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EARTHLINK How To Predict Impact The Network Impact of Apps
1. How to Predict the Impact of New Applications,
Trends and Technologies on Your Network
Which straw will break the camel’s back?
An EarthLink guide to staying a step ahead of
change
More than ever, networks are the vital backbone of
enterprise activity – on premises, in the cloud and in
hybrid environments.
Yet the crush of new traffic, data, users, applications
and devices across complex new landscapes
makes it harder to predict when additions to your
technology stack (not to mention your workforce
or partnerships) will degrade – or even crash –
enterprise network operations.
No wonder many IT managers are uncomfortable
guaranteeing their network is ready to handle
new workloads, or that they’re hesitant to add
applications without knowing if the network can
support them.
The problem: Most organizations
don’t know exactly what’s happening
on their networks, including the number
of applications, traffic priorities or available
bandwidth. That makes it difficult to assess the
impact that adding a new technology or application –
even a “small” one – will have on performance.
Yet moving from guessing to knowing is crucial
for three reasons:
• Slowing or limiting the introduction of new technologies invites angry
blowback from customers and internal users (IT’s other “customers”)
familiar with easy on-demand consumer technology and apps.
• Hybrid IT environments encompassing both data center and cloud will
work only if networks connecting it are reliable and meet performance
requirements.
• Companies that don’t take proactive steps risk loss of market share,
workers and perhaps even IT job security.
2. 2
About this guide
There’s no one-size-fits-all way to predict the impact of new applications, trends
and technologies on your networks. As always, your“best” solution depends on
where your organization is now and where it wants to grow and go.
This guide will help sharpen your ability to assess and manage the impact of
new technologies on your enterprise network. It identifies six of the biggest
“straws” likely to cause unexpected breakdowns or performance degradation.
Then it introduces useful capabilities and technologies to help your enterprise
successfully keep these straws from breaking the camel’s back, including:
• Cloud application optimization
• Hybrid wide area networks
• Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN)
Alone or together, these powerful technologies can help you optimize
your networks without strain or breakdown at every stage while taking the
guesswork out of growth.
of enterprise
traffic is destined
for the internet
80%
more mobile data
traffic by 2016
6x
of CIOs expect
to operate via
cloud by 2016
50%
more demand for
bandwidth every
18 months
2x
A variety of forces bringing rapid change for the WAN1
3. 3
Identifying the challenges: Don’t let any of these
technologies, trends or applications become hidden
bandwidth back-breakers.
New network-straining technologies and business realities are growing daily.
Recognizing them is the first step in avoiding guesswork and smartly managing
their impact.
1. Rise of cloud and everything-as-a-service (XaaS)
2. Shadow IT and the world of unauthorized apps
3. Unanticipated and seasonal demand surges
Whether it’s storage, computing, software applications, networking, infrastructure,
platforms or security, network-delivered services are growing fast.
Enterprise investments in XaaS are growing five or six times faster than traditional
on-premises spending, according to new surveys by IDC.2
Already, SaaS is the preferred
delivery method for CRM and ERP is close behind. That’s projected to double over the
next two years.
Of course, the XaaS boom brings a huge corresponding strain on all network traffic,
drastically changing traffic patterns and pushing much of it from LANs to WANs. Few
enterprises are prepared for this, let alone assessing, prioritizing and optimizing the
performance of any given application or service.
In today’s world, anyone with a credit card can easily start using a cloud-based
application without IT’s knowledge or approval. In a recent audit by EarthLink’s
Professional Services team, one company discovered its enterprise network was
supporting fourteen applications vs. the four it had been aware of due to hidden
spending by rogue users/departments.
The exploding growth of SaaS and the Internet of Things (IoT) are forecast to further fuel
under-the radar use of IT equipment, services and software, further straining enterprise
networks. Soon, you may find yourself in a doubly difficult position: blind to the network
impact of apps and services you know about, AND even more so to those that you don’t.
