Simplify your Network Transformation with Sify

The business world is witnessing an unprecedented transformation as organizations across verticals are passionate to embrace new technologies. Cloud, Analytics, Automation, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning are some major forces that are enabling enterprises to deliver a top-tier experience to customers. As organizations nowadays are highly reliant on these emerging technologies to achieve organizational excellence, one must acknowledge that all cutting-edge technologies require an intelligent and robust network. There are numerous factors that are fundamentally redefining the ways new-age networks work and function. The emergence of new global trends and multiple new technology trends have compelled organizations to demand more from networks. This blog discusses:

• Major global and technology trends that have paved the way for network transformation.
• New-age network architecture and design for Intelligent Network services
• How Sify can help you in your network transformation journey with a wide range of Intelligent Network Services.

Global Business Trends leading to increased demands from Networks

• Hyperconnected Enterprises:
  In the digital age, global organizations rely on a multitude of connections for geographically distributed people, processes, and devices. Also, the increasing adoption of hybrid and multi-cloud has compelled global enterprises to become hyperconnected. For such hyperconnected enterprises, a scalable network is quite critical to deliver top-tier services to customers across the globe through digital technologies.
• Digital Business Transformation:
  In line with their digital ambition, organizations worldwide are looking to leverage Cloud-native technologies such as analytics, mobility, IoT, AI, and ML to modernize and develop new processes, services, and models for generating new revenue streams. An intelligent and adaptable network can quickly adjust according to evolving requirements, facilitating seamless transformation.
• Automation and Robotics:
  Several enterprises rely on Automation, Robotics, and Robotic Process Automation to improve operational efficiency, quality of services, and customer satisfaction score. The use of Automation and Robotics in the coming years will continue to surge as companies look to improve quality, workforce productivity, customer satisfaction, and more. This is even more relevant than ever in the pandemic-stricken world. As automation of processes is time-sensitive and mission-critical, enterprises will need round-the-clock availability and reliability from their distributed networks as even a minor lapse in network availability or reliability can potentially hamper the process flow and affect overall efficiencies and customer satisfaction.

Technology Trends powering fundamental Network Transformation

• Applications being modularized and distributed across Clouds: Recently, hybrid Cloud and microservices have gained massive prominence across business verticals. The majority of software applications are being modularized and distributed across public Clouds and network edge. To support applications across such a distributed landscape, the network needs to transform fundamentally. There is a need for Networks to be agile, seamless, secure, and responsive to dynamic application landscapes.

• IoT and M2M integration with mainstream Networks: The exponential rise in the number of IoT devices worldwide highlights the need for smart Machine-to-Machine communication. This means the network must capably provide connectivity to all the IoT devices and integrate them smartly with mainstream networks.

• Pervasive Mobility: Owing to the anywhere data center and anywhere user access, there is a need for a robust network to allow users to access applications on Cloud. As anticipated, mobile users will continue to grow in the years to come and they would need round-the-clock high-performance connectivity to access applications on Cloud from private devices over Wi-Fi or 4G networks. Therefore, to cater to this rapidly growing mobile population, it becomes imperative to strengthen the Edge connectivity to these vast diverse, and distributed user base. Edge Transformation is predicted to be the next big wave in the Networking space. As per Gartner – by 2025, 75% of enterprise-generated data in industrial settings will be created and processed at the edge.

• Immersive video experience: User experience has taken the center stage in the digital era, therefore enterprises are keen to make the video experience more immersive. They have started leveraging the power of digital media technologies, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and immersive 3D environments to ensure a top-tier experience. This is placing greater demands on enterprise networks as video experience is totally dependent on low-latency and high availability infrastructure. Moreover, enterprises also want their networks to provide end-to-end bandwidth and dynamic performance controls to further make the experience more enriching.

New-age network architecture and design for Intelligent Network Services

In response to emerging trends and the fast-changing IT landscape, organizations need to rethink network architecture and design strategies to drive digital transformation. It becomes quite critical to align network capabilities in accordance with the changing business requirements and modern topologies. In this light, some of the expectations from Intelligent Network Services are the following:

• Support the fast-changing set of users, applications, devices, and services and unify them intelligently for top-tier user and application experience
• Seamlessly connect between distributed IT assets and applications in a DC and hybrid multi-cloud environment
• Leverage Software and other functionalities to control, rather than physical access and distributed policy control
• Leverage the cutting-edge technologies and algorithms to collect, assimilate, analyze, and visualize networking information in real time for better visibility and control

To achieve the above objectives, there are 3 broad aspects that the IT leaders must follow while designing and architecting the new-age network architecture.

