The Network Modernization to Host Business Applications and Continuity
ThetermTrustisafiduciaryrelationshipthatisgenerallyexpectedfromeverypublicand
privateorganization.Itismaintainedbymostofthebusinessorganizationsinsectorslike realestate,retail,hospitalsandotherstodevelopafixedwirednetworkbetweenthe customersandorganizations.
Inthepresentera,networkinghasgainedpopularitywithaninnovativerangeoftechnologies, protocolsandconfigurationsdevelopedanddeployed.ItseemsasafebetthatWi-Fiwillremainthe preferredsourceofinternetaccessforessentiallymostoftheusers.Ontheotherhand,mobile-centric wirelessLANsaredominatingtheedgeofthenetworkbutareunderpinnedbywiredEthernetfor backhaulandinterconnect.
Mostenterprisesareexpectingtoprovidedatacentersolutionstohostbusinessapplicationsandto havebusinesscontinuity.Companiesaretakingnecessarystepsinordertodeployanext-generation datacenterswitchingnetworkfromthecurrentmainstreamandwidespreadadoptionofserver virtualization.Thishelpstocreatemuchmoreforward-lookingopportunitiesofcloudcomputingand desktopvirtualization.Theyarealsoplanningtooffercomprehensivedatacentersolutionsandhavea largepoolofskilledprofessionalstounderstandanddeploythesesolutions.
Inthenextgenerationofnetworking,withthehelpofcloud-firstapproach,itcanbeexpected thattherewillbechangesinsomeofthekeyareaswherenetworkmodernizationcantakeplace. Thisincludesbranchofficeconnectivity,networkintelligence&analytics,networkingsecurity, andmuchmore.
Thus,withgreatenthusiasm,InsightsSuccesshasshortlisted,“The10MostTrusted NetworkingSolutionProviders,2018”thatareensuringoptimalnetworkefficiencyand security.
Ourshortlistedcompaniesinclude,Turn-keyTechnologies,isaleaderinnetworking, communicationsandsecurity;RedpineSignals,whichisheadquarteredinSanJose,California, isawirelesssemiconductorandsystemsolutionscompanyfocusingoninnovative,ultra-low powerandhigh-performanceproductsfornext-generationwirelessapplications;CloudGenix,a Software-DefinedWideAreaNetwork(SD-WAN)solutionthatprovidesagile,intelligent, secure,andperformantconnectivityforallappsoveranyWANtransport;GeoLinks, headquarteredinSouthernCalifornia,isaleadingtelecommunicationscompanyand competitivelocalexchangecarrier(CLEC)publicutility,nationallyrecognizedforits innovativeInternetandHostedVoicesolutions;andMassiveNetworks,whichspecializesin Premium-BlendedInternetandlayer2PrivateLineTransportconnectionsfromoffice-to-office, datacenters,andcloudapplications,evenforhard-to-reachfacilities.
Also,makesuretoscrollthroughthearticleswrittenbyourin-houseeditorialteamandCXO standpointsofsomeoftheleadingindustryexpertstohaveabrieftasteofthesector
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CompanyName
AviatNetworks aviatnetworks.com
CloudGenix cloudgenix.com
GeoLinks geolinks.com
MassiveNetworks massivenetworks.com
RedpineSignals redpinesignals.com
Saisei saisei.com
Senet senetco.com
SierraWireless sierrawireless.com
Management
MikePangia President&CEO
KumarRamachandran Founder&CEO
SkylerDitchfield Co-founder&CEO
RyanHauf Co-founder&CTO
PaulMako CEO&CTO
VenkatMattela Chairman&CEO
JuliaSartini COO
BruceChatterley President&CEO
KentThexton Interim President&CEO
Turn-keyTechnologies,Inc turn-keytechnologies.com
CraigBadrick President&CEO ZenteraSystems zentera.net
JaushinLee Founder, President&CEO
Brief
Aviatexiststoprovidedependableproducts,services,and supporttoitscustomersandisthetrustedexpertin microwavenetworking.
CloudGenixisaSoftware-DefinedWideAreaNetwork (SD-WAN)solutionthatprovidesagile,intelligent,secure, andperformantconnectivityforallappsoveranyWAN transport.
HeadquarteredinSouthernCalifornia,GeoLinksisaleading telecommunicationscompanyandcompetitivelocalexchange carrier(CLEC)publicutility,nationallyrecognizedforits innovativeInternetandHostedVoicesolutions.
MassiveNetworksspecializesinPremium-Blended Internetandlayer2PrivateLineTransportconnections fromoffice-to-office,datacenters,andcloudapplications, evenforhard-to-reachfacilities.
HeadquarteredinSanJose,California,RedpineSignals,isa wirelesssemiconductorandsystemsolutionscompanyfocusing oninnovative,ultra-lowpowerandhigh-performanceproducts fornext-generationwirelessapplications.
BasedintheheartofSiliconValley,Saiseiisatthecoreof bleeding-edgetechnology.
Senet’spublicnetwork,ManagedNetworkServicesforIoT (MNSi)andLowPowerWideAreaVirtualNetwork(LVN)are builtonacommoncloud-basedservicesarchitectureand poweredbyourproprietaryNetworkOperatingSystem.
SierraWirelessisanIoTpioneer,empoweringbusinessesand industriestotransformandthriveintheconnectedeconomy.
Turn-KeyTechnologiesisaleadingproviderofnetwork, security,andcommunicationsolutions.
ZenteraSystems,istheleadingvendorofenclave-based securityandconnectivityforthemulticloud.
Are you staying in network secure zone?
Onewordcansumupthemostcommonstrategyfor networkdefense-“boxy.”Buildingand maintainingastrongperimeterhasalongand storiedhistory.Consideracastlewithitsmoat,highwalls anddrawbridge.Thatishowmostnetworksaredefended.In abox.Currently,thementalityis:“Doyouwanttoprotecta newsystem?”Putitinsidethebox.“Processingpersonal information?”Putitinsidethebox.
Whilethe“box”approachwassuccessfulinthepast,it’san antiquatedmodel.And,whiletheconventionalapproachhas beenoccupiedwithdefendingthecastlefromaground attack,adversarieshavedeployedanairassaultwiththe latestmodernweapons.
User’schoice
Overthepastdecade,therehasbeenaquietrevolutionwith howITsystemsandservicesareusedwithinorganizations. Fedupwithalackofoptions,viablesolutionsandageneral disconnectwiththebusiness,usershavetakenmattersinto theirownhands.
Mark Nunnikhoven Vice President Trend Micro
Thisevolutionstartedwiththeriseinmobileusage.Early on,traditionalsecurityteamsfocusedeffortsonstopping mobileusage.Eventually,theyacquiescedandaccepted mobiledevices,butonlythosethatwere“approved.” Ultimately,reasontriumphedandmobileisnowtreatedina morelogicalfashion.Whilestillfourletters,“BYOD”isno longerabadword.Unfortunately,wearenowseeingthe samecyclewithcloudservices.
Consumeristhenewbusiness
Consumer-focusedservicesaremakingsignificantinroads intoenterprisesaroundtheworld.Itisfairlycommontosee largevolumesofoutboundnetworktrafficutilizingservices suchasDropbox,GoogleApps,Githuboranynumberof othercloud-basedapplications.Infact,theseserviceshave beguntoincorporatefeaturesandfunctionalityspecifically targetedtothesizeandscopeofvariousbusinessoperations.
Thinkofthisasa“bottom-up”approach.Itisasignthat usersinorganizationsarepushingtechnologyadoptionjust asmuch-ifnotmore-thanatraditional“top-down” approach.Overall,thisshouldbeseenasapositive.The shiftisnowaligningITwiththeactualfocusofthe organization.Itisamovetowardtechnologythatworksin the“realworld,”insteadofsimplylookinggood“onpaper.” However,it’snotallunicornsandrainbows.
Crumblingwalls
Whileproductivitymightbeup,itisextremelydifficultto maintainastrongperimeteraroundthisnewblendof traditional,mobileandcloudinfrastructure.Thereactionto thisis:“Thenwhytry?Isn’tthereabetterapproach?”This responseisrational,butnotthesentimentofavastmajority ofthesecurityindustry.
Justaswithmobileadoption,thecommonsecurityresponse tocloudservicesistoattempttoblockuser’saccessand, instead,guidethemtowardan“approved”(andtypically lessusable)server.Thatisn’tembracingrealityand,quite simply,isnolongerfeasible.
Thearchitecturediagramforcurrentnetworksnolongerfits cleanlyintoasimplebox.Tryingtowedgeitintooneis counterproductiveandcanleadtofrustrationamong employees.Itisimperativetoacceptthefactthatthe perimeterasithasbeenknownisnowgone.Whichleadsto thecoreoftheissue-whatstrategiescanbeadoptedto defendtoday’snetworks?
Levelup
First,itisimportanttounderstandthattraditionalcontrols stillhaveaplaceinmoderndefense.Thereisaneedfor firewalls,intrusionprevention,anti-malware,filtering,etc. Thesetraditionalelementsserveasastrongcomponent,but theyplayasmallerroleandcannotbeconsideredtheendall,be-allofsecurity.Insteadoffocusingonindividual componentsofthenetwork,itshouldbeviewedaccording tothewayspecificdataflows.
Securityinisolation
Takeatypicale-commercetransaction,forexample: Inatraditionalapproach,eachofthesesystemswouldreside inrelativeisolation.First,theremustbeafirewallonthesite andanti-malwaresoitis“secure.”Second,theshoppingcart isdeliveredtotheuserviaHTTPSsoitis“secure.”Third, thepaymentinformationisencrypted,thusitis“secure.” Finally,theshippingsystemisonlyinternalsoitis“secure” throughaccesscontrol.
Whilenoneofthesecontrolsarebad,theydonottakeinto accounttherealitiesoftoday’snetworks.Now,shopping cartsareprovidedviaPaaS,paymentsareprovidedviaSaaS ansallshippingisdonethrough a third-party API.These providersinherentlychangeovertimecteatingmore variables and avenues forbreaches.
