The latest News and Information on IT Networks and related technologies.
As consumers, we are all intimately aware of our individual dependence on the internet. Now consider that dependency and apply it to the business-critical services that your company uses daily. Nearly overnight, companies are at the mercy of the internet, a network of public networks as nearly all employees work remotely and apps that were once hosted internally move to external SaaS providers.
It was at the turn of the millennium. I was one of the first engineers entrusted with the job of installing Network Computers, the thin client that Oracle had just introduced as an alternative to personal computers. During the process, as I described the benefits of network computing and three-tier architecture to customers, there was a palpable skepticism all around. Twenty years have passed since. Client-server gave way to three-tier architecture, and with the internet came cloud computing.
The major challenge facing communications service providers (CSPs) is not about handling ever-growing bandwidth demands without increasing Capex. Smart selection of network technologies that leverage advances in aggregating, routing, and transmitting bits largely have the answer for that. The much more pressing challenge is on the services front, from competition, substitution, and the inability to maximize revenues. These concerns reduce the top line and restrict CSPs’ ability to maneuver.
