Zero Branch IT

The Riverbed Technology company provided in November, 2015 IT trends for 2016. According to experts, 2015 became a turning point for the companies — they more ceased to be afraid of cloud computing. Universal implementation of model of hybrid IT infrastructure will lead to the fact that in 2016 the organizations will refuse routers at offices of branches.

In 2016 the organizations will refuse classical routers for branches

According to Gartner and Harvard Business Review, more than 70% of the companies use cloud applicaions and services today though at the same time they store some crucial elements and information in the DPCs.

"There was a technology which will help business, relying on his requirements, and not vice versa — Stulov Alexander, the chief representative of Riverbed Technology in Russia and the CIS says. — If earlier information systems and applications were implemented only for accomplishment of operational tasks of IT, the technologies of category of software-defined geographically distributed networks (SD-WAN) connecting DPC to all remote locations and different cloud services help heads of the organizations (including CIOs, chief financial officers and directors of production questions) to understand how to them to use these technologies for achievement of own business objectives.

Constantly growing number of the organizations switching to SD-WAN and that fact that software-defined approach is less abstract for those who are not an IT professional leads to the fact that a question any more not that such SD-WAN, and in how this technology can be put into practice.

Hybrid IT environments became an objective reality

While the companies more and more actively transfer applications and systems to clouds, the hybrid environment will remain the most widespread model of IT infrastructure. Growth of complexity of networks, virtualizations, emergence of new, strongly distributed architectures of applications that business directly depends on work of these applications — all these factors require radical new approach to the solution of the IT tasks connected with infrastructure of network performance and applications.

"In 2016 CIOs will implement the means using automation, elements of artificial intelligence and the interacting mechanisms of management to take a distributed network which they could not control earlier under control — Alexander Stulov considers. — They will also focus on key performance indicators (KPI) which will help them to show to heads of other divisions, top managers and even board of the company as the IT directly corresponds to business challenges of the organization. They will know how their applications are delivered whether the performance level is rather high and whether the speed and comfort of work with information systems answers expectations of employees. Otherwise, CIOs should prove long that the IT represents something bigger to their organizations, than the cost item.

For obtaining all these data it is necessary to implement the solutions providing the improved visibility of performance, security and work of the end user on all network including cloud resources.

Do not forget branches

On average the companies manage 55 remote IT nodes which fall on each large DPC. Nearly a half of all employees works at offices of branches. About 50% of all data are outside DPC, and IT departments spend 50% of the budgets for support of offices of branches. At the same time branches still hold minor position in comparison with DPC. In DPCs the newest and best technologies of data protection, backup and security are implemented. In branches technologies of tape backup of the 90th years are still used, and about use of the advanced physical security measures of type of fingerprint scanners and metaldetectors it is not even talked.

If in branch there is an accident, there will hardly be an IT specialist, with necessary knowledge base or unembarrassed in operating time. As a result, clarification of what happened to data as to archive them or to recover, and what is the time will occupy it, turns into a difficult, vremyazatratny and expensive task.

So use of Zero Branch IT technology — branch without IT infrastructure — is crucial for ensuring access of users to applications and to information at any time and from any place and simultaneous providing IT specialists with means of the centralized control and visibility of work which are necessary for them. All control is exercised in the safe centralized DPC, and resources are brought to branch with a performance of the local level.

Different advantages — including the improved visibility of work and control result. In turn, these advantages reduce risk of stealing of data and simplify management of IT that allows to solve quicker problems, to provide good availability of information and to improve performance of applications. Such distributed approach means that systems servicing the existing branches can be relocated, upgraded, moved and expanded easily for service of the new recently opened branches.

"The companies can significantly reduce the total costs of keeping of IT in branches, having eliminated need for purchase, service and protection of servers and storage systems for branches, and employees will deal less often with failures of systems or slow operation of applications that will allow them to work effectively as from office, and on the way, from the device of any type" — Alexander Stulov emphasizes.

Farewell, classical router

With the growing use of cloud environments Chief information officers have many difficulties. For problem solving and receiving control over DPC they will need "tame" technologies which will help them to differentiate business, to provide the best client experience and, finally, to get competitive advantages. Together with IT specialists of the organization they endure one of the largest conversions of the last decade, observing as the organizations become hybrid and implement software-defined networks.

IT commands will begin to implement complete solutions for ensuring visibility of work, optimization and control to go to the software-defined and managed IT environment with bigger adaptivity and full use of advantages cloud, SaaS - hybrid and SD-WAN-solutions. As a result of these changes of network of 2016 it is not necessary to rely on the good old firm network friend any more — the classical router. Software-defined approach to applications will become a norm.