IoT initiatives will change
WAN requirements
Many unsuccessful IoT initiatives are
characterised by their failure to consider how
the projects will change the requirements for
Wide-Area Networks (WANs).
According to Gartner, there will be 20 billion
Internet connected objects by 2020. This
influx of devices and sensors will significantly
increase network traffic and unused to the
volume of activity, traditional Multiprotocol
Label Switching (MPLS) links will become
congested. This will result in a decline
in application performance triggering a
whole host of problems, including reduced
productivity and loss of revenue.
In an attempt to overcome such capacity
limitations, many companies will turn to
alternate connectivity options, for example
cellular LTE or broadband Internet.
However, the routers and patchwork of
tools required for this process will create
an unnecessarily complex hybrid network
when combined with the volume and
diversification of IoT devices.
Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN)
circumvents this complexity. Unlike
traditional infrastructure, SD-WAN will
automatically direct traffic through the
most efficient route available, regardless
of connectivity type, to ensure the
seamless connectivity required for a
successful IoT deployment.
“
FOR IOT
PROJECTS TO BE
SUCCESSFUL,
IT MUST PLACE
THEMSELVES
BACK IN THE
CONVERSATION.
Resolving the issue through traditional
infrastructure would be highly costly and
complex to manage, but with Edge it’s a
different story. Edge Computing offers a
lean, powerful infrastructure for ingesting,
processing and analysing millions of relevant
data points, where they’re created in
real-time. Minimising the time and cost of
directing IoT traffic to the cloud.
You will face numerous new
security threats
Let’s take the IoT system on a
manufacturing floor as an example. The
system may have been designed so that the
production line will shut down automatically
in response to the sensors indicating that a
quality threshold is being exceeded. In 2018, 26% of business breaches
were caused by unsecured IoT devices or
applications, according to the Ponemon
Institute. This was almost double the
percentage reported in 2017. This rise is
thanks to the increase in the number of
IoT devices in use, lack of stringent security
measures and the fact that all the devices
are connected, providing hackers with
numerous roads into networks and data.
However, if latency causes a delay in the
relevant information being conveyed from
the sensors, faulty units will continue to be
produced, ultimately increasing downtime
and overall costs. The manufacturer needs
more computing power at their remote
sites to support real-time data processing to
prevent this from happening. Furthermore, for the data produced to be
instantly actionable, it may be temporarily
stored outside the secure confines of a
cloud or data centre increasing the chance
of exfiltration or loss. If this occurs, it
could seriously damage the company’s
reputation and as a result, customer
acquisition and retention.
Ultimately, this simplified, intelligent and
flexible approach to network management
means IT administrators can quickly deploy
new services, policies and even entirely new
sites, through a centralised management
console. As well as being capable of
addressing evolving needs.
Edge Computing is vital for
real-time data analysis
The cloud is a key facilitator of digital
strategies. Particularly when it comes
to business intelligence, archiving and
centralising access. However, for data-
rich applications, or in scenarios where
employees need to turn data into actionable
insights as it’s created, Edge Computing is
far more suitable due to its lower latency.
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