Network Management In The Age Of AI

Change is critical to growth. Especially if you’re running a business in today’s volatile market. The silver lining is that we are at the peak of innovation, moving forward from a decade filled with disruptions, catalysing transformations. Over the years, enterprise IT has evolved to play a more significant role in business. Innovation, macro-economic factors, unexpected disruptions, and other internal and external factors have caused the change. Naturally, every organisation’s IT architecture has also evolved to adopt new technologies. Innovation has helped enterprises redefine their business, achieving better outcomes and increased customer delight.

In more recent times, the pandemic has left an ineffaceable impact on both the IT sector, as well as the businesses it supports. For enterprises, transforming their business operations has been a crucial step towards achieving business continuity in the face of disruption.

Managing the pace of change

Modernising IT infrastructure transforms the way your business functions. The IT networks drive the enterprise infrastructure by enabling connectivity between the several endpoints – your data centre, applications, IoT/IIoT sensors, and more. It is evident that IT adoption is complemented by network transformation.

Today’s network edge encapsulates hundreds of endpoint devices comprising hardware of different makes, serving users with different permissions, and in the case of IoT – performing automated functions with multiple security policies. Within the next 2 years it is estimated that more than 50% of data will be generated outside the data center or cloud, likely coming from the estimated 55 billion IoT devices connected worldwide. This explosion of data and connected devices requires a new IT network design or approach.

Leading with your data

Most of today’s data resides at the network edge. To improve business outcomes it is important to empower the data wherever it resides, simplifying its path to enable business functions all across the enterprise. From a windmill located on a remote hill, to the traffic signals of a bustling city, data needs to flow seamlessly through the network to its destination. The synergy between the enterprise network and enterprise IT ensures operational excellence.

Transforming the IT network for modern IT needs of enabling the intelligent edge requires a modern approach. One that has been perfected by Aruba. Traditionally, network monitoring is a manual process. But growing complexity, and introduction of unmanned IoT devices poses a serious challenge. AI-powered edge network intelligence has been critical to modern network management.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies improve network management by enhancing existing network functions like process-automation, analytics, and security. Aruba has been at the forefront of realising modern-day network management, designed to automate, unify and protect edge infrastructure.

Unified edge infrastructure for seamless operations

Aruba has seen steady growth over the years, becoming a leader in WLAN, Cloud Networking, and Edge Switching. To serve the intelligent edge, Aruba acquired Silver Peak to become a leader in SD-WAN and transform into a true edge to cloud OEM of choice. In 2019, in response to the changing market, Aruba announced the Aruba ESP [Edge Service Platform], comprising a framework for Unified Infrastructure, Zero Trust Security, and AIOps offered with flexible IT consumption models.

Aruba Central is at the core of ESP [Edge Service Platform], bridging siloed networks, unifying infrastructure operations, and improving visibility with a single pane of glass. Powered by AI, the centralised management console provides insights based on real-time analytics to take pre-emptive actions and expose opportunities. With built-in security based on zero trust, network vulnerability from scaling is drastically reduced. Aruba AIOps, driven by Aruba Central – a cloud-native microservices based platform, moves operations from a reactive to a proactive posture with AI-based insights, assisted resolutions, and evolving security posture.

Solutions like Aruba ESP help businesses address challenges of productivity, operations, and costs. Enterprises today value business agility, resiliency, and operational excellence as top priorities.

Aruba’s seamless edge-to-cloud connectivity and AI-powered, ML-integrated network management solutions, implemented in collaboration with a Global System Integrator (GSI) partner, were integral to the digital transformation of a global renewable energy leader. Today, empowered by visibility, intelligence, and insights the data flows seamlessly from remote windmills to the company’s data centres and across the business, enhancing operations.

“Customer First & Customer Last” has been and always will be the core ethos of Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Aruba continues to encapsulate this value with laser focus initiative of aligning to this digital growth via AI/ML technologies, while also simplifying network management to ease customer’s impediments. Aruba’s partnership with Global System Integrators (GSI) has been critical to the implementation of the modern network management solutions. GSIs have a global presence, years of experience, and the talent needed to cater to the modern customer’s needs. Aruba’s GSI partners have years of experience and expertise in building vertical industry solutions.

Kaustav Ray
Director - Solutions & Pre-Sales, Aruba Global Partner Ecosystem
Aruba Networks, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company

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