How Adaptive Networking Solutions Benefit Tech Companies

Change is one of the constants in the universe. Nobody feels that more acutely than the technology sector, where new initiatives like digital transformation are driving rapid, disruptive change in IT organizations. Today, as the pace of disruption increases, keeping up with that change takes on new urgency for adopting innovative adaptive networking solutions that improve flexibility and provide significant cost savings.

In an environment of constant change, the ability to adapt on the fly is key to surviving and thriving. Technology and services providers (TSPs) are at the forefront of adopting innovative adaptive networking solutions. Adaptive networking is defined as a collection of software-defined functions that together deliver high-performance, flexible, and secure connectivity.

For TSPs, flexible, scalable, secure, high-performance networks are considered mandatory to enable and secure the business. It’s not just about operational efficiency and cutting costs; adaptive networking also frees up budget for strategic investments in projects that benefit other parts of the business. This may include developing and deploying new applications, automating processes, enhancing network functionality and expanding data center and cloud connectivity.

In a recent survey sponsored by CenturyLink, market research firm Ovum found significant improvements in flexibility, management and cost savings among software and technology organizations that leveraged adaptive networking technologies. The biggest adaptive networking improvements realized by TSP IT departments included:

• 36% easier management with more flexible bandwidth
• 46% greater cost savings with SD-WAN
• 52% improved deployment flexibility with hybrid networking
• 46% improved deployment flexibility with NFV

Adaptive networking components include software defined WAN (SD-WAN); hybrid networking that combines MPLS VPN and public internet services; flexible bandwidth on demand to endpoints; dynamic WAN ports into data centers and clouds; network function virtualization (NFV); and Data Access on Demand (DAoD) capabilities. TSPs are embracing adaptive networking as a way to make their businesses more agile. This approach can reap tremendous rewards in improved performance and reduced costs. For example, complex database queries that traditionally took hours to run can now be completed in minutes.

Many TSPs rely on custom-built applications and depend on adaptive networking technologies to optimize performance and reliability. This allows them to be more able to adapt to rapid shifts in the market by rolling out new functionality or scaling network bandwidth up or down to meet demand. Applications that benefit most from adaptive networking practices include:

• Applications lifecycle management
• Software-as-a-Service
• Applications stress testing
• Contact center and customer relationship management (CRM)
• Digital applications and microservices
• Operational analytics

Read the full Ovum report.

Learn how CenturyLink’s full range of adaptive networking solutions can enhance digital transformation and business innovation for your organization.

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