Dataflow
Inadditiontoaddingbasicsecuritytoeachsystemor service,itiscriticaltoexaminehowdataflows.Whena high-levelviewofdataflowisincorporatedintothetypical e-commercetransaction,thefollowingoccurs:
Itisimmediatelyapparentthatthereisavarietyof informationsharedacrossmultiplesystems.Someofthe
systemsarecontrolledbytheenterprise,somearenot.With thisview,therealchallengecomestotheforefront-how canthesafetyoforders(itemspurchased,quantities, shippinginfo,etc.)andprocessingdatabeensuredbyat leastthreedifferententities?Inaddition,payment informationresidesonatleasttwosystems.Howdoesthat affectPaymentCardIndustrycompliance?Thisisthelevel wheresecurityshouldbeapplied-anditmustbeactedupon holistically.
Nextsteps
Thetoppriorityforsecuritymustbemonitoring.Itisclear thatcontrollingeveryelementofthenetworkcanbe overwhelming.Withthevarietyofservices,endpointsand connections,theaforementioned“box”modelhasbeen demolished.Thus,thetraditionalperimeterisgone.What takesplaceinnetworksrequiresmoretransparencytoread andreactaccordingly.
Amodernmonitoringpracticenotonlypullsinlogdata fromnetworkdevicesandapplicationservers(ashas traditionallyoccurred),butalsologsandreportsfromIaaS, PaaS,SaaSandmobilesystems.Thisinitselfcteatesanew challengewithanimmenseamountofdiversedataneeding tobeprocessed.Fortunately,“bigdata”analyticscanbe appliedtoresolvethisissue.
Thereisverylittlevalueindenyingwherenetwork infrastructuredesign,andaccess,isheaded.Thesoundest strategyistowelcomethisrealityandworktoincrease securityofthecurrentnetworktofocusonmonitoring. Itis essential to becognizant of dataworkflows withinthe overallenterprise.Oncethatisestablished,takingstepsto protectdata,regardlessofwhereitisstoredandprocessed, isfarlessdaunting.
AnInsight Opportunities on the
BIG DATA INDUSTRY in the
Inthiseraofchangingtechnologies,theBigData domainhasevolvedinaveryshortperiodoftime.It playsthemostpivotalroleacrossallindustries.The abilityofBigDatatominecriticaldatahasradicallyaltered thedynamicsofthewaybusinessesfunction,drivesales, andattractcustomers.Ithasbecomeanessential componentofbusinessstrategynowadays.Abusinesstastes successbyuncoveringinsightslockedinsidedata.The overlayingtrendswillexaminetheevolvingways enterprisescanrealizebetterbusinessvaluewithBigData andhowimprovingbusinessintelligencecanhelp transformorganizationalprocessesandthecustomer experience.Thereisademandforbetterdatamanagement frommostofthebusinessexecutivesforcomplianceand increasedconfidencetosteerthebusiness.Itwillhelpthem inmorerapidadoptionofBigDataandinnovativeand transformativedataanalytictechnologies.
Insight-drivenOrganizations
Inthispresentyear,businesseswillmovebeyondjustdata handlingtoleveragingtheinsightsthatBigDatauncovers. Asunderstanding,managing,andmanipulatingBigData hasnowbecomefairlyubiquitous,mostofthecompanies havetheabilitytodealwithit.Miningdatawillbethe centerofattractionanditwillhelpeffectivelytomeet organizationalrequirementsandforprecisetargetingof productsandservices.Aninsight-drivenapproachwill facilitateanevolvedcustomerexperience,competitiveness, advancedsecurityandoperationalefficiency.
CybersecurityApplications
Today,everyoneisdependentonthedigitaltechnologyand ourdependencehasreachedanunprecedentedlevel.Cyberattackshavealsobecomemuchmoreprevalent.An increasedoccurrenceofransomwarehasbeenregistered acrosstheglobeandcybercriminalsarenowtargeting personaldataanddevices.Concerningtheprimeindustry, cybersecuritycanonlybepossiblethroughbigdata
analyticswhichwillbecomeamajorareaofinvestmentand willgrowswiftly.Itisnecessaryfortheenterprisesandthe governmentagenciestoupgradetheirsecuritysystemsto next-generationsoftwarewhichcanaddressultra-modern securitythreats.
Analyticsacrosstheenterprise
Itcanbesaidthattheanalyticswillnotremainisolatedtoa fewdepartmentslikemarketingandriskmanagement.On theotherhanditwillinfusetheentireenterprise.To understandthedynamicsofbusinessoperations,data analyticswillbeutilizedandwillalsorevealwaysand meanstoincreaseefficiency.Hencetoderiveoverall businessstrategy,insightsfrommultipledepartmentswill beintegratedandredundantprocesseswillbeeliminated.It willalsohelpthedepartmentstoincreaseefficiency, growth,andproductivity.
Bridgingthetalentgap
Ifthedemandexpandsfurther,thetalentgapindata analyticswillsoar.Itisexpectedthatorganizationsand academicinstitutionswillcollaboratecloselytogenerate skillsandtalenttomeetthedemandfordataengineers.The functionsofallcorporateemployeeswillbeexpectedto understand,appreciateandworkwithanalyticssinceit emergesasoneofthekeyinstrumentsinevery organization.Theacademicinstitutionsarealsolooking forwardtoputtogetherdegreeprogramsindatascience.
IoTandPeople
TherewillbeatransitionfromInternetofThings(IoT)to InternetofPeople(IoP).Interactions,predictiveanalytics aroundhumanbehavior,andothersubjectiveareaswill growandstarttofilterallindustryverticals.Forexample, hospitalswillincreasinglydeploymachinelearning techniquestopredictthelikelihoodoftherelapseofa disease.Thiswillenablethemtoworkoutapatient’s readmissionpreciselyatthetimeoftheinitialdischarge.
Business-sciencecollaboration
Businesseswillhavetolearnanddeploytraditional,scientifictechniquesofpattern-matchingandartificialintelligencefor analyticsusecases.Forexample,techniquestoanalyzegenesequencesinDNAarebeingusedintext-matchingalgorithmsto processbulkemails.Itisexpectedtoseeveryclosecollaborationbetweendatascientistsandthescientificcommunity.For example,imageprocessingiswidelyusedin‘tagging’insocialmedia,whilevoicerecognitionisusedinapps.
Technology
Therewillbebriskmovingintheorganizationsfromon-premiseplatformstocloudandhybridenvironments.Around44 percentofapplicationsusedbyFortune500organizationsarealreadyonthecloud,andmorethan50percentofIT applicationswillmovetothecloudbytheendoftheyear.Therewillbeariseindemandforanalyticstoolsthataresimple, flexible,andcapableofhandlingavarietyofdatasources.Hadoopenablestostoreanextremelylargevolumeofdataata significantlylowerpricepointandhenceitwillcontinuetobecomeincreasinglypopular.Theshareofunstructureddatain thedatawarehousewillcontinuetoincrease,whichwillfurthercauseforHadoop.Hadoop,now,ispastthebusiness relevanceandscalabilityassessmentphaseanditsadoptionisexpectedtoacceleratestrongly.
Weareadvancingtowardsacompletelynewerainthedomainofanalytics.Bigdataisdisruptiveandithaspavedtheway forpioneeringideasandinnovativetechniquesacrossindustryverticals.Itisnowdrivingthestreamofdisruptionand expandingthescopeofopportunitiesforpreviouslyuntouchedmarketsegments.OrganizationsneedtoleverageBigData analyticstoitsfullcapacitysoastothriveinthiscompetitiveworld.
CloudGenix: Delivering World-Class Networking Solutions
CloudGenixisaSoftware-DefinedWideArea Network(SD-WAN)solutionproviderwhich transformstheWANfromanexpensiveand complexhindrancetoanenablerofbusinessinnovation. Thecompany’s AppFabric platformprovidessecure,high performingandreliableconnectivitybetweenusersin remotesitesandapplicationsregardlessofwheretheyare deployed,beitinthedatacenter,cloudorassoftware-as-aservice(SaaS).UnlikelegacyWANgear,whichuses packetsasthefundamentalunitofoperation, AppFabric understandsthebehavior,performance,andhealthof applications,andusesthatinformationasameansof enablingtheinformationandtechnologytocraftpolicies thatarerelevanttothebusiness.Theorganization’svision isonewherethenetworkisautomated,continuallylearning usagepatterns,andaligningresourceswiththeexpectations ofthebusiness.
ALearnedLeader
KumarRamachandranistheFounderandCEOof CloudGenix.KumarhelpedcreatethefutureoftheWAN whileatCisco,contributingtocreationofseveral successfulproductlinesincludingbranchroutingand applicationdelivery.Additionally,he’sbeenontheother sideoftheproduct,havingworkedforlargefinancial institutionsmanagingapplicationsandinfrastructure,giving himkeeninsightintowhatcustomersneedandhow
working Solution Providers
productsmustbebuilttoaddressthoseneeds.Ona personallevel,Kumarisknownforhisamiabledemeanor, kindheartedness,andabilitytocraftanengagingand excitingstory.
SurpassingChallenges
CloudGenixwasfoundedin2013byateamofexperienced networkingprofessionalsthathadproducedaward-winning productsdeployedbythelargestcompaniesworldwide. Sincethen,thecompanyhasreceivedmassiveinterestfrom customersandhassuccessfullydeployedtheworld’slargest SD-WANimplementations.Itslargeststruggleshavebeen basedlargelyonourabilitytomeetthevoraciousdemand ofourcustomersforourtechnology.
AccordingtoKumar,thechallengesintheWANindustry aredrivenbyvendorconfusion.Heexclaims, “Large vendors have come to market with solutions that, on the surface, seem to be an evolution but in reality, do not advance customer agility or freedom. IT as a category is moving from a cost center where engineers manage components and individual pieces into a model where it is becoming a business enabler driven by company strategy.” Tocatertothisneed,theoperationofproductsandservices leveragedbyCloudGenixareinalignmentwithbusiness goals,anditsinfrastructureisprogrammabletoenable integrationandsimplificationofbusinessprocess.
TheBlueprintsofExcellence
CloudGenixisfundamentallydifferentandisawareofthe runningapplications,usingadvanceddetectiontechniques includingsessionfingerprinting.Itunderstandshow applicationtransactionsandsessionsareperformingand moreimportantly,itunderstandshowthoseapplications performacrosseachofthevariousWANlinks.Thisallows AppFabric toalignWANresourceswiththedesireduser experience,ratherthanaperceptionandconclusionbased onnetwork-onlymetricssuchasbandwidthandpacketloss. Further,CloudGenixexposesthisapplication-centricand network-centricinformationasconsumableandactionable insights,givingbusinessesunparalleledvisibilityintothe healthandperformanceoftheirapplicationsandWAN links.Bydeliveringthroughchannelpartnersthecompany enablesnewlevelsoffreedomfromserviceprovidersrather
thancreatingmorelock-in.Bestamongstall,theplatformis completelyprogrammable,enablinglevelsofintegrationand automationthatwerepreviouslynotpossible.
