Array explains the way of "power and change" and how the NFP platform allows enterprises to be flexible and not constrained by IT

[51CTO.com original article] The interview with Zhao Yao took place during a short break at the Array NFP Network Function Platform launch conference. He had just finished his keynote speech on stage. The reporter had a lot of questions waiting to ask the CEO of Array Networks.

Before the conference, the reporter's habitual thinking had always thought that this was just an ordinary new product launch conference, ignoring the theme of "change". What the reporter did not expect was that Array Networks CEO Zhao Yao announced on stage that Array would completely get rid of the inherent labels of "load balancing", "VPN", and "WAN acceleration" in people's impressions, and instead appear in a brand new look - a network function platform service provider. In the Array 2.0 era, the NFP network function platform will become the focus of Array's promotion.

Why would a global veteran application delivery and SSL VPN solution provider leave a field where it already has considerable say and move to another unknown? What does the so-called "change of power" mean? What kind of new product is the NFP network function platform? Why is it so attractive that Array and so many domestic partners are competing for it?

Although there are many problems, Zhao Yao still calmly tells them. Through his description, the reporter found that perhaps in the next one or two years, "change" will become the main theme of IT manufacturers.

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Why the change?

Why change? This was the first question asked by the reporter. Zhao Yao gave a very simple answer: change is to gain an advantage. He explained that the market is changing, customer needs are changing, and IT manufacturers can only gain a dominant advantage and get new opportunities through change.

He gave a scenario as an example: In the past, customers purchased hardware equipment and used the functions of the equipment to meet business needs. The customer's racks were filled with firewall products, anti-intrusion products, load balancing products, etc. Once a function could not meet the needs, the hardware equipment could only be discarded in the warehouse and no longer had any value. The scalability and flexibility were poor. However, the birth of the cloud changed all this. The cloud makes corporate business more flexible. On the public cloud, customers can configure on demand and pay monthly, and adjust the IT architecture at any time according to needs. "In this case, Array realized that only by changing the traditional service mode can it gain a competitive advantage."

Zhao Yao told reporters that he and Array's elite backbones brainstormed together at the time, and they asked themselves whether Array could realize such a scenario: allowing customers to enjoy the various values ​​brought by the public cloud, while avoiding the problems of the public cloud? In other words, to provide customers with a service platform that can not only meet users' pursuit of the flexibility of public cloud services, but also meet users' pursuit of private cloud performance assurance, and to achieve performance, flexibility, scalability, shared resources, and exclusive resources.

This is the original intention of the birth of the NFP network function platform.

You can have your cake and eat it too

NFP network function platform is an innovative product. Its greatest value lies in enabling customers to achieve performance assurance in a shared environment.

Platform = Software + Hardware Zhao Yao said that the best products of each partner are integrated on this platform, from CPU to memory, from storage space to network, and even security. This platform can provide the best performance guarantee. Customers do not need to buy dedicated hardware because the software of the NFP platform can realize these functions.

Platform = Sharing + Proprietary Reporters learned that through the NFP platform, customers can have both shared and exclusive resources, which can ensure that when customers need shared resources, they can share them, and when customers need exclusive resources, they can have exclusive resources.

Platform = public cloud + private cloud For customers, core applications that cannot be interrupted 24 hours a day can be placed on the private cloud, and non-core applications can be placed on the public cloud. What's more convenient is that all software on the public cloud can be seamlessly connected to the NFP platform, including applications on the public cloud.

What makes NFP unique

During the interview, the reporter couldn't help but ask, for customers, they can also achieve the function by purchasing a software separately, why must they go to the Array NFP platform to purchase it, isn't it redundant? Zhao Yao said that customers can of course buy software by themselves, but customers have no way to improve the original performance of the software, while NFP can do it. He revealed that the products of Array's partners have been compared. The same product running on an ordinary server platform and running on the Array NFP platform, that is, using the same CPU and the same memory resources, NFP will improve the performance of the product by 5 to 10 times. "This is the power of technology, to achieve performance guarantee in a shared environment." Zhao Yao concluded.

The reporter knows that there are many integrated products on the market that have multiple functions. For example, firewall, WEB security, WAN acceleration products, and VPN are all integrated in one box, and customers can enjoy multiple functions of one product after purchasing. What is the advantage of NFP for such products? Zhao Yao confidently stated that such vertically integrated products often have only one or two functions that can be the best in the industry, and the other functions affect performance due to interoperability. But NFP is different. It can provide customers with the best solutions, such as the strongest VPN, the best debt balance, and every function is the best.

Zhao Yao emphasized that the NFP network function platform is not a simple listing and stacking of functions, but the construction of a service topology oriented towards customer needs, and the deep connection and tuning at the code level. Ultimately, it is a refined control of enterprise costs, while also seeking the most substantial benefits for the enterprise.

The reporter knows that the process of transformation is painful, but every transformation will bring the surprise of growth. Zhao Yao must also be well aware of this. He led Array to choose change, and in the changes, he gradually confirmed the path he chose. The reporter believes that the future of NFP may be tested several times, but the window it opens must be a bright future and bright sunshine.

[51CTO original article, please indicate the original author and source as 51CTO.com when reprinting on partner sites]