Networking architecture for anywhere Data Center:
Organizations nowadays have their applications and data spread across Data Centers, Clouds, and Edge environments in diverse geographical regions. To meet the requirements of this diverse hybrid ICT landscape, organizations need new networking architecture that is ready for Cloud, meets application connectivity demands, and ensures technology and operational consistency across locations. Therefore, the new-age network must facilitate faster and safer modes of data transfer across Data Centers, Cloud, and Edge devices. This highlights the significance of Cloud-ready Networks with DC Interconnects and Cloud Connect capabilities.

Being a trusted ICT company, Sify ensures a Cloud-ready Network, comprising of Data Center Interconnects, Hyperscale Cloud Connects, and Internet Exchanges for carrier neutrality. Our Cloud-ready Network provides you with deterministic and secure connectivity to move applications, middleware, and database workloads between private infrastructure and Cloud for improved application performance.

Hybrid WAN and Application performance-focused Network Architecture:
In the age of hybrid and multi-cloud, it becomes critical for organizations to have a well-thought-out network strategy for distributed workloads, data footprints, applications, services, and microservices. With the rise in multi-cloud adoption, the legacy hub-and-spoke WAN architecture can hold organizations back. The shift from Data Centers towards Cloud has resulted in the more prevalent use of the SLA-defined Internet (in addition to MPLS) as a reliable and pervasive way to establish robust connectivity. Hence, modern-day businesses need a hybrid WAN strategy – the use of internet for business applications along with MPLS. This means the new-age network must enable the hybrid WAN and be smart enough to adapt to the changing application performance demands in a hybrid or multi-cloud environment, ensuring better performance.

Herein, Software Defined Networking can enable fundamental network transformation. SDN can help accomplish the goals of network transformation – agility, flexibility, and application centricity – by intelligently controlling the network architecture using software applications.

• Software Defined Networking facilitates flexible network architectures, which can utilize multiple network connectivity options (MPLS/ILL/BB/4G-LTE/Internet) which help leverage a Hybrid WAN strategy for the evolving DC and Cloud landscape
• SD-WAN ensures application awareness and complete visibility of site-wise utilization of various applications, which paves way for better performance, availability, and security.
• SD-WAN leverages the power of Cloud-based monitoring and management platform for centralized, real-time visibility of all resources.
• SD-WAN solutions can be easily integrated with legacy network architectures, which enable phase-wise migration of sites.

Sify’s SD-WAN platform is hosted in Secure Cloud, and our experts perform all the monitoring and management functions from the state-of-the-art NOC. This helps you maintain distance with different configuration tasks at branch sites and focus on your core business. Our SD-WAN solutions – coupled with end-to-end Managed Network Services – drive efficiencies, reduce cost, and optimize multi-cloud connectivity.

Centralized visibility, control, and insights of the Network:
Organizations need complete visibility and control over network connectivity to make the most of their Cloud investment. They would also want their network to provide intelligent insights that enable data-driven decision-making. An intelligent network can help businesses with automated and effortless orchestration of network resources. However, enabling a network with comprehensive intelligence is not as simple as it seems, because it requires a well-established network management practice with well-integrated toolsets.

Currently, only a few network service providers, such as Sify Technologies, have the assets, capabilities, and expertise to deliver Intelligent Network Services. We ensure centralized management of the network, powered with the capacity of SDN, to bring in the highest level of visibility and control of the entire network landscape. We offer a comprehensive range of Network Management Services on flexible outcome-based models – shared NOC Services, Hybrid NOC Services, and Dedicated NOC Services – from our state-of-the-art Network Operating Center.

Sify’s network experts ensure 24×7 proactive monitoring and management of network connectivity of devices such as routers, switches, and firewalls, and provide comprehensive reporting of various network parameters such as availability, performance, and security.

Conclusion

The emerging business and technology trends have compelled enterprises to empower their network with inherent intelligence built into them. This needs fundamental network transformation and re-architecting from the ground up, to suit evolving DC and Cloud landscape, distributed/mission-critical applications, and network orchestration needs.