TheStepsTowardsInnovation
CloudGenixhaswitnessedafundamentalshiftinhowdistributed businessesoperate.Overthepasttwentyyearsbusinesseshave connectedremoteofficesusingexpensive,low-bandwidthlines fromserviceproviders,andthenhadtodeployadditionalstacksof hardwareattheseremoteofficestobettermanagetheirWANand improveapplicationperformance.
“The cloud has completely transformed the way businesses deploy and integrate applications, and legacy networking doesn’t allow for a top-down model to dictate business objectives for applications and sites,” statesKumar.ThisinturnledCloudGenix totakeaclean-slateapproachtobuildingaWAN,whichhas allowedthecompanytohelpcountlessFortune500customers withtens,hundreds,andthousandsofbranchoffices,radically shifttheirWANfromahindranceandcostcentertoanenablerof agilityandvalue.
AProgress-CentricTomorrow
CloudGenixiswitnessingtwodramaticchangesinhow enterprisenetworkingproductsarebuilt.TheITdemands atop-downmodeltodefinethebehaviorofaproduct orsolutionasopposedtoneedingdeeptechnical understandingofitsinnerworkings.Thisis commonly-called“intent-basednetworking,” wheretheintentofthebusinessdictatesthe behaviorofaproductorsystem.Machine learningandartificialintelligenceare becomingpervasivewithinenterprise products.CloudGenixhassuccessfully combinedthetwoevidentchanges innovatively.Withinthecompany,system behaviorisdefinedbypoliciesthatare relevanttobusinessobjectivesforperformance, security,andcompliancewhereas,machine learningandartificialintelligenceareusedto understandandpredictapplicationbehaviorunder variousnetworkconditions,whichinfluencehowit respondsandenforcespolicy.Thecompanydisplays continuedinvestmentinboththeareas.
Our mission is to provide the world with the ability to build and manage their WAN the way it should have been done in the rst place.
“ ”
Kumar Ramachandran Founder & CEO
About the Author
Fatima Al Shirawi, Founder of The Gracious F is the leading Color Consultant in the Middle East who has been collaborating with International luxury brands through the years.
As an educator, she works with Government and Corporate Entities and Educational Institutes on delivering the Science of Colour to learners in their elds of expertise.
Fatima Al Shirawi Founder Gracious F
HuntingNew TakingThe Business
ToTheNext
OPPORTUNITIES LEVEL
Launchinganichebusinessconceptinacompetitiveenvironmentrequiresamindsetthat
constantlylooksfornewchallengestoexplorenewventuresandsetprecedents.Ilauncheda fully-fledgedcolorconsultancybusinessintheMiddleEastadecadeagoatatimewhenthe regionwasjustestablishingitselfasaninternationalhubforartsandcreativity
Manyperceivecolorconsultancyasabusinessthatassessesindividuals’colorprofileshenceits associationwithfashionandstyling.Inanagewhereknowledgeisthecoredriverofcreativityand versatility,Ihavetransformedtheperceptionofthisindividual-centricbusinesstoabusinessthat serviceskeysectorsthatinvolvehumaninteraction.
Thescienceofcolorpsychologyisaccuratetotheextentthatitcanbeusedtoachievesalestargetsfor anybusiness.Internationalbrandshavealwaysbeenaheadofthegameinusinginnovativemethodsto
drivetheirsales.WiththeMiddleEastbeingakeymarket forgrowth,Iworkedwiththesebrandsbyutilizingthe scienceandpsychologyofcolortoenhancetheshopping experiencefortheirtargetclients.Fromengineeringthe storeinteriorsandvisualmerchandisetotheactualselection ofgoodsthatappealtothesophisticatedbuyermeanwhile standingoutinacompetitivelandscape.Timeaftertimethe scienceofcolordidnotfailourexpectations.
Anotherimportantelementofsuccessiscollaboratingwith businessesoperatingindifferentsectors.SocialMedia channelshavemadeitsimplertokeepupwithtrendswhich pavesthewayforsuccessfulcollaborationstotapintonew marketsandchallengebusiness’screativity.The collaborationofbusinessesfromdifferentsectorshas becomeincreasinglycommoninthisdayandage,asthey allaimtoinnovateanewexperiencefortheircustomers. Localandregionalbusinessesarechallengedtooutperform astheyareconstantlycomparedtotheirinternational counterpartsonsocialmediachannelsandonlinemedia platforms.
Thekeybenefitofresearchandkeepingupwithtrendsis understandingthechallengesthatbusinessesface,which createstheopportunitytocollaboratesuccessfully.Agood exampleofacross-sectorcollaborationwouldbealigning mycolorconsultancybusinesswiththeF&Bsector,which haswitnessedgrowthinrecentyears,wherecustomersare alwaysonthelookoutforthenextnewdiningexperience. Utilizingcolorpsychologyofhumanbehaviorandpeople’s perceptionofcolorswasthecoresuccessfactorbehind suchcollaboration.Wherethefinediningrestaurantseta precedentindesigningacustomizedmenuincorporating theflavorsandcolorsthatbestsuitMiddleEasterndiners meanwhilemaintainingitsFrenchcuisineoffering.Diners enjoyedtheexperiencesthatactivatedtheirsenseswhilst theywerebriefedonthepsychologyofcolorandflavors behindeverycourseoftheirdinner.ThankstotheColor Affectstheory,theyleftwithsatisfiedtastebudsand inquisitivethoughtsofthecolorgroupstheybelongedto.
Sharingknowledgeisthekeytogrowth.Withovera decadeofknow-howandexpertiseintheevolving
landscapeintheMiddleEastandhavingworkedalongside regionalandinternationalentities,itwastimetosharethe know-howwithyoungminds.TheAcademicsectorisone ofthekeysectorsthatinteractswithyoungmindsand exportsknowledge.Itisthereforeextremelyimportantto metoworkwithacademicinstitutionsbytrainingyoung studentsfrombothartsandbusinessrealmson understandingtheimpactofcolorpsychologyandthe importanceofimplementingitintheirareasof specialization,withtheaimofgrowingtheirskillsetsand improvingtheircareerprospects.
Takingthebusinesstothenextlevelmeansexploringnew sectorsthatyoucanworkalongsidewithandunderstanding thechallengesoftheever-evolvingbusinesslandscape. Confidenceinyourbusinessanditsofferingmakesthat possible.Itisimportanttohighlightthatdeepknowledgeof thenewsectoryouplanonworkingwith,createsabetter opportunityandtransformscollaborationstopartnerships.
Creativityremainsthecorechallengetobusinessesacross sectors.Itisimportanttounderstandthepsychologyofthe consumerandcolorpsychologyisoneofthemethodsused todecipherconsumerbehavior.Commitmenttoyour businessandbusinesscounterpartsisthekeytosustainable success.Itisimportanttobearinmindthatalongwiththe highriskcomesrewardswhichiswhatsetsyourbusiness apartfromitscompetitors,byemergingasakeyplayerin themarket.
Colorconsultancyremainsanichebusiness,yetitwas eminenttohuntforopportunitiesthatcapitalizeonsucha scienceinanagewhereoureyesarebusywithourportable devicesandourmindsareconstantlydistracted.Versatility, adaptabilityandventuringintonewbusinessareashas transformedtheperceptionofmybusinessfromonethatis associatedwithfashionandartstoabusinessconsultancy thatcomprehendscustomerpsychology,visual merchandize,andengineersinteriordesignsofhomesand stores.
GeoLinks: Connecting Clients with Innovative Telecom Solutions
HeadquarteredinSouthernCalifornia,GeoLinks isaleadingtelecommunicationscompany, competitivelocalexchangecarrier,and regulatedpublicutility,nationallyrecognizedforits innovativeInternetandDigitalVoicesolutions.The companydeliversEnterprise-GradeInternet,Digital Voice,SD-WAN,CloudOn-ramping,Layer2Transport, andbothPublicandPrivateTurnkeyNetwork ConstructionexpertlytailoredforbusinessesandAnchor Institutionsnationwide.
GeoLinks’acceleratedsuccessislargelyduetoits flagshipproduct,ClearFiber™,whichoffersdedicated business-classInternetwithunlimitedbandwidth,true networkredundancy,andguaranteedspeedsreachingup to10Gbps.Named“MostDisruptiveTechnology”inthe 2018CentralCoastInnovationAwards,GeoLinks’ ClearFiber™networkisbackedbyacarrier-grade ServiceLevelAgreementboasting99.999%uptimeand 24/7in-housecustomersupport.Withanaverage installationperiodof4to7days,GeoLinksisproudto offerthemostresilientandscalablefixedwireless networkonthemarket.
Recognizedasathought-leaderinclosingthedigital divide,GeoLinksproudlysitsonanarrayofnational boards,coalitions,andworkinggroupsincludingthe Schools,Healthcare&LibrariesBroadband(SHLB)
10
Ne working Solution Providers
Coalition,theWirelessInternetServiceProviders Association(WISPA),theBroadbandConsortiumofthe PacificCoast(BCPC),andtheFCC’sBroadband DeploymentAdvisoryCommittee’s(BDAC) StreamliningFederalSitingWorkingGroup.
ThePassionateLeader
BorninOjai,California,SkylerDitchfieldistheCofounderandCEOofGeoLinks,whichistheNo.1 FastestGrowingFixedWirelessISPinthecountry,and Inc.Magazine’sFastestGrowingWISPinAmerica. NationallyrecognizedforitsinnovativeInternetand HostedVoiceSolutions,anddedicationtoclosingthe U.S.DigitalDivide,GeoLinksisdeterminedtobring connectivitytoeveryunconnectedAnchorInstitutionin Americaoverthenextseven7years.
