Key Points:
- MEF, the international organization that was instrumental in driving the success of carrier Ethernet, is driving industry NaaS efforts by bringing together service providers, equipment vendors, and industry groups to develop certifications and specifications to support NaaS services.
- Initially, most of the group's efforts centered on the service providers and vendors whose solutions would enable NaaS services. But in the last year,
MEF Forum
has worked to bring enterprise users who consume those services into the fold.
- In August, we talked with
Sunil Khandekar
, Chief Enterprise Development Officer, MEF, about the work of the council over the last year. At that time, he noted that council members had provided input on two issues on which MEF had started projects.
- The new API was developed in collaboration with MEF’s Enterprise Leadership Council (ELC). The council was formed last year at MEF’s Global NaaS Event (GNE). It includes senior executives representing major enterprise vertical markets (finance, retail, healthcare, media, and more) with mission-critical network infrastructures.
- The demand to securely connect users and increasingly devices (i.e., IoT sensors and alike) is forcing enterprises to rethink their connectivity strategies. Just as cloud computing services disrupted the data center, NaaS offers a similar model for networking, one where subscription-based services are available on-demand and can be easily scaled up or down to meet demands.
- For this to happen, the networks supporting NaaS services will need to be fully API-driven. That requires standards-based and end-to-end automation. Work on?standards-based APIs?has been underway for several years.
You already know that every day at Network Computing brings the how and why behind next-gen networks, data centers, storage systems, communications, and cloud architecture.
That means original reporting from our team of journalists and unique commentary you won’t see anywhere else! But in case you missed them, here are some of our other must-read favorites from this week:
SpaceX Set on Delivering Gigabit Services
Key Points:
- Satellite internet service provider SpaceX filed papers earlier this monthwith the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for approval of changes that would enable its second-generation satellites to provide promised Gigabit services to all interested parties.
- The company’s Starlink Internet service, which is used worldwide to connect hard-to-reach and unserved areas, as well as in the wake of devastating natural disasters and in war zones, provides users with increased network resiliency and a backup option to terrestrial networks.
- The first application seeks "several small-but-meaningful updates to its orbital configuration and operational parameters" that will increase sustainability in space and improve response to demand and spectrum-sharing capabilities.
- If the application and its amendment are approved and the services become available, they will be yet another non-terrestrial connectivity option for enterprises to leverage for network resiliency and global broadband support.
Traditional Networking is Out of Date
Key Points:
- Inspired by the casual, open, and accessible nature of coffee shops, a new networking paradigm is called ‘coffee shop networking.’ This innovative approach reimagines the enterprise network as a welcoming, flexible, and user-centric environment, much like a beloved local coffee shop.
- Your standard coffee shop offers a free public Wi-Fi network that is easily accessible to anyone connecting from almost any device. Yet, despite its open nature, the coffee shop also ensures a certain level of security and service quality (user experience).
- This new design makes it less complex for IT teams to manage, gives greater visibility and control, and, most importantly, offers a much better user experience, which is critical in our new hybrid world.
- The flexibility and scalability of coffee shop networking allow businesses to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and business needs and offer an operational cost reduction by leveraging cloud services and automating network management tasks.
Optimize Your Cloud Spend and ROI
Key Points:
- Rising expenses in cloud data storage have prompted many organizations to reconsider their strategies, leading to a trend of repatriation as enterprises seek more control during these unpredictable economic times.
- In response, senior business and finance leaders might consider a swift transition back from the cloud to curb expenses. However, cloud repatriation carries its own set of risks, including potential egress fees, the need for new hardware, security investments, and other infrastructure costs.
- Deloitte analyzed anonymized data from several FinOps engagements to assess optimization efforts, finding that businesses can save up to 45% (15% on average) on cloud costs by optimizing across waste management, consumption management, and purchasing best practices levers.
- In the story above, we'll reveal six ways to cut storage costs and optimize cloud investments.
The Dawn of Hybrid Multicloud
Key Points:
- VMware Explore was held earlier this year and had two main themes. The first was multi-cloud. The term “cloud” is undergoing a major shift. The second theme was frustration from Broadcom-induced price hikes.
- The hybrid multi-cloud model enables organizations to spread their workloads across multiple clouds—public, private, and edge—so they can tailor them to meet specific application needs best.
- Despite its many advantages, the hybrid multi-cloud model also presents challenges. It’s a drastic shift in how businesses approach IT. Managing multiple cloud environments can be complex, requiring specialized skills and tools to ensure seamless integration and operation.
-
Nutanix
’s centerpiece hybrid multi-cloud capabilities is its Nutanix Central management framework, which offers a single pane of glass for comprehensive oversight and management across diverse environments. This model drastically reduces operational overhead and simplifies the complexities of managing disparate systems, an area where many VMware users express frustration.
Commentary of the Week
Key Points:
- The allure and potential of AI to enterprises and hyperscalers has captured the imagination of businesses worldwide, but what must they consider to implement it in their data centers?
- Specifically, they need an infrastructure that meets the compute, networking, and storage requirements of their AI implementations and workloads.
- “AI infrastructure adoption is still in its initial stages for enterprises, according to
Baron Fung
, Senior Research Director at Dell’Oro. “Organizations are figuring out how much to invest, as the return on investment (ROI) depends on the scale of AI models they plan to support on-premises and how well they can utilize those models. “
- Beyond high costs, enterprises must address limitations in power and data center capacity, as AI infrastructure often has different power and cooling needs compared to traditional IT systems, explained Fung.
- AI impacts far more than data center operations of users and service providers operations, especially in the area of network management. And since it’s a fast-evolving area, learning more about AI is solid advice. Is your infrastructure ready?
Latest Major Tech Layoff Announcements
Original Story by Jessica C. Davis, Updated by Brandon Taylor
Key Points:
- As COVID drove everyone online, tech companies hired like crazy. Now we are hitting the COVID tech bust as tech giants shed jobs by the thousands.
- Updated October 26, 2024 with layoff announcements from Upwork, Venminder, CapWay and Meta.
- Check back regularly for updates to InformationWeek's IT job layoffs tracker.
WATCH ON-DEMAND!
“How to Make Network Management Easier in 2024-25”
An archived LIVE virtual event from September 19:
In this archived keynote session,
Neha Kaul
, head of automation and AI technology for
Guardian Life
, explores the ever-evolving challenges and necessary adaptations for network leaders due to the rise of generative AI and larger workloads.
Network Computing's 2024 State of Networking Report
Networking budgets remain strong, with priorities centered on network security, network monitoring/observability, and network resiliency.
Download this Network Computing research report today which explores the current state of network management priorities, practices, challenges, and investments. Learn how the IT leaders responsible for architecting and managing enterprise networks are adapting for the future.
In spite of some economic headwinds and tech industry layoffs, the prognosis for network spending is still quite strong. The 2024 annual state of network management survey found that security, network monitoring, and network resiliency continue to be the focus of network spending and management priorities.
- Over half of organizations reported that they increased their spending on networking in the past twelve months.
- Network spending will likely remain strong through 2025, with 85% of organizations planning to increase or maintain the same level of spending next year.
- While a significant portion of network spending is allocated to keeping the lights on, more than one-third of existing budgets are dedicated to investing in new technologies and innovation.
- Many of the investment and management priorities in 2024 are focused on security, network monitoring and observability, and network resiliency.
- New technologies like SD-WAN, Zero Trust network access, cloud-based security and services (SASE), and Wi-Fi 6 are among the budgeted technologies for organizations surveyed.
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