From a networking perspective the year ahead looks dynamic, exciting but very busy. No doubt there will be many talking points and a great deal of activity as players within the channel compete for business and try to keep costs down.
It is not surprising that the network space remains one of the more active and hotly contested areas of business within ICT and telecommunications. It truly is the life-blood of any credible venture today.
Everything from hardware, software, service management, delivery and data is linked and the proliferation of cloud-based computing and virtualization necessitates that business operators manage this connectivity to their upmost ability.
The success of a network, level of performance and efficiency of operation is really what differentiates one business from another. For years there has been a constant debate about network solutions and decision makers throwing money at technical challenges in the hope that by simply acquiring infrastructure, these issues will simply vanish.
With time and constant information, the market has matured and now there is a greater appreciation for the role of people and technology, and the need to match infrastructure with critical requirements of a business.
Vendors, distributors, value-added reseller and suppliers have always advocated that investors in technology adopt a more strategic approach to the acquisition and placement of infrastructure.
This approach continues to be endorsed and even more so with the advent of virtual based service, support and rollout of product.
To this end we anticipate a number of new partnerships and alliances being established within the networking industry to bolster service and supply. Given the volume of product/ solutions being introduced and the importance of the role of networks, administration and application is widespread and the demand from all quarters of the market is escalating.
The advent of social networking websites and virtual environments will also play a critical role in this regard.
One of the more important considerations for decision makers is that of data management. At the centre of this is the ability to integrate and leverage off ‘triple play’ or the running of data, voice and video over a single channel.
There is no doubt that triple play will impact communication in a major way. Networking infrastructure, including mobile and wireless product, will be geared towards improving a business’ ability to expand reach by facilitating multimedia and reliable channels.
This desire to remain ahead of innovation and bolster strategy to gain competitive advantage will be evident in everything from switches to routers, from network access control, security and administration, right through to archiving, compliance and overall management.
There is no doubt that the networking space will be hugely influential and active, and will remain a force to be reckoned with within the growing ICT sector.
Paul Luff, country manager, SMC Networks