Toaccomplishthisgoal,Skylerisaggressivelylooking tochangethelandscapeofInternetacrossAmericaby influencingthereformofbroadbandfundingand spectrumpolicyonboththestateandfederallevels. Believingthatactionfuelsinfluence,Skylerled GeoLinkstosuccessfullyconnectmoreschoolsthanany otherISPinboth2016and2017andwasaninstrumental lobbyistinthepassingofAB1665,theInternetforAll Act,whichbrought$330minnewfundingtothestateof California.
Withinhiscompany,Ditchfieldispassionateabout cultivatingthebestcompanyculturearound—onethat combinesrespect,collaboration,anda“bestideawins mantra.”Bothhisdedicationtoclosingthedigitaldivide andcommitmenttowardsdevelopinganexceptional companyculturehavewonSkyleravarietyofaccolades including“World’sTop5BestBusinessmenof2017,” “TopInnovatorinDiversityandInclusion,”and“2018 EntrepreneuroftheYear”.
ThrivingonChallenges
AccordingtoGeoLinks,thetelecomindustryisheavily dominatedbymulti-billiondollarvirtualmonopoliesthat receivemassivetaxcreditsandfederalsubsidies. Furthermore,theregulatorylandscapeandfundingon boththestateandfederallevelaretiltedheavilytofavor these“incumbent”providers—furtheringtheir “perceived”monopolystatus.However,GeoLinks thrivesonchallenges,andareaggressivelyworkingto reformandovercometheseobstacles.
GeoLinks’ongoingstrategyistoout-maneuverincumbent providersincompetitivemarketsnationwidebyprovidinga qualityofservicetheycan’tofferandmaintain,andbygoing afterbusinessestheyeitherdon’twantorcan’tservice.It’sin GeoLinks’DNAtoconsistentlyinnovatenewmethodsand technologiesthatpushesitfaraheadofthecrowd.
TacklingBadPatchesandPreparingforaBetterFuture
Initsearlydays,cousinsandco-foundersDitchfield,CEO,and RyanHauf,CTO,decidedthattheywillbuildtheirInternet ServiceProvider(ISP)businessmodeltocompetehead-toheadwithallthebigguys—whichwasnotverytraditionalfor asmallerISPprovider.GeoLinksdecidedthattobesuccessful andtomakeitsgoalofbecomingamajornationalcarriera reality,theyneededtopenetratethemostcompetitivemarkets.
Overthepastsevenyears,GeoLinks’innovativeflagship product,ClearFiber™,named“MostDisruptiveTechnology” inthe2018CentralCoastInnovationAwards,the organization’ssuperiorcustomerservice,anditsindustryleadingServiceLevelAgreementhasledtheorganizationto becomethefastestgrowingtelecominCalifornia.
Whenreflectingonthecompany’srapidgrowth, Ditchfieldcommentsthateverystrugglehasbeen uniqueinitsneedsandsolutions.Inthebeginning, manyofthesehurdleswerefinance-based,asthe telecomdidn’thaveasignificantfinancialbacker.The organizationhadtoremainasfiscallyresponsibleas possibleandfoldallitsrevenuebackintothe company.Asabusiness,ithaslearnedthat beinghonestandputtingcustomersfirst alwayspaysoffinthelong-run.Soevenin thecaseofawrongstep,GeoLinkshas admittedit,fixedit,andbeenabletomove onswiftly.
GeoLinks’Golden Rule: We treat you like we want to be treated. “ ”
Inthenearfuture,youcanexpecttosee GeoLinkscontinuingtoexpandrapidly deliveringgigabitandmultigigabitaccessto newmarketsacrosstheUnitedStates.This alsoincludesworkingonnewtechnologies andexperimentalspectrumtodelivergigabit speedstoresidentialclients.Furthermore, leadershipplanstopartnerwithlike-minded organizationstoexpandintosensornetworksand specificprojectsthatencompasspublicsafety,research, education,andmuchmore.
Skyler Ditcheld Co-founder & CEO
Ryan Hauf Co-founder & CTO
November3,1988,isconsideredasaturningpoint
intheworldofInternet.25YearsagoaCornell Universitygraduatestudentcreatedfirstcomputer wormontheInternet,“MorrisWorm.”TheMorrisworm wasnotadestructiveworm,butitpermanentlychangedthe cultureoftheInternet.BeforeMorrisunleashedhisworm, theInternetwaslikeasmalltownwherepeoplethought littleofleavingtheirdoorsunlocked.Internetsecuritywas seenasamostlytheoreticalproblem,andsoftwarevendors treatedsecurityflawsasalowpriority.
Today,thereisaparadigmshift,Morriswormwas motivatedmorebyintellectualcuriositythanmalice,butit isnotthecasetoday.Accordingtoa2015Report,71%of representedorganizationsexperienced,atleast,one successfulcyberattackinthepreceding12months(up from62%theyearprior).
Accordingtosurveyreport,disclosesthat,among5500 companiesin26countriesaroundtheworld,90%of businessesadmittedasecurityincident.Additionally,46% ofthefirmslostsensitivedataduetoaninternalorexternal securitythreat.OnaverageenterprisespayUS$551,000to recoverfromasecuritybreach.SmallandMediumbusiness spend38K.
Incidentsinvolvingthesecurityfailureofathird-party contractor,fraudbyemployees,cyberespionage,and networkintrusionappeartobethemostdamagingforlarge enterprises,withaveragetotallossessignificantlyabove othertypesofthesecurityincident.
Let’sTakeaLookatRecurrentSecurityThreatsTypesDenialofServiceAttacks
Adenialofservice(DoS)attackisanincidentinwhicha userororganizationisdeprivedoftheservicesofaresource theywouldnormallyexpecttohave.Theseattacksarevery common,accountingformorethanone-thirdofallnetwork attacksreviewedinthereport.Astandardapproachisto overloadtheresourcewithillegitimaterequestsforservice.
BruteForceAttacks
Bruteforceattacktriestokickdownthefrontdoor.It’sa trial-and-errorattempttoguessasystem’spassword.The BruteForceAttackpasswordcrackersoftwaresimplyuses allpossiblecombinationstofigureoutpasswordsfora computeroranetworkserver.Itissimpleanddoesnot employanyinventivetechniques.
IdentitySpoofing
IPspoofing,alsoknownasIPaddressforgery.Thehijacker obtainstheIPaddressofalegitimatehostandalterspacket headerssothattheregularhostappearstobethesource.An attackermightalsousespecialprogramstoconstructIP packetsthatseemtooriginatefromvalidaddressesinside thecorporateintranet.
BrowserAttacks
Browser-basedattackstargetenduserswhoarebrowsing theinternetwhichinturncanspreadinthewholeenterprise
network.Theattacksmayencouragethemtounwittingly downloadmalwaredisguisedasafakesoftwareupdateor application.Maliciousandcompromisedwebsitescanalso forcemalwareontovisitors’systems.
SSL/TLSAttacks
PenetrationTesting
Penetrationtestingisaformofhackingwhichnetwork securityprofessionalsuseasatooltotestanetworkforany vulnerabilities.DuringpenetrationtestingITprofessionals usethesamemethodsthathackersusetoexploitanetwork toidentifynetworksecuritybreaches.
Transportlayersecurity(TLS)ensurestheintegrityofdata transmittedbetweentwoparties(serverandclient)andalso providesstrongauthenticationforbothsides.SSL/TLS attacksaimtointerceptdatathatissentoveranencrypted connection.Asuccessfulattackenablesaccesstothe unencryptedinformation.SecureSocketsLayer(SSL) attacksweremorewidespreadinlate2014,buttheyremain prominenttoday,accountingfor6%ofallnetworkattacks analyzed.
NetworkSecurityisanessentialelementinany organization’snetworkinfrastructure.Companiesare boostingtheirinvestmentsinproactivecontrolandthreat intelligenceservices,alongwithbetterwirelesssecurity, next-generationfirewallsandincreasinglyadvanced malwaredetection. The U.S. Federal Government has spent $100 billion on cyber security over the past decade, $14 billion budgeted for 2016.
Increaseduseoftechnologyhelpsenterprisestomaintain thecompetitiveedge,mostbusinessesarerequiredto employITsecuritypersonnelfull-timetoensurenetworks areshieldedfromtherapidlygrowingindustryofcyber crime.Followingarethemethodsusedbysecurity specialiststofullproofenterprisenetworksystem-
IntrusionDetection
Intrusiondetectionsystemsarecapableofidentifying suspiciousactivitiesoractsofunauthorizedaccessoveran enterprisenetwork.Theexaminationincludesamalware scan,reviewofgeneralnetworkactivity,system vulnerabilitycheck,illegalprogramcheck,filesettings monitoring,andanyotheractivitiesthatareoutofthe ordinary.
NetworkAccessControl
NetworkAccessControlsaredeliveredusingdifferent methodstocontrolnetworkaccessbytheenduser.NACs offeradefinedsecuritypolicywhichissupportedbya networkaccessserverthatprovidesthenecessaryaccess authenticationandauthorization.
NetworkSecurityisaraceagainstthreats,andmany organizationsareapartofthisracetohelpenterprisesto securetheirnetworksystems.OrganizationslikeIBM, Symantec,Microsofthavecreatedsolutionstocounterthe globalproblemofnetworksecuritythreat.Thesecuttingedgeproductsshowgenuinepromiseandarealreadybeing usedbyenlightenedcompanies.
GoodNetworkSecuritySolutionsTraits
Arealsecuritysolutionshouldhavefourmajorcharacteristics;
Detect Threats
Targetedattacksaremulti-facetedandspeciallydesignedtoevademanypointtechnologiesattemptingtoidentifyand blockthem.Oncetheyareinside,theonlywaytofindthesecyberthreatsistounderstandthebehavioroftheindividual attackcomponentsanduseanalyticstounderstandtheirrelationships.
Respond Continuously
Todayitisnotimportantthatanorganizationwillbeattacked,butimportantandmorecrucialistoidentifywhenand howmuchtheycanlimittheimpactandcontaintheirexposure.Thismeanshavingthecapabilitytorespondquickly oncetheinitialincidenthasbeendiscovered.
Prevent Attacks
Malwareisgettingsquick-witteddaybyday.Theyutilizeheuristicstochangetheircodedynamically.Acapable solutionshouldhaveanadaptivearchitecturethatevolveswiththechangingenvironment,andthreatstoday’sbusiness faces.
