Versa Networks
September 4, 2019
The new Gartner Networking Hype Cycle for 2019 is out (stay calm!) and there is one very clear message for network professionals implementing a SD-WAN strategy: first the good news, you’re now entering the nirvana phase of the cycle, i.e., the Slope of Enlightenment (congratulations!), which means SD-WAN is approaching a maximum period of benefits for the next 2-5 years; however, the bad news is that if you haven’t evaluated the “sassy” potential of your SD-WAN, then you may be headed for a premature derailment in the Trough of Disillusionment! When I say “sassy” I’m not referring to your teenager’s…
Principal Architect
August 16, 2019
Welcome to my Enterprise Best Practices Blog. My name is Neil Danilowicz, and I am a Principal Architect for Versa Networks. Over the next few months, I will delve into best practices for Enterprises as they begin their journey into Software Defined Networking, especially Software Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN). Today, security is a boardroom topic and on the forefront of every large enterprise. From the recent security breaches at Yahoo, Target, and Equifax, there is broad awareness of how a slip in security can damage the brand and tarnish what took years to build. With digital transformation, embracing multi-cloud/SaaS…
Versa Networks
August 13, 2019
SD-WAN has many capabilities that address the challenges associated with complex network edge infrastructure. Specifically, central configuration and management, zero-touch branch deployment, and automatic monitoring and path selection. SD-WAN’s ability to optimize pathways for different traffic types is a key advantage, which benefits IT with greater efficiencies, and unprecedented WAN flexibility, availability, reliability and performance. Today’s advanced cloud-managed SD-WAN solutions give enterprises the ability to dynamically connect branch offices, on-premises data centers, public/private cloud and SaaS, on a global scale. Removed are the carrier dependencies and resource restrictions that used to limit the way enterprises consume applications. Leveraging multiple links…
Versa Networks
May 2, 2019
A fundamental transformation is occurring with the management and control of applications, as network edges become software-defined, which goes far beyond today’s destination-based routing. Significant advantages can be achieved using cloud-native SD-WANs to bring greater levels of application intelligence to business connectivity. Application-aware routing understands the paths applications need to take and provides greater management and control to deliver a quality user experience. Rather than focusing on just the network destination, and the complexities of their underpinnings, the emphasis is placed upon the applicationexperience need. Application-aware routing supports the business intent and context of how applications are used and need…
Versa Networks
March 20, 2019
According to several industry surveys, it takes the typical enterprise over 200 days to discover a security breach, such as undisclosed web vulnerabilities or spearfishing for email credentials, according to the 2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study: Global Overview from IBM Security and Ponemon Institute. The study calculated that the global average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million, up 6.4% from last year. The average cost, globally, for each lost or stolen record containing sensitive and confidential information is also up from last year, landing at $148 per record or a 4.8% increase from 2017. Although the…
Versa Networks
February 26, 2019
If the Internet is a network of networks, IoT is the ecosystem of everything network-connected. IoT encompasses the dynamic interaction between devices, sensors, actuators, applications, data, storage and networks. There are many reasons why IoT is exploding. One of the biggest factors is digital transformation, which has become widespread among virtually all enterprises and service providers. A key driver of digital transformation is its ability to optimize the customer experience, capture data for business intelligence, and make informed decisions from data analysis. IoT is a critical enabler for these drivers, whether it’s software that monitors the customer experience in retail,…
Versa Networks
February 6, 2019
In the next phase of the IoT, that will be heavily influenced by mobility, blockchain and WAN-edge optimization, most of the ‘things’ that enterprises will care about will have to incorporate mechanisms for intelligence and control as well as adaptive connectivity. And these ‘things’ or smart devices will need to communicate with each other, at the edge, in addition to seamless to connect to a public or hybrid cloud. And the more ‘things’ that are out there acting semi-autonomously in the wild, like drones, for example, they will operate more effectively from being able to communicate with every other drone…
Versa Networks
January 29, 2019
Enterprises of all sizes and in every vertical market are developing digital transformation strategies in order to move faster with greater agility so that they can enhance the customer experience and take advantage of emerging growth opportunities. There is widespread recognition that a key element of business transformation is network transformation that is designed to accommodate SaaS apps, Cloud services and next-generation transport such as 5G, which is significant because technically it will deliver a substantial advancement in data throughput and low latency compared to 4G. 5G is a next generation mobile broadband innovation that promises to bring about greater…
Versa Networks
December 20, 2018
A major goal of branch consolidation with SD-WAN is overall reduction of WAN cost and complexity through managing bandwidth requirements and automating change management and policy adherence, while simplifying appliance and software sprawl. Branch-edge infrastructure complexity and cost remain significant issues, as the average branch office of mid- to large-enterprises typically includes four to five individual hardware and software components, making product acquisition, integration, operations and support both time consuming and very high cost. Enterprises have initiated a wave of digital transformation strategies that is changing the fundamental approach to how business and productivity services are delivered to their internal…
Versa Networks
December 17, 2018
Disruptive technologies, like blockchain, usher in new market opportunities, like cryptomining. Whenever there is a growing trend, with the potential for financial gain, cyber criminals will invariably find ways to disrupt and distort these markets. Cryptomining is highly compute-intensive, using computer resources, such as CPU cycles, to mine “cryptocurrency”. Miners are paid for solving CPU intensive cryptographic challenges that validate each block of a transaction added to a cryptocurrency’s blockchain. They are paid a certain amount of cryptocurrency into their cryptocurrency wallet as commission for validating a transaction. . Anywhere there is a profit to be made, capable people will…