Top trends in communications and networks

Wireless, unified network infrastructure, unified management, security, the Internet of Things (IoT) and SDN in the enterprise will be some of the key trending topics in 2015, according to Allied Telesis’s annual industry trends analysis and predictions for 2015.

Wireless - The unprecedented adoption rate of mobile devices in the enterprise landscape means that wireless access is now more important than ever, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. The technological innovations that the 802.11ac standard is enabling will lead to continuing growth in demand for wireless access products, and will ensure that wireless access has a critical role in unified enterprise network infrastructure. Users will demand pervasive and reliable wireless coverage and seamless mobility. This wireless expansion drives the need for tightly integrated management platforms.

IoT - The IoT trend will dramatically increase the number of network-connected entities. Devices that contain sensors, controls or intelligence will increasingly become network connected. IPv6 will gain wider adoption, as will management technologies that are required to manage network-connected nodes. The IoT will deliver benefits for everyone, from enterprises to municipal councils, but it is the value of information and knowledge that will see new players introduced and new business models emerge during 2015.

Unified network infrastructure - The convergence of multiple services on the same wireless and wired infrastructure will introduce new challenges in managing facilities and their users. Unified network infrastructure will enable organisations to network smarter and add more intelligence to their environments as the amount of information collected from sensors and devices increases exponentially. Security solutions will become more heavily integrated to guarantee the security of data and the privacy of users across the entire infrastructure.

Unified management - The increasing complexity and growing number of devices in the network will motivate information and communications technology (ICT) managers to source management systems with proven capability to minimise the total cost of ownership (TCO) of ICT. Cloud-based management systems will promote the sales of management as a service (MaaS). SME and SMB will consider partnering with specialised service providers for the management of their infrastructures.

Security - The increasingly flexible policies of network access and the growing number of threats will escalate the demand for newer network protection technologies. The escalating likelihood of attack and the resulting loss of productivity and damage to reputations will ensure that security is a high priority for executive management - particularly given the number of high-profile attacks during 2014. Likewise, Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) technology, integrating application control capability, will play a leading role in the security space.

SDN in the enterprise - The flexibility in user location and device usage that is becoming the norm in enterprise IT, as the BYOD concept has taken hold, will drive requirements for more dynamic operation of enterprise communication systems. Organisations needing solutions to these requirements will increasingly look to SDN as the source of such solutions. The efficiencies to be gained by integration between business rules, user information and network infrastructure will benefit network administrators and users alike.

According to Seiichiro Sato, Allied Telesis director of global product marketing, “As a global networking leader, we have seen the tides of change sweep across the technology landscape for decades.”  Sato continued, “The ever-increasing connectedness of our world is resulting in new applications for technology that are driving efficiency and enabling people to do things that just weren’t possible in the past.”