The challenge of managing your networks is becoming increasingly tricky in a world where over 100 new connected devices are coming online every second and the number of data centers is growing exponentially.
Changes in network conditions and parameters are more common now than ever before with the rise of smart cities and Industry 4.0 technologies that aim to simplify life while making networks more complex at the same time.
And with more devices, comes an immense amount of network data, which requires infrastructures holding the data to be scalable and able to support resiliency as well as IT teams who must work with the infrastructures to reduce the risk of costly downtime.
“While IT budgets and resources are shrinking, end users are demanding a superior experience and business stakeholders are demanding higher service-level agreements, said Vasudevan Venkatakrishnan, the Business Development Director in APAC for RUCKUS Networks at CommScope, a global network infrastructure provider that builds products and systems that are modular, cost-effective and easy to install and maintain.
“In a nutshell, IT has become more critical yet also more complex,” he added.
To keep up with the growing complexities and ever-changing user needs for low latency and seamless data transmission, the importance of network management and optimisation should not be overlooked.
“Network optimisation is a living thing where you constantly need to be doing it, as things keep changing in the network. IT must remain ahead of these ever-changing needs,” said Mr. Venkatakrishnan.
IT teams should consider deploying a network management and control solution that can be migrated across public cloud, private cloud and on-premises without the need to spend money and effort on adopting new network devices.
The rapid development of hybrid cloud deployments that are able to be integrated with the growing popularity of edge computing services can also provide greater flexibility for customers.
“IT must avoid a solution that locks them into any one deployment architecture,” warned Mr. Venkatakrishnan.
As a result of the rising demand for faster connectivity and lower latency, the Asia Pacific network monitoring market is expected to witness an annual growth of more than 15%, reaching a value of US$5 billion by 2026.
In answer to this, CommScope recognised the importance of network monitoring and setting the standard for efficient data center architecture.
“Data center technologies like hyperscales, with key architectures such as microservices and Kubernetes helps accelerate feature enhancements on a rapid scale,” said Mr. Venkatakrishnan.
CommScope is an expert in creating connections between people, devices and networks by offering end-to-end solutions that are designed and built with superior materials, systems and application expertise to shape the networks of the future.
Creating a RUCKUS
To simplify network optimisation and troubleshooting for customers using high-performance enterprise wired and wireless networks, CommScope acquired RUCKUS in 2019.
RUCKUS is a cloud-based converged network management-as-a-service platform, which enables ‘lean’ IT teams to deliver exceptional user experiences through a single web dashboard or native mobile application.
Recognising the need for networks to be robust and reliable in the Industry 4.0 age, CommScope developed RUCKUS to be powered by artificial intelligence and patented machine learning techniques.
“Using advanced AI and ML, cloud technology gives IT the troubleshooting tools to react quickly to service-affecting issues and stop network anomalies from rising to the service-affecting level,” said Mr. Venkatakrishnan.
For CommScope, cloud technologies with AI and ML integration brings customers five key benefits:
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- Simplicity of lifecycle management, from zero-touch provisioning, to monitoring, to managing. Customers can keep everything patched and updated across multiple locations without additional onsite IT specialists.
- Visibility to gain insights into network performance, resource consumption, and overall network health. Customers can get valuable visibility for all users, devices applications and network infrastructure, across all sites, virtually in real-time via a single pane of glass dashboard.
- Security for controllers and connected devices, including Wi-Fi APs and switches, are automatically updated to the latest feature sets and the most current security patches.
- Scalability to scale up or down network management solutions to match changing business needs, without compromising user experiences or worrying about incurring extra costs.
- Cost of total ownership from the ground up. The optimal scalability helps customers avoid excess capital expenditures, while greater simplicity and enhanced visibility reduce operating expenses by streamlining IT training, management and helpdesk operations.
CommScope continuously helps businesses discover more intelligent solutions for improving capacity, finding ways to decrease latency, boosting performance and creating connectivity solutions that are easier to use.
Connectivity at the heart of hospitality
Have you ever been to a hotel with terrible Wi-Fi and extortionate premium tiers?
Hotels are now seeing the critical importance of Wi-Fi and a guest’s need to stay online and connected with the world they left behind for a potential stay in paradise.
This came as no surprise to CommScope who, with 40 years of experience in innovating the network infrastructure of the future, saw the burgeoning state of hyperconnectivity worldwide.
Global Premium Hotels Limited, the operator of one of Singapore’s largest chains of hotels with 23 hotels, saw that their current technology could not keep up with the needs of their guests.
Their networking hardware had been in use for many years, with disparate hardware from different and non-enterprise vendors. They also had a lean IT team, meaning the hotel relied on reactive servicing as opposed to monitoring hardware status and usage in real-time to proactively solve issues as they arise.
After realising the difficulties of the modern era, GPHL selected CommScope’s RUCKUS to power 106 hotspots throughout each hotel building across 4 hotels, providing free, seamless WiFi to 1,000 guests that enter the hotels every day.
“Apart from strong performance and ease of deployment, one decisive criterion as to why we opted for CommScope-RUCKUS technology were their excellent and proactive pre-sales and after-sales service and support,” said Eric Chew, the Head of IT at GPHL.
GPHL saw a 70% reduction in downtime, so it is no surprise that they also received 50% less customer complaints and IT support calls as well as increased customer satisfaction.
So, in the future, you can expect even greater adoption of cloud-based network optimisation systems like RUCKUS, especially as we move into an era where more data will be consumed due to the accessibility of Industry 4.0 technologies like AI, ML and 5G.
And with more developments such as the Internet of Things, seamless connectivity and 5G, new requirements and creative thinking will be needed. With CommScope’s unmatched expertise in copper, fiber and wireless infrastructure, they can be relied on to enhance and migrate networks to outperform today and be ready for the needs of tomorrow.
> Check out how CommScope is keeping you connected in a data-driven world