Integration
Today’sthreatshavemultiplefacets,andasinglesoftwareorsolutionisnotsufficient.Protectionsystemshouldhave thecapabilitytointegratewithothersecuritytoolsfromdifferentvendorstoworktogetherasasingleprotectionsystem, actingasconnectivetissuefortoday’sdisjointedcybersecurityinfrastructure.
Solutions In Market
Likeinfectiousdiseases,cyberthreatswillneverbeeradicatedentirely,buttheycanbebettercontainedandunderstood, andtheireffectsminimized.Howcanthisbeachieved?IBMhasbuiltanenterprise-level“immunesystem,”anadaptive securityarchitecturetobattletoday’scyberpathogens.IBMhasdevelopedavastfleetofproducts,QRadar,X-Force ThreatIntelligence,TrusteerPinpointMalwareDetection,IBMThreatProtectionSystemadynamic,integratedsystem tomeddlethelifecycleofadvancedattacksandpreventloss.
TheIBMThreatProtectionSystemintegrateswith450securitytoolsfromover100vendorsactingasconnectivetissue fortoday’sdisjointedcybersecurityinfrastructure.
SymantecisanothermajorplayerincateringenterprisenetworksecuritysystemswithSymantecAdvancedThreat Protection.SymantecATPoperatesviaasingleconsoleandworksacrossendpoints,networks,andemails,integrating withSymantecEndpointProtection(SEP),andSymantecEmailSecuritycloud,whichmeansorganizationsdonotneed todeployanynewendpointagents.Symantecsays,ATPistheonlythreatprotectionappliancethatcanworkwithall threesensorswithoutrequiringadditionalendpointagents.WithATP,Symantec’sgoalistodeliverend-to-endthreat protection,prevention,detection,andresponseinasinglepaneofglass,offeringmorevaluetobusinessesthan individualpointproductscanprovide.SymantecAdvancedThreatProtectioncombinesmultiplelayersofprevention, detection,andresponse.
10
Ne working Solution Providers
Massive Networks: Seamless Businesses Operations
Itisvirtuallyimpossibletoimagineourprofessional andpersonalliveswithouttheInternet.Evenfiveminutelapseofdowntimecanwreakhavoconan organization.MassiveNetworksensuresthatnever happens.
MassiveNetworksspecializesinPremium-BlendedInternet andLayer2PrivateLineTransportconnectionsfromofficeto-office,datacenters,andcloudapplicationsforfacilities, includingthosethatarehardtoreach.
Withanetworkofoverthan1.7millionfiber-litbuildings nation-wide,thecompanycantransformclients’network connectivityfrombandwidth-intensiveserviceswithits OnePipeMulti-ConnectSolution.Withinitssolutionsets, itbuildscustom-designednetworksforeachcustomerusing itsblendednetworkapproachofLayer2andLayer3 networktechnologies.
Thisrevolutionarytechnologydesignoffersmultipleand dynamicstreamsofdatathroughasinglepipe,providing superiorperformanceandvalueforbandwidth-intensive serviceslikevoice,data,webservices,video,andbackups. Bestofall,thisisdeliveredonasinglehandofffromits fiberbackbone.
StreamliningEnterprise-ClassData
PaulMakoistheCEOandCTOofMassiveNetworks. BornandraisedinMinnesota,hegraduatedatthetopofhis classincomputerscienceandliteraturefromtheUniversity ofColorado.
Paulbeganhisjourneyincustomnetworkengineeringin 1996withInternetServiceProvider,RockyNet.He designedaproprietaryT1andsecurityservicesystemthat wentunchallengeduntiltheadventofVLANsin2000.
Besidesthesignificantinnovationsintechnology,Paulwas alsoabletoexpandtheinfrastructurewithinabuildingona success-basedbuild-out.Thisallowedhimtolightupboth largeandsmallbuildingsatalowcost.Whilethesecurity technologyhassincesurpassed,theinexpensivemodelfor lightingsmallbuildingscontinuestothriveandfind widespreadappeal.
Today,Pauloverseesthenetworkcustomization.Hisgoalis tostreamlineenterprise-classdatatransportservicesacross theentiredomesticcarriersystemandto181countries worldwide.Thisequatestoover1.7millionbuildings.
Withhisexperienceinthemergersandacquisitionsfield, Paulisactivelypursuingexpansionsthatcanbenefitthe enterprisesector.
TacklingChallengesandCompetition
AccordingtoMassiveNetworks,thetwomostcommon mistakesthatnetworkprovidersmakeareusingVirtual PrivateNetworks(VPNs)anddeployingMultiprotocol LabelSwitching(MPLs)devicesthattraversethepublic Internet.Thisexposesbusinessestodatabreachesonthe backend. MassiveNetworkseliminatesthisbydelivering solutionsthroughaLayer2platformthattakesbusinesscriticaldataoffthepublicInternet.
ThankstotheMassiveOnePipeMulti-ConnectSolution, theorganizationisnowabletopenetrateexisting infrastructureandmergemultipleanddynamicstreamsof datathroughasinglepipe.
Thisapproachprovidesthecompany’sclientswithsuperior performancefrombandwidth-intensiveserviceslikevoice, data,webservices,video,andbackups.Itgivesthemthe speed,performance,andsecuritytheyneedfortheirdaily operations.
ProvidingFully-ManagedSolutions
MassiveNetworkscorecompetencyisinCarrierEthernet andManagedNetworkingwithblendedbandwidthfor manyyears.
Mostcarriersofferbandwidththroughoneconnection; Massivedistinguishesitselfinitsuniqueabilitytomergeup to12carrierconnectionsonasinglesolution.Thoughtheir primaryfocusisnotbandwidth,thisblendedapproach providesclientswithan“alwayson,alwaysavailable” solutiontogivethecustomerwithreliableInternet.
Additionally,MassiveNetworksisknownforitsmultitasking circuitexpertise.
Massivehasfullyadoptedthecloud-serviceapproachthatthe telecomindustryisnowfacing.Byofferingcloudexchange servicesthatconnectdirectlytoallprimarycloudproviders,the MassiveCloudExchangeconnectionscanbypassthepublic Internet.Keepingbusinessdatawithincomplianceregulationsand secure.
MassiveNetworkscanextendanorganization’sWideArea Network(WAN)toincludesignificantcloudplatformsfromany location,eliminatingtheneedtobuyVPNsandMPLs.These platformsdeliveradvancedhigh-performanceconnectionsthatare secureanddedicatedtothebusiness.
ToughProblems,InnovativeSolutions
MassiveNetworkshasbeendesigning,procuring,building,and managingnetworksfortwodecades.Itsrelationshipswiththe primaryprovidersareinvaluable,andsupportedbyalargenumber oftie-upsithaswithlocalandregionalvendors.
ThecompanyrolledoutitsCloudMarketplaceplatforminthe fourthquarterof2017.Aswithallnewservicesandsolutions, spreadingtheword,buildingrelationships,anddevelopingthe productbrandcanbeabumpyroad.However,thequality, scalability,andsecurityofMassive’sproductshavetranslated intowidespreadappealanduptake.
Thecompany’sprimarygoalistoincreasetheirpenetrationof fiberlit-buildingsfrom2millionto5million.Additionally, MassiveNetworkswouldliketoexpanditsCloud Marketplacereachwithintheprivateandhybridcloud sectorsfrom6providerstohundreds.
AccordingtoMassiveNetworks,therehasbeen asignificantpushtowardsSoftware-Defined WideAreaNetworks(SD-WAN)overthepast twoyears.SomeofthebenefitsofSD-WAN arecloudsecurity,easierhybridcloud deployment,andapplicationperformance management.Themainproblemwiththisis thatitisdeliveredoveranincreasingly insecureInternet.
Thetimeforprivatenetworkingandmultitaskinglargerpipesisnow.CarrierEthernet, unlikeSD-WAN,isbuiltinaprivatenetwork outsideoftheInternet.ThedayswhenonlyBanks couldaffordthisaregone.CarrierEthernetoffersa significantupgradetoanysystem,andcanevenbe usedinahybridwithSD-WANwhereSD-WANisthe onlysolution.
Our blended managed network can deliver high-speed Internet and private line connections to 1.7 million ber-lit buildings, data centers, and cloud providers nationwide. “ ”
Paul Mako CEO & CTO
Rising Mobile Workforce and its Challenges in the Mobile-Cloud Era:
Mathivanan V Vice President ManageEngine
Data & Endpoint Management
Mobilityandcloud computingarerapidly becomingthenormfor enterprisesaroundtheworld.Inturn, enterpriseITdepartmentsarefacing newmanagementandsecurity challengesastheamountofbusiness datasoarsandthenumberof endpointsexplodes.Thequestion thatisdoingtheroundsiswhatIT teamsneedtoconsidertomanage andsecuretheirbusinessesinthis newera.
Industryanalystspredictdeep penetrationofenterprise mobilitybytheyear2020. IDC,forinstance,forecasts
thatmobileworkerswillaccountfor almost75percentofthetotal workforceintheU.S.Meanwhile, StrategyAnalyticsprojectsthatthe globalmobileworkforcewillreach 1.75billionusersandaccountfor42 percentoftheglobalworkforce overall.
Theeconomicperspectiveisjustas brightasabutton.Theglobal enterprisemobilitymarketwillbe worthasmuchas$140billion, predictstheNationalAssociationof SoftwareandServicesCompanies
Andtheinvestmentsarepayingoff. Todate,84percentofallcompanies whoconsiderthemselvesonthe cuttingedgeofmobilityreportan increaseinoverallproductivityasa directresultofincorporatingmobile appsintotheirbusiness,accordingto asurveybyAppsFreedom.
Likewise,enterprisesareexpectedto continuerelentlesslyadoptingcloud technologies.By2020,Gartner forecaststhepubliccloudservices marketwillreach$383billion.This includesspendingoncloudbusiness processservices,cloudapplication infrastructureservices,cloud applicationservices,cloud managementandsecurityservices, cloudsysteminfrastructureservices, andofcourse,cloudadvertising.
Theflipsideofincreasingenterprise mobilityandcloudusageisthe increasingrisktoenterprisesecurity. Today,mostusershaveatleasttwo endpoints–alaptopandmobile device–and80percentofnetwork devicesarebeendpointsthatare constantlyconnectedtotheinternet andexposedtoitsthreatssuchas Meltdown,Spectre,Wannacry,and Petya.
