BERLIN – In the next two years expect to see a tripling of the world’s networks become automated. Cisco Systems is making a big bet on this new market transition with the release of two Cisco DNA solutions for enterprise networking and virtualization and virtualizing the network perimeter.
Cisco DNA stands for Digital Network Architecture and the networking giant has developed a strategy based on intelligence that shows today’s networks are only being used for connectivity. The company believes these legacy networks will begin to struggle to combat more, sophisticated cyber-attacks or produce effective workloads for a growing mobile workforce. Another factor are the increase of Internet of Things devices and data and new cloud apps.
The new product rollout will include a brand new hardware platform and virtual network services. This rollout will feature software-defined segmentation across the entire network; from endpoint to cloud.
According to the latest IDC study, time is of the essence when it comes to digital-ready networks.
The biggest finding from the IDC report is within two years, 45 per cent of organizations expect to achieve digital-ready network capabilities. That represents three times the current adoption rates.
This is a major global study from IDC and it was commissioned by Cisco. The research surveyed 2,054 global organizations across 10 countries to determine the digital readiness of their networks. The survey covered both mid-market and large organizations from the Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Other key findings include:
- Modern networks are delivering real, tangible benefits: Companies that have invested in modern network capabilities are experiencing 2-3 times the rate of growth in revenue, customer retention and profit. They have also deployed twice as many digital transformation initiatives compared to companies with legacy networks.
- Adoption rates comparable across company size and industry vertical: It turns out that network maturity levels are comparable across market segments, with minimal variation between midmarket (500-999 employees) and large (1000+) organizations.
- Emerging countries to leapfrog developed nations: The real variance occurs when comparing countries. North America currently has the highest level of network maturity, while Asia Pacific and Latin America report the lowest. The most mature countries include the UK, USA and Australia. However, the most significant jump in maturity is expected to occur in emerging economies — India, China, and Mexico.
At the heart of the new Cisco DNA offerings is the Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) Platform, an emerging technology that boosts flexibility and agility for remote locations by virtualizing branch networks. Cisco is introducing a new, purpose-built branch platform, Cisco Enterprise Network Compute System (ENCS 5400 Series), to help customers accelerate their Enterprise NFV deployments. ENCS allows customers to extend routing, security, WAN optimization and other network services to their branch environments.
Supporting this announcement is the Virtualizing the Network Perimeter solution, which becomes an organizations’ gateway to the Internet. The new Cisco Secure Agile Exchange solution virtualizes the network perimeter and extends it to colocation centers. This allows organizations to connect customers, employees and partners using on-demand, virtualized network services.
The company also positioned Cisco DNA to be used to detect cybersecurity threats and then automatically take action to stop them.
New security features introduced today include:
- Visibility and Control: Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) provides visibility and control of users and devices on the network. ISE 2.2 offers much deeper visibility into applications on endpoints, including detection of anomalous behavior. It also offers more granular control with the ability to define “DEFCON” policy sets that allow customers to escalate their response to prolific threats.
- Software-defined Segmentation: Cisco TrustSec provides software-defined segmentation to isolate attacks and restrict movement of threats in the network.