The book includes insights from the following experts:
- Rob Lopez, Group Executive: Digital Infrastructure, Building your digital business on a solid network infrastructure >>
- Scott Gibson, Group Executive – Digital Business Solutions, Dimension Data, Network planning begins with business goals and applications >>
- Gary Middleton, Group VP: GTM and Skills Transformation, SDN is redefining the data centre >>
- Lawrence Van Deusen, Group Director: Wired and Wireless, Group Principal Director – Hybrid IT, Dimension Data, Workplace networks must evolve to support digital ambitions >>
- Raoul Tecala, Group Senior Director: WAN, When moving to the cloud, don’t forget the network >>
- Gary Middleton, Group VP: GTM and Skills Transformation, Bridging the digital transformation skills gap >>
- Jeff Jack, Group SVP: Networking and Digital Infrastructure Operations, Taking a business-led approach to network strategy >>
- Stephen Green, Chief Technology Officer: Middle East and Africa, Success depends on asking tough questions >>
This eBook was generously sponsored by Dimension Data.
The fundamental importance of network infrastructure to today’s digital enterprise
Dimension Data occupies a unique position in today’s new industrial revolution. We not only know how to connect all the pieces of a modern, integrated IT infrastructure, we also build, integrate, and manage infrastructure to accommodate any business requirement. This includes enterprise applications, public and private cloud platforms, data centres, local and wide area networks, and even, through our special relationship with NTT Group — one of the world’s largest telecommunication service providers. Why does this matter?
It matters because the new industrial revolution is all about seamlessly connecting everyone and everything. Front and back office operations, customer engagement, manufacturing, supply chains, and logistics are all becoming connected through an
integrated enterprise IT infrastructure. It’s this connectivity of sensors and devices, cloud resources, and traditional IT assets, powered by new programmable and increasingly flexible networks, that is becoming the foundation of today’s forward-looking
enterprises.
In recent years, the cloud has matured from a low-cost but risky way to extend infrastructure to a mature, more secure and reliable resource. But it has also grown in complexity. Many organisations moving to the cloud fail to gain what they expect from it. This is often because they don’t think about the connectivity piece, the network. A network is a network, right Unfortunately, traditional networks weren’t designed with the cloud in mind. When you take an application out of your data centre and turn it into workloads distributed in the cloud, it isn’t going to behave like it used to without a lot of thought about how its components connect to each other and to users. Then you have to factor in the large amounts of data used by new applications that are smarter and consume Internet of Things (IoT) data streams.
Enterprises preparing for a digital future have much to consider when they modernise their network infrastructure and have to contend with connectivity demands from their business units, staff, and customers. In this e-book, leaders from different parts of our business provide their perspectives on how to approach digital transformation. In our experience at Dimension Data, you can’t look at any one piece of the infrastructure puzzle without looking at all of it. And it’s the network that holds all those pieces together.
I hope you enjoy this eBook.