Moretroubling,thetypicalenduser haslittleknowledgeofthosethreats ortheirramifications.Theresultis moreusersaremorelikelytoleak enterprisedatabyusing compromisedwebsitesandrogue onlineservices.TheCVElisted 14,712cybersecurityvulnerabilities for2017andhasalreadylisted2,848 forthefirsttwomonthsof2018.In response,vendorslargeandsmallare releasingpatchesonadailybasis. EnterpriseITteamsclearlyneedto focusonendpointsecurity managementtoensurebusiness successinthemobile-cloudera.
Endpointsecuritychallenges
Keepingendpointsuptodatewith thelatestversionsoftheirOSesand applicationshasbecomeafull-time job,onethatisgettingharderto performinthemobileenterprise.A growingchallengeisthediversityof endpointoperatingsystemsthatmust bemanaged,includingAndroid,iOS, MacOS,Windows,Linux,and ChromeOS.Foreach,theITteam mustlearnthatOSalongwithits correspondingpatchingtechnique. Likewise,applicationsacquiredfrom thevariousappstoresaremanaged withdifferenttechniquesthatmustbe learnedandmasteredsothattheteam cansecuretheendpoints.
Anotherchallengeismanagingthe endpointsfromdayone,especially mobiledevices.Whileit’sbeen relativelyeasyforITadminsto installagentsoftwareondesktops andlaptops,smartphonesandother mobiledevicesmakelifeharderfor theadminsbecausethedevicesare rarelyifeverconnectedtothe corporatenetwork.Consequently, devicesmustbeprovisionedwiththe
necessarymobiledevice managementsoftwarebeforetheyare giventoendusers.Devicesthatare notappropriatelymanagedare securityrisks,sonobusiness applicationshouldbeinstalledorrun onthem.
Relatedtotheday-onemanagement challengeisupdatingendpointsthat areonthego,anytimeandanywhere. ITteamsmustbeabletoinstall criticalpatcheswhileemployeesare traveling,commuting,orotherwise offsite.
Dataleakagepresentsyetanother securitychallengeforITteamsto overcome.Dataleakagecanhappen withorwithouttheusers’knowledge. Forinstance,usersmayknowingly copybusinessdatatoaUSBdevice oruploadittoacloudstorage service.Theymayalsounknowingly exposethatdatatoapubliccloud servicewhenusingthird-partyapps suchasdocumentviewersand predictivekeyboardapps.Suchapps maycompromiseuserIDsand passwords,accountnumbers,and othersensitiveenterprisedataby exposingittopubliccloudservices.
Whenauser’sdeviceislostor stolen,theITteammustbeableto trackandrecoverthedeviceorwipe thedataifthedeviceisn’trecovered. Tomaintaintheuser’sprivacy, however,theITteamcannot continuouslytrackthelocationofthe user’sdevice.
BYODpresentsanotherprivacyvs securitychallenge:Whenusersuse theirowndevicesforbusiness purposes,privacyneedstobe maintained.Photos,contacts,and otherpersonaldatashouldnotbe
managedbycompany’smobiledevicemanagementapp. Ontheotherhand,securityneedstobemaintained,too. Tothatend,theITteamshouldcreateacontaineronthe user’spersonaldevice–asecure,managedareathat isolatesbusinessemail,CRM,andotherenterpriseapps anddatafromtherestofuser’spersonalapps/data.
Toestablishstrongendpointsecurityandprevent unwantedattacks,ITteamsmustapplystrictsecurity policiesontheirendpoints.Laptops,forinstance,should alwaysrunafirewall,preventthecreationofunwanted networkshares,andencryptdataviaBitLockeror FileVault.Suchsecuritypoliciescanprotectenterprises fromthesecurityrisksposedbymobility.
Predictingthedevelopmentofdataandendpoint management
Goingforward,machinelearningandAIwillhelpmake dataandendpointmanagementaproactive,ratherthana reactiveprocess.Forinstance,thesetechnologiescould preventdatatheftbydetectinganomaliessuchas unusualloginactivitiesoranunusuallylargenumberof documentsbeinguploadedtothecloud.Theycould analyzetherootcauseofpatchdeploymentfailuresand suggestfixes.Theycouldalsodetectsystemidletimes –duringlunchhours,forinstance–todeploypatchesas
soonaspossibleratherwaituntilafterhoursor weekends,whichcanleavesystemsunnecessarily vulnerable.
Meanwhile,theinternetofthings(IoT)willintroduce manyorganizationstoanewbreedofendpointsand connecteddevices.UnliketheiriOS-andAndroidpoweredpredecessors,IoTdeviceswillberunningmany differentOSesandapplications,allofwhichmaybe vulnerableyetmustbemanagedandsecured.
Finally,mostbusinessapplicationsaremovingtothe cloudandaccessedviabrowser,effectivelymakingthe browseranendpoint.Thatmeanstodefendagainst attacks,ITteamsneedtomanagebrowsersandperform allsecurityoperationsforthemjustasiftheywere desktops,laptops,oranyotherdevice.
Asorganizationscontinuetoadoptmobilityandthe cloud,theymustalsoadoptthepracticesnecessaryto supportthisnewreality.Dataandendpointsecurityand managementarepriorityoneinITdepartments.Forthe vastmajorityofcompaniesaroundtheworld,theirfuture successdependsonrecognizingandcommittingtothat priority.
Redpine Signals: Driving Wireless Convergence
Withavisionof“DrivingWireless Convergence”intonewmarketsby deliveringinnovative,ultra-lowpowerand multi-protocolproductsfortheInternet-of-Things market,RedpineSignalswasfoundedbackin2001.The IoTmarketsthatRedpinetargetsincludeindustrial, medical,wearables,home/buildingautomation,home appliances,automotive,audioandvideoandsmart energysector.
A“CultureofInnovation”iscoretoRedpineSignals whichhas-overits16-yearexistence-investedover 5000man-yearsofeffortintheresearchand developmentofnext-generationwirelesstechnologies. ThishasresultedinRedpinehavingbeenissuedover65 patentswithanadditional100pluspending.Redpinehas evolveditstechnologyportfoliofromWi-Fionlyto multi-protocolwireless,tointegrated wireless/networkingsoftware,tocloud-basedsolutions withmachinelearningandartificialintelligence capabilitiestosatisfytheever-increasingrequirementsof theIoTmarket.Akeydifferentiatorofthecompanyisits continuedabilitytodeliveracompleteultra-lowpower solution(silicon,device,software,system)thatenable IoTdesignerstogettomarketquicklyandeasily.
RedpineSignal’sgoalhasalwaysbeentobeanIoT solutionprovider.Thecompanyrecognizedearly-onthat mostIoTdevelopmenttimewasbeingspenton
10
Ne working Solution Providers
addressingintegrationissuesofchipsets,modules, devices,andcloud.Andwhilethemarkethasalways beenfullofpointproducts,Redpinewasthefirsttooffer anend-to-endultra-lowpowerIoTsolution.This strategycontinuestobenefitRedpineasthecompany growsitsbusinessintonewmarketsandapplicationsthat needcomplete,lowpowerandsecurewirelesssolutions.
AnExperiencedLeader
Withexperienceofmorethan30yearsinthe semiconductorindustry,VenkatMattelaisthe ChairmanandCEOofRedpineSignals.Fromdayone, hisvisionfortheIoT/Embeddedindustryhasbeento provideacompletesolutionthatmakesiteasyforIoT vendorstoaddconnectivitytoproductsthatpreviously werenotconnected.Whiletheindustryhasneverlacked wirelesschipsets,ithasalwayslackedcomplete solutionswithultra-lowpowerconsumptionthatIoT vendorscouldusetoquicklyandcost-effectivelygetto market.WithRedpineSignals,Venkathasbroughtthis solutionsfocustotheIoTmarket,anditiswhatthe companycontinuestooffertodayasitdriveswireless connectivityandlowpowercapabilitiesintomany markets.
BeforefoundingRedpineSignals,Venkatservedas DirectoroftheNetworkMediaPlatformsGroupof AnalogDevices(ADI).Hewasresponsibleforthe product,strategyandbusinessdevelopmentforwireless mediaconnectivitysolutions.VenkatalsoledtheVLSI developmentfromconceptengineeringtoreleaseof multipleindustry-leadingnetworkingsiliconproducts resultinginamulti-million-dollarproductline.Priorto joiningADI,healsoservedasDirectoratInfineon Technologiesandwasresponsibleformicro-architecture anddesignoftheTriCoreMCU-DSPprocessor.Heled theteamtotakethearchitecturetomultiplesilicon implementations.
TacklingChallengesandCompetitions
TheIoTmarketrequiresdevicesthatcanstayconnected tothenetworkround-the-clock,drivingtheneedfor ultra-lowpowerconnectivitysolutions.IoTdevicesalso needtosupportmultiplewirelessprotocolsinorderto connecttothecloud,connecttootherdevices,aswellas supportprovisioning.Inaddition,securityisamajor issuefortheIoTmarket,makingitcriticalfordevice makerstoprovidemultiplelevelsofsecurity.
Redpine’sproductsaddressallthesechallenges.Itstechnology spansawiderangeofwirelessprotocols(802.11abgn,dualmodeBluetooth5,802.15.4/ZigBee/Thread,802.11p), integratessecurity,andisbasedonanextensivepatent portfolioofOFDM,MIMO,embeddedprocessorarchitectures andlow-powertechniques.Mostrecently,inDecember2017, thecompanyfurtheradvanceditstechnologyleadershipby launchingtheindustry’slowestpowerwirelessMCUand connectivitysolutionsforbattery-operateddevices.Theultralowpowercapabilitiesofthesenewproductsenablebatteryoperateddevicessuchassecuritycameras,smartlocks,video doorbells,fitnessbands,industrialsensorsandlocationtagsto haveoverthreetofourtimesmorebatterylifecomparedto competingsolutions.
Redpine’sofferingsincludeboththehardwareandthesoftware ascertified(regulatoryandprotocolcompliance)differentiated sub-systemstoprovideflexibilityandeaseofintegrationtothe systemintegrator.Thissingle-stopapproachenablesRedpine todeliveranoptimalwirelesssolutiontomeetcustomer’s requirementsatanoptimalpricepoint.
