Businesses are only as good as their network, and the network can be the difference between success and failure.
Despite the network’s critical role, most people don’t ponder it. They only notice when it’s down or not working properly, and they can’t email, participate in virtual meetings, make calls or complete an e-commerce transaction. Today’s app-based, cloud-centric environment demands a reliable network because, without it, the world stops.
The network is more important than ever as businesses move functions to the cloud and deploy edge computing, bringing information and computing capabilities closer to the devices and users that generate information. This approach improves application performance, reduces the bandwidth required for data transmission, and provides faster real-time insights by moving processing capabilities closer to users and devices.
As businesses grow, their needs evolve. So must their networks. In fact, companies cannot afford to build a network for today’s needs; they need it to meet tomorrow’s demands. Because it’s hard to predict the future, they must ensure it can quickly scale as their operations grow.
Companies must optimize their networks to achieve maximum scalability, reliability, and flexibility and build redundancies to maintain operations when encountering the unexpected.
Once an organization identifies and implements what it needs to make its ideal network a reality, it can use it to maximize its business outcomes.
A good network eliminates bad experiences.
When people say they have a poor network experience, they often don’t understand their network, its capabilities, or potential vulnerabilities.
Consider how many people have gigabit internet for their home office.
A few years ago, it wasn’t as common; few needed that bandwidth. Today, no one thinks twice about gigabit in-home internet as the average user moves large amounts of data depending on the application, particularly relying on video calls, file sharing, and Software as a service (SaaS) apps.
Apps have taken over the business world — both personally and professionally. Businesses must expand their network as more processes and workloads move to apps and leverage the cloud.
A perfect example is connectivity. Anyone who’s ever been in line at the coffee shop when the network goes down can attest to its importance. But more than leaving people needing a caffeine fix, it can sink a business as they cannot process credit cards, grinding commerce to a halt.
It’s the same in a business office environment. Anyone who’s been to a business meeting with problematic Wi-Fi knows how frustrating it can be.
As companies optimize their networks, they’ll ensure their teams can use apps more effectively. They’ll also make their entire network more plug-and-play by upgrading to newer — and inherently faster — technologies.
The biggest pitfall an organization can make is determining the solutions it “needs” without first considering how to operationalize them, how they will help drive business, and what will happen in a worst-case scenario.
Like a house built on weak ground, the best business solutions can fail without a strong foundation. Get in touch with TPx for expert advice on future-proofing your network. We can even manage it for you.