Being a strategic network transformation partner, Sify helps you transform your network into a robust and intelligent asset. We provide Intelligent Network Services which include Cloud-ready Networks, Software-defined WAN, and centralized Network Managed Services, to accelerate your digital transformation with the robust foundation of a fast, secure, and future-ready network.

Rationalize, Scale, and Manage your network effortlessly.

In today’s technologically advanced era, enterprises across realms have complex ICT environments – virtual and geographically spread. The advent of Cloud and rise of multiple solution providers globally have encouraged organizations to pick and choose the perfect mix to host their applications, servers, and data across a diverse landscape of Data Centers and multiple clouds. This has benefitted organizations worldwide, in terms of ease of operations, higher level of flexibility and better speed to market. However, at the same time, one must acknowledge that management of such a highly complex ICT environment has become a major challenge for many organizations in the digital era.

Organizations must understand that all the components of their diverse IT and network infrastructure – consisting of applications, servers, machines, network peripheral equipment, sensors, or even distinct Cloud environments – are not discrete or isolated units anymore, but a part of a larger organization context, making them extremely valuable for business progression and business continuity. All these components must be unified and viewed in a consolidated way for better performance and security. That’s where, Network Consolidation becomes imperative!

Organizations that have complex ICT environments face distinct challenges that hamper their overall performance and efficiency. Some of the most common challenges in this changing and ever evolving Network and IT environment are:

• Multiple service providers management: Modern enterprises leverage a perfect blend of best-of-breed network solutions from distinct service providers as this ensures advantages of redundancy, resiliency, choice of network media, and connectivity to remote locations. However, managing all the distinct service providers is quite a challenging task and has some inherent problems, such as lack of ownership and visibility, inconsistency in services, inability to leverage analytics, and governance related risks.
• Limited in-house network management capabilities: This is another major concern for organizations across industry verticals. If they opt for establishing an in-house network management setup, then it becomes a very cost-intensive decision to hire the skilled workforce, procure the technology, develop the competence, and achieve a high level of scalability. Furthermore, an in-house setup would need hefty and timely investments to keep pace with evolving technology landscape.
• The demand for constantly re-architecting network: Every enterprise network nowadays has a host of different applications, which has given rise to changed traffic patterns. These mission-critical applications demand uninterrupted collaboration and traffic exchange, which calls for a continuous re-architecting of network to connect data, applications, people, and varied components of the IT infrastructure.
• Shift of focus from Network uptime to Application performance: Traditionally, network has always been uptime-focused, however in current situation where applications are hosted in multiple of Data Centers, Public & Pvt Clouds, businesses are more concerned about how applications perform over the network as this directly impacts the end user experience. The changing demands of high-performance computing and fast cloud migrations have led to a change in paradigm for networks with their SLAs being evaluated on Application intent rather than Network intent. Therefore, new-age networks must capably meet the rising needs of all mission-critical applications that are running concurrently.
• Unification of underlay and overlay networks: To meet changing demands of businesses, networks have grown and evolved organically over different periods of time. This has resulted in complex architectures of underlay & overlay networks. With changing priorities of organizations and rise of application-focused networks, it is important to unify the underlay and overlay networks for optimal utilization, enhanced efficiency, improved user experience, and robust security.
• Connectivity across DC and Cloud landscape: With increased Cloud adoption, it is very important to maintain a perfect sync between data centers and Cloud. Therefore, they need an excellent Network Interconnection that can guarantee seamless connectivity across all the data centers, Cloud environments, international cable landing stations, third party telco infrastructure, etc. for deterministic connectivity and extensive reach.
• Integration of IT, OT, and People: Majority of organizations nowadays have geographically distributed offices, where employees and end users use multiple devices in different regions. It is important to allow them secure and fast access to applications in Cloud and data centers for better experience, collaboration, and organizational efficiency. At the same time, the same Network must ensure seamless connectivity of IT Infrastructure as well as OT assets like WiFi access points, IoT devices and sensors. Herein, network plays an important role in integration of all aspects of IT, OT, and people.

As discussed above, organizations with complex ICT environments face distinct challenges. This not only hampers efficiency and performance but also impacts end user experience, hence compelling organizations to revisit their network strategies. Enterprises want actionable information to be available to end users wherever they are. The rise in mobility and multitude of devices has paved way for direct access to corporate information, which highlights the need of secure and consolidated network which can be scaled rapidly on-demand. The CIOs need to have complete visibility of all network assets and take decisions on network performance and network behavior dynamically. This can be achieved only through network consolidation.