InnovatingtheFuture
Withmorethan65issuedpatentsand100pluspending, Redpineofferstechnologyandproductsthatcovermultiple marketsegmentsintheIoTmarket.Redpinecontinuesto innovatebydevelopingthenext-generationofwireless technologies,addingmoreprocessingpowerfor applications,providingmoresupportforcloud connectivityandfurtherreducingthepower consumptionofthedevices.Redpinehasalways beenaproviderofacompletewireless connectivitysolution,andwillenhancethis withapplication-specificsolutionstofurther reducetimetomarketforIoTdevice makers.RedpineSignalswillcontinueits missionof“DrivingWireless Convergence.”
A “Culture of Innovation" is core to Redpine Signals “ ”
Venkat Mattela Chairman & CEO
Networking Industry: An Innovative Future for Enterprises
Networkingisaninventiveideagroupedwith otherprominentcomputingterms.Ifonedoesn’t maintainattentionandfocuswhileexploring thisdomain,theremightbeagenuinedamagetothe reasoningofprogressiveness,andthiscanresultina breakdownofanorganization’ssystem.Insomecases,it possiblyisdirectandinsomecases,itwillbeindirect, yetonthewhole,italwayshasaneffect.Thefateof technologyisbrilliant,andthatisessentiallyrelianton howweinfluencetheassetstooverseewhatwehave today.Tomakeitpossible,thenetworkingservice providersmustincludeagreateramountofnaturalsense intheirsolutionsandindustrygrowth.
Networksareunderextremepressureduetothechanges inITtrendsalongwiththeriseofvirtualizationand cloud.Insteadoftraditionalhardwarespeedsandfeeds, thenetworkingindustryisdevelopingrapidlytofocus moreonsoftware.Thisimpliesaconsiderablemeasure ofnewoptionsandchangesinthewayofnetworking professionals.
InnovationinTechnology
Drivinginterestfornetworkingdevicesandhardwareare progressiveinfoundation.TheFirst-Generation(1G) systemthatconveyedstraightforwardvoiceservices werebasedonsimpletechnology.Second-Generation (2G)systemsweredigital,givingenhancedservices.3G infrastructureofferedmorepowerfulvoiceand
informationcapacities,includingvideo,music,and picturedownloads.
Advancedinnovationhasdevelopedfromthesecondgeneration;TDMAtoCDMA,CDMA2000toWCDMA,athird-generationofCDMAthatwasconsistent withGSM,andLongTermEvolution(LTE),or4Gwas presentedin2010after3G(UMTSandCDMA2000). Networkingorganizationshavehadtostayawareofthis innovationtoremainaggressive.
However,anothersystemadvancementisinprogress, thatof5G.NR,orNewRadio,isaneconomicalupdate of4Ginnovation.
ServiceCapabilities
Theserviceprovidersavailmonitordata,support,voice andsecurityat24x7x365basisfromNetworkand SecurityOperationCenters(SOC).Theirservicesare
suchasNetworkMonitoring,Riskmanagement,AutogeneratedProblemAlerts,advancedNMSandOSS, RedundantNOCandCustomerPortal.SecurityServices includelatestSecuritySystems,IntrusionDetectionand unnecessarySOC.Theyalsoprovidesupportinsucha mannerthatthenetworksystemsperformtotheir maximumstrength,andyoureceiveresponsivetechnical feedtimely.Theserviceprovideralsoenablesyouto visualizenetworkstatusandperformance.
RequiredNetworkingSystemandTools
TheITNetworkSolutionsServiceProviderscansecure, unite,andmanagealltheirservices,providing organizations,economicalwaystoconnecttheirbusiness locationstotheInternetandbusinesspartners. Networkingserviceprovidershandledaytoday operationsandmanagementofnetworksofanenterprise. Theyalsoprovidehardwareinfrastructurethatincludes
Ethernet,cables,DSL,DS3,T1,bondedT1,wireless broadband,andsoon.Theyequipthesystemwith Virtualprivatenetworks(VPNs)basedonSecure SocketsLayer(SSL)andMultiprotocolLabelSwitching (MPLS)toprovideremotesitesandaccesstobusiness networksecurelythroughinternet.Thesametrackis usedtotransportthevoiceanddatatraffic.Theymanage thecompletesecuritysystemtoreducetheriskof attacks,spams,networkdisturbances,virusesandmany moreconsequences.Installationoftoolsthatarebuilton totheessentialfirewallfunctionalityandofferadvanced routingoptions,controlledaccess,redundancy,deep packetinspection,reportingtoolsandadditional managementistheirresponsibility.
SolutionforDataTraffic
Aspertherapidincreaseoftheindustrythereisaneed ofdatacentersolutionproviderstocontinuethebusiness
andmanyorganizationsareaccomplishingthisneedby hostingbusinessapplicationsandmaintainingthe continuity.Theseorganizationsaretryingtoarrange advanceddatacenterswitchingnetworkfromthe availablemainstreamandglobalacceptanceofserver virtualization.Thismakessignificantlymoreforwardlookingchancesofcloudcomputinganddesktop virtualization.
Itseemsthatawiderangeofinnovationscanbe observedinkeyareassuchasnetworkingsecurity, networkintelligenceandanalytics,branchoffice connectivityandmanyothersectionswiththe involvementofcloud-firstapproach.
ThreatHunting
Thefundamentalnecessityofthreathuntingistosearch outtheindicationsofsecuritybeingjeopardizedandto resolvetheissuebeforetime.Itisaprocedureofmaking proactiveeffortstorecognizeadvancedriskthatby-pass thetraditionalsecuritysolutions.Thisisthedissimilarity oftheexemplaryriskmanagementmeasures.
Theprocedureofthethreathuntingbeginsbymaking theoriesaboutpotentialthreats.Itistrustedthathunting
isarepetitiveprocedureandmustbecompletedina circleincontinuum,beginningwithatheory.The theoryisadditionallyexpoundedinthreedivisions beingexaminationdriven,situationalalertdrivenand insightdriven.
Securityisanimportantadvantageofincludingthreat huntinginasystemanditalsoallowsfewdifferent advantageslikereducetheresidetime,quickaccurate response,timetoidentifyandprevent,introductionto attacksurfaces,reasonablethoughtregardingthe quantityofopeningsagainstthequantityofdetections andpresentationtoexternalthreats,decreasing recurrenceofdangers.
Fortheincrementofanyenterprise,securityisan essentialpartandifwetalkaboutnetworkingsystem it’sonpriority.Toachievethegoals,foracompany, securitysystemisnecessarilyrequiredthatincreases theimportanceandrequestsofthenetworkingservice providers.Forenhancingtheflowofoperationinan organization,theentrepreneursneedtoensurethatthe networkinginfrastructureusedbythecorporationmust beequippedwiththelatesttechnologyandofsuperior qualitythatcanidentifyevennegligibleconcerns.
TWHATGDPR FORGETS: PHYSICAL SECURITY
THE GDPR PHYSICAL SECURITY
heEU’sGDPRlegislaturewillhaveconsequences foreverycompanydoingbusinessinEurope, includingAmericancompanies.Thenewdirective promisessizeablefinestoanyonethatdoesnottake personaldataseriously.Meanwhile,thedatacenter companyDigiPlexurgescompaniestofocusonanother importantaspect:physicalsecurity.
TheGeneralDataProtectionRegulation’s(GDPR)purpose istoharmonizelegislationrelatedtopersonalinformation acrosstheEU’smemberstates.Itdoeshoweveralsocreate radicalchallengesforAmericanbusinessesholding informationonEUcustomers.ComeMay2018,whenthe legislationentersintoforce,companieswillhavepublicly disclosedhowthedataisused,inadditiontooffering transparencyforindividualsseekingaccesstotheirdata. TheGDPRincludesasanctionmechanism,andthefinesfor non-compliancecanreach4percentofacompany’sannual revenue.
Business will obviously change for everyone not taking personal information seriously. This will clearly raise awareness regarding how the data is secured, but it’s also vital not to forget where the information is located, says DigiPlexCEO,GisleM.Eckhoff.
Movingdatatosafety
Americancomputersecuritycompany,McAfee,publisheda studyofover800companyleadersfromdifferentsectors. Thereportrevealsthat50percentoftherespondentsstate thattheywouldliketomovetheirdatatoamoresecure location.AmotivatingfactoristhenewEUlegislation.The reportalsorevealsthat74percentofthebusinessleaders specifiedthattheythoughtprotectingthedatacorrectly wouldattractnewcustomers.
Data security is not just about protecting yourself against hacking and other digital threats. The overall security critically depends on where your data is stored. Companies who actively select a secure data centre to host their data will gain a competitive advantage in the market as the management of personal information is in the spotlight, saysEckhoff
Physicalsecurityisforgotten
WhileEU-basedcompaniesareintheprocessofadapting totheGDPR,Gartnerpredictedonly50percentof Americanfirmswillbereadyforthestrictregulationbythe endof2018.It’sprimarilythelargestcompaniesandpublic enterprisesthatarefurthestalongintheprocessof adaptation.AccordingtoEckhoff,theyareusuallytheones thatarethemostconcernedwithdatasecurityandwhereit isstored.Fireandoperationalsafetyaretwoobvious challenges,butphysicalsecurityalsoincludessecuring yourselfagainsttheft.
Several smaller businesses and organizations keep their data servers at their offices, and the physical security in many of the smaller data centers is almost absent. If your data is stored in such a data center, where someone easily could break in and physically remove the hardware containing your information, then you are very vulnerable — both operationally and in relation to GDPR
AtDigiPlex’sdatacenters,severallayersofsecurityensure thesafetyofthedataandthepersonalinformationthatis storedthere.Physicalsecurityisoneofthemost complicatedandexpensivefeatureswhenbuildingor updatingadatacenter.Thatiswhynewlyestablisheddata centershavetoreachcriticalmass,allowingthemtostore enoughdatatocompensateforthelargesecurity investment.
About The Author
Gisle M. Eckhoff joined DigiPlex in August 2014 as Chief Executive Ofcer. He brings nearly thirty years’ experience in senior positions in the IT industry in the US, Sweden, UK and Denmark as well as at home in Norway.
Gisle is the former Senior Vice President and Managing Director of CGI’s operation in Norway, and has also held a number of senior management roles at both country and regional levels in CSC Computer Sciences Corporation. The experience and knowledge gained from heading up the Financial Services vertical in the Nordic region, before becoming Vice President and Managing Director of CSC in both Norway and Sweden, is of great value when implementing DigiPlex’ growth strategy in the Nordic markets.