You’ve probably heard how millions of text-message votes for “American Idol”
unexpectedly overwhelmed ATT’s network. Or how major retailers like Target and even
PayPal suffered Black Friday/Cyber Monday outages, and other similar tales. The short
but vital moral: even if you know a tsunami is approaching, it may be too little, too late.
Whether they’re expected seasonal crests or mundane surprises (too many employees
streaming a major weekday sporting event, for example), sudden surges in traffic can
quickly swamp and sink your network if you’re not ready.
Enterprise SaaS sales to
double by 20182
2x
of total IT spend will
come from shadow IT
by 20183
30%
jump in total
payment volume on
Cyber Monday for
subscription-based
merchants4
230%
4. 4
4. Big data and analytics
5. Internet of things (IoT)
6. Emerging and fast growing bandwidth-hungry apps
Sure, “big data” may be overhyped. But the continued boom in analytics apps and
services should convince you: huge new data sets are coming soon to a network near
you, especially if you work in financial services, manufacturing or healthcare.
The traffic they create travels heavily in both directions. Many transactions start on
premises, get pushed to cloud-based analytics then return home with even more data
in tow. The usual result: network delays and greater latency.
Though still in its infancy, the networks that will be supporting physical objects that can
“chatter” via embedded technology are the ones we all use now. And all that remote
control, monitoring and sensing traffic from billions of new devices is about to get
much heavier.
The number of IoT devices is forecast to grow up to 100x by 2020.6
Manufacturing
(factory automation, robotics), healthcare (advanced devices) and retail (POS) are
leading the way, followed by utilities (distribution and transmission), transportation
(safety and integrity monitoring) and agriculture (increased yield). And it’s working its
way into everything else as well.
Besides the huge new network burden, Gartner also warns of “ghost” devices – products
with built-in IoT capability that suddenly create more unexpected traffic when activated.
If all the above weren’t enough, a host of other new and/or rapidly growing
technologies are creating added network burdens: VoIP, hosted contact centers, video
training and surveillance, digital signage, gamification and both augmented and virtual
reality, for starters. And more will come.
Coupled with the non-stop growth of enterprise WiFi to support continued mobile
device mania and tech-hungry millennials swamping the workforce, you’re facing a
perfect storm of network strain.
growth in global
network traffic driven
by big data by 20195
350%
connected devices
in 2020 compared
to 4.4B in 20156
20.8B
in digital signage sales
are forecast by 20207
$23B
5. 5
Sharpen your predictive powers:
Get visibility and take control
If you think it’s tough now to ensure your enterprise network is ready for
new technology, just wait. Things are about to get harder – thanks to fast-
growing new bandwidth-busting tools and technologies.
Whether your application environment is primarily private or cloud-based, or
a hybrid of both, your ability to handle new technologies and growth depends
on your ability to:
1. Gain an accurate, real-time understanding of your network traffic
2. Prioritize applications, users and locations most critical to business while
optimizing performance for everyone
3. Anticipate and make changes proactively
Your network service provider can help you address these challenges. Here’s how:
Optimize your way to the cloud Go Hybrid Plan your move to SD-WAN
Moving applications from
the data center to the cloud
changes the application path.
It doesn’t, however, change the
need for performance, reliability
and security.
Used in conjunction with MPLS,
a cloud exchange service enables
you to address that change
by connecting your locations
directly to leading cloud
vendors, providing privacy and
security while optimizing cloud
application connectivity.
Take control by moving to a
Hybrid WAN, which can help
you improve cost-efficiency and
security by deploying a mix of
MPLS and IPsec VPNs.
Hybrid WANs also offer an
excellent evolutionary migration
path to a new software-defined
WAN infrastructure, which
represents a true long-term
solution to continuous bandwidth
management in an increasingly
cloud-connected world.
Leveraging multiple connections
as you find in Hybrid WANs,
software-defined WANs add a
layer of intelligence providing real-
time visibility into – and control
over – network and application
performance. The resulting
improvements in performance
and reliability are unprecedented:
a 50% increase in application
performance and a 100x increase
in available bandwidth, coupled
with an 89% improvement in user
experience and a 90% decrease in
cost per megabit.