Consolidating your network under one trusted service provider will ensure you a centralized real-time visibility and control over your entire network. Network consolidation improves network performance management and makes network provisioning easier with lesser handoff points between providers, devices, and IT assets, at a reduced cost!

Network consolidation becomes a very complex task and it has a lot of parameters and moving parts to be looked into. Therefore, it is imperative to seek an expert guidance in this quest.

Sify can help you accomplish your Network Consolidation goals. Some of the key differentiators that make us the preferred network consolidation partner are:

• Hybrid Network Strategy – Use of Internet for Business Applications: The shift from data centers towards Cloud has resulted in more prevalent use of the Internet as a connectivity option, in addition to MPLS. Today, an SLA-defined Internet strategy is a more reliable and pervasive way to establish a robust connectivity throughout the widely spread ICT environment. Hence, modern day businesses need hybrid WAN strategy – use of internet for business applications along with MPLS. Sify is empowered with India’s largest MPLS Network covering 1,600 towns and cities across India with 3,100 Points of Presence. We provide consistent, secure, high-speed Internet connectivity in more than 130 countries together with 800+ local and global partners. With our robust MPLS and Internet services, we can help you consolidate your network for both primary and secondary connectivity needs.
• Cloud Ready Networks – Advantage Hyper-scale: As majority of modern enterprises opt for hybrid or multi-cloud model, enterprises need ubiquitous connectivity to data centers and public Clouds. Sify’s robust interconnection network helps enterprises connect and integrate with Hyper-scalers seamlessly to simplify Cloud connectivity and reduce provisioning time. Our interconnection network improves cross-cloud application interaction, performance, and scalability, which ultimately paves way for enhanced quality of experience. Sify enjoys a great stature in the India Cloud market as we are the preferred partner of all major Hyper-scalers such as AWS, Azure, Oracle, and GCP including their respective Cloud connect services. With our Cloud connect, DC Interconnects and carrier neutral network with multiple internet exchanges, we deliver a well-architected and cost-effective Cloud-ready network for a secure, low latency and deterministic connectivity.
• Strategic Move from Wireless to Wireline Connectivity Media – More relevant than ever: Today, convergence of wireless and wireline is happening at a lightening pace. Till now, fiber penetration was restricted to backbone networks in the network value chain; however, as we move to the hyper-connected era, networks fiberization becomes important for the increasing cloud adoption. Therefore, Sify has invested in dense fiberization in backhaul and last mile connectivity. Sify’s state of the art 100G ethernet infrastructure – Metro-XConnect integrates multiple Clouds, our Cloud-adjacent data centers, third party data centers, and transit points in the Network. Our investments into Metro-XConnect can help customers consolidate their networks and leverage multiple benefits of Cloud, such as low latency, high reliability, improved scalability, and uninterrupted operations.
• Strong Managed Services and Network Operations Outsourcing capabilities: Empowered with strong Managed Services and Network Operations Outsourcing capabilities, Sify can help you integrate, consolidate, and transform your networks across varied ICT environments for visibility, control, and easy orchestration. Our integrated skillsets, processes, toolsets as well as the state-of-the-art Network Operations Center (NOC) and Security Operations Centre (SOC) can enable you to monitor and manage network and security devices comprehensively. Our NOC services are SLA-driven and outcome-based, which ensures predictable performance. Sify also helps in assessing & consolidating WAN networks; redesigning & reengineering as-is WAN network; and managing Network and Network assets 24X7. Additionally, you can outsource your Network operations and management, including management of all service providers and vendors.
• Integrated capabilities across Core, Management Layer, and Edge : In the digital age, enterprises need to focus on faster compute and Edge connectivity. To accomplish this goal, it is important to transform and rearchitect your network – at the core, the management & visibility layer, and the Edge. With our DC and Cloud Interconnects, combined with expertise to deploy technologies like SDWAN and NFV, we hold expertise in network transformation at the core. At the Network Management layer, Sify can manage your WAN, provide 24×7 monitoring of links, undertake network management under a unified SLA across multiple service providers. At the Edge, Sify ensures end to end implementation and access configuration of Wi-Fi, IoT devices and integration with the Enterprise Network.