Gisle holds a Degree in Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Management.
AdaptingtoGDPR
Oneconsiderationtotake,aswearegettingclosertothe implementationdateofGDPR,iswhereyourdatacenter shouldbelocated.SeveralUSbasedcompaniesarealready relocatingtheircenterstotheEUinordertocomply. Multipledatabaseprovidersarehelpingnon-EUcompanies organizeandsegregateEUdatafromotherpersonal information.Thedatacenterindustryiswellestablishedin Europe,andsomeofthemostcostandclimateefficient centersarelocatedintheNordiccountries.
IntheNordics,thecoolclimatehelpschilldownvast amountsofhardwarethatotherwisewouldhavebeen
cooleddownsolelybyelectricity.Additionally,the electricitythatisrequiredbydatacenterstoruntheir operationsissuppliedthrougheasyaccesstoaffordable renewableenergy.
In recent years, we have seen political turbulence in larger parts of the world, Europe included. The stabile political environment in the Nordic countries is also a climate to consider, as the establishment of data centers is a long-term investment, saysEckhoff.
Solution Providers
Turn-key Technologies: A Networking Key
to Thrive in IT
Thefutureiswireless.Wi-Finetworkshave becomesoubiquitousthatmostmobiledevices connecttotheWorldWideWebthroughWi-Fi hotspots.Thisisthetrendbothinthehomeandinthe workplace,andtheeaseandconvenienceinherentin wirelesstechnologydrivesitspopularity.
Voice-over-Wi-Fimobiletelephonyforenterprisewas firstrolledoutinthelate1990sathealthcarefacilities.It waslargelyunsuccessfulasWi-Finetworkscouldnot adequatelysupportvoicedata. Furthermore,many networkingcompaniesthatinstalledtheWiFinetworks didnotfullyunderstandhowthatcomponentfitintothe biggerpictureofwirelesstechnology.
Thousandsofcompaniestriedtheirhandattheemerging technologybutveryfewofthemhavebeenabletopullit offglobally.Turn-keyTechnologies(TTI)isoneofthe fewthathas.
EvolvingtoMarketNeeds
Turn-keyTechnologies,Inc.wasincorporatedin1991. Itsfocuswasonemergencycommunicationsfor healthcareandsimilarorganizationswithmobile personnel.Thecompanyinitiallyutilizedradio communicationsasameanstonotifylargenumbersof staffofemergencies,suchasa‘CodeBlue’withina
hospital,oramasspersonnelrecalltoamilitarybase. Thecompany’ssuccessesinthisareamadeitthego-to resourceforWi-Fimanufacturerswhoneededsuccessful outcomes.
Originally,TTI’sfocuswasonwirelesscommunications, notIT,butitexpandedthespectrumofitsservicesin responsetocustomers’demands.
Today,TTIoffersafullsuiteofnetworkingsolutions fromdatacenter,core,andedgeswitchingtoindoorand outdoorwireless. Additionally,itfacilitatesnetwork security,cloudsecurityandmanagedsolutions. The companyalsohasaphysicalsecuritydivisionwiththe latestinIPvideosurveillancewithanalytics,loneworker protection,mobileduressalarmsandaccesscontrol.
AthirddivisionofTTIisawholesalecablemanufacturer andsupplier.Thecompanyevenhasfull-timeteamsof structuredcablinginstallers.Thiswidearrayofservices hasbeenemployedbymanyglobalcompaniesworking invariousverticals.
TheprimereasonbehindTTI’ssuccessisitsunwavering focusonitscustomersandtheirneeds.Thecompany investsconsiderabletimeandresourcesinpre-sales designandconsultations.Thisensuresthatthecompany istakingallofaclient’scurrentandfutureneedsinto accountinthedesignprocess.
Afterinstallation,TTIprovidesoneyearofunlimited accesstoitsservices,24x7x365TACatnocharge.The entireteamofengineersworksextensivelytohelp customersoverthehumpoflearninganewsystem,and actasanextensionofthecustomer’sITdepartmentfor oneyear.
AnEminentLeader
CraigBadrick,PresidentofTTI,isprominentinthe Networkingarena.HejoinedTTIin1992asaRegional SalesManager.Craig’shardworkandleadership qualitiesearnedhimtheappointmentasPresidentand CEOinMarchof1999.
TTIhasexperiencedgrowthofoveronethousand percentunderMr.Badrick’sguidance.Hehasbeen instrumentalinsecuringacontractwiththeVeterans Administrationtosupplynarrowbandemergency communicationssystemsforoveronehundredVA
HospitalsacrosstheUSA.TTIcompletedthetransitioninless thantwoyears.
Suchsignificantclientrelationshaveplayedanimportantrole incompany’sdevelopments.TTIhasbecomeatrueleaderin wirelesscommunicationsacrossmultipleplatformsand manufacturersunderCraig’sastuteleadership.
Overthepastthreeyearsalone,TTIhasbeenincludedon Inc.’slistof5000Fastest-GrowingPrivateCompanies,20 MostPromisingWirelessProvidersandTop10Network DesignandIntegrationServiceCompanies.
OvercomingEarlyChallenges
Craigrecalls, “Originally, as we were not a networking company, our growing pains were centered on networking standards and understanding how a network works from A-Z.”
Thecompanyhadavisionbutfindingtheresourcesrequired wasanotherchallenge.Thus,livinguptonetworkingstandards wasatoughask.However,thecompanyeducatedits relativelynewbutpromisingengineers,andhirednetworking specialists.Itsfocusonassimilatingessentialcertifications alsosmoothenedtheprocess.
Turn-KeyAssociateEngineersholdthehighest manufacturerandagnosticcertificationsacrossallfacets ofbusiness,andplayacriticalroleindeliveringthe qualitysolutionsforwhichthecompanyisknown.
GainingTrustwithBest-in-ClassSolutions
TTIiscommittedtoitsjourneyasatrusted advisortoitsclients.Theprimaryaimisto providethemthedesignsolutionsand supporttheyneedwithuncompromising agility,andtothriveontheglobalstage throughinnovation.
We make IT simple. “ ”
Craig Badrick President & CEO
The Impressive Impact of OrganicNetworking
Themainreasonfortheinventionofwebsite, Internetandtechnologydevicesthatprovidesthe platformforsoftwaretorunandconnectwitheach otherismainlytomakenetworkingofservices,products andpeoplepossible.TechnologyleaderssuchasCisco, AristaandApplearededicatingtheirresourcestoprovide variousbusinessenterprisesandthemassestheabilityto communicatetheirvaluesthroughtechnologymediums calledasNetworking.
Theworksandprovisionsoftheseorganizationsarevery outstanding,andarebelievedtolastforages.Thisis becausethegrowthoftechnologyisnotgoingoutofstyle sosoon,butratheritisbelievedtocontinueintothefuture. Technologynetworkingstrategiesisgood,buttomakeit moreeffectivethereistheincessantneedtoincorporate organicstrategies.
YoumaybeaskingwhatImeanbyOrganicNetworkingor Strategies.Theorganizationthatwillsurviveinthemarket inthenearfuture,consideringtheincreasingrateof competitionaretheoneswhotakethenecessarysteps,to developmorehumanconnectionfortheirbusiness,more thantheydoformachinessuchasprovidedbyAI.
TheFactorstoConsiderforanEffectiveOrganic Networking:
Evenasourageisencouragingmoreoftechnology strategies,ifwemustsurvivethefutureofitall,thenwe mustconnectmorepeople,thanwedoformachines.Asan
innovativenetworkingsolution provider,itisgoingtopaymore,when youincludehumanintelligenceand physicalityinyournetworking strategiesovermachines.
Imagineadaythatthemachinesare goingtohaveaseriousbreakdown, andtheownerorganizationdonothave thecapablepersonstofigureoutthe causeofthebreakdownandpossibly provideafeasiblesolution?Whatwill bethefateoftheorganization?This meansthat,therewillbeagreatlossof valueandpossiblyastrikeoffthe industry.Iknowyouwouldneverwant thattohappen.So,planfromnow,to neverpayforthelossinthefuture.
BalanceYourPeopletomachine Deployment:
SocialMediasarefornetworking, NewspapersandvariousMediasare alsofornetworking,butthereare peoplebehindthearcofthis innovation.Themoreyouincorporate AIandmachinelearningstrategies, alwaysremembertheneedforControl Engineersandthosearehumanbeings. Themostsuccessfulorganizations identifythemajorimportanceof
peoplenetworkingandhowbestto utilizehumanintelligenceintheir businessquest.
Forexample;ifyouwriteanarticle andshareitonawebsite,whodoyou expecttoreadyourarticle;human beingsormachines?Itisobviousthat theorganicnetworkingaspectof computingwillnevergooutofstyle; else,therewillbeadayinthefuture thatdigitalconnectionandvalueswill bemeasuredonthenumberofbotsthat readyourarticlesand/orthatpaidfor yourservices.So,remembertobalance therateofyourpeopletomachine deployment,byacknowledgingthe needofhumannetworkingover technologynetworking.
TheNeedforOrganicSensein NetworkingandtheFuture:
Technologyisthemiracleofourage, ArtificialIntelligenceisamajor moldingfactorofthisdevelopment, IoTistheliberatorfrommachine isolationbyprovidingtheplatformto interconnectmillionsofthemoverthe virtualplatforms,buthumansmake thesethingspossible.
Networkingisaninnovativeconcept withhighprofiletechnologyterms.If onedoesnotimploredeepinterestand concentrationwhileexploringthis realm,theremaybeaseriousdistortion oforiginalmotiveofindulgence,and thiscanleadtoseriousbreakdownof enterpriseinfrastructure.Sometimes,it maybedirectandothertimes,itwillbe indirect,butinall,itwillalwayshave animpact.Thefutureoftechnologyis verybright,andthatismainly dependentonhowavailablewemake theresourcestohelpmanagewhatwe havetodayinthenearfuture.Forthis tobepossible,thenetworkingsolution providersmustincorporatemoreof organicsenseintheirsolutionsand industryadvancements.
Technologywilladvance,more machineswillbeconnected,devices willbeprogrammedtorun independently,butinallthesethings, thehumansinthenetworkwillstill ruletheuniverse.Themoreorganic youmakeyournetworkingstrategies, thelesserthefearofadisastrousfuture foryourorganization.
