. Intrinsic security protects the network from the time a new device is brought onboard to the time the session is terminated.

Although the network still uses next-generation firewalls, the network can provide greater security. Because the network infrastructure can see all traffic, it can collect enough data to determine when traffic deviates from the norm, which may indicate a data leak or breach.

For example, if an IoT device communicates with the same cloud computing service every day, and then one day tries to connect to a billing server, this could indicate a malicious intrusion. A network with inherent security can isolate the IoT device and direct security tools to further diagnose the problem.

Successfully updated

Success in the digital world requires investment in many new technologies, all of which are highly dependent on the network. The networks that exist today are not all designed to meet the rigors of digital business and need to be updated, but also operated and managed differently. Businesses willing to invest in networks and retrain their engineers will maximize their success through digital transformation. Those that are unwilling to do so will suffer as application performance and user experience suffer, and the likelihood of vulnerabilities will increase exponentially.