INTELLIGENT DATACENTRES the gas pedal in order to turn on the air conditioner . You would not feel like you got your money ’ s worth , and it would be grossly inefficient .
What is the total cost of
2 ownership ? You deserve to know how much your application delivery controllers are going to cost you in the long run . You do not need sneaky licensing fees and upgrades popping up at every turn to nickel and dime you .
3
How do you support multitenancy ? Modern applications demand speed and security . Users do as well . When it comes to application delivery controllers , application delivery has to be optimised and secure , with few headaches . Often , companies are running hundreds of applications , each of which requires a specific set of policies . Application specific policies can be applied and tailored to individual applications to ensure that application performs the way you need them to .
Businesses need the granularity to provide specific application delivery controllers policies to most , if not all of their applications and user groups . These policies must be tailored to each individual application , but having one application delivery controller per application is not practical or feasible in certain environments . Application delivery controllers must support multi-tenancy and deliver the ability to have application specific policies — this is a must-have , not a nice to have .
4
Is the application delivery controller easy to use ? Ease of use and integration are huge factors in the purchasing decision . That is why application delivery controller products must be completely programmable and interoperate with other complementary infrastructure
Application delivery controllers must support multi-tenancy and deliver the ability to have application specific policies — this is a must have , not a nice to have
gear . Leveraging setup and configuration methods used by mainstream vendors make devices easier to learn and deploy . Difficult-to-use APIs , that are not intuitive and do not adhere to industry norms , make operations more challenging and cumbersome . That can delay getting boxes up and running and require extra training for IT staff .
5
What is your cloud strategy ?
The world is moving to the cloud , along with many of your applications . Your application delivery controller vendor should have a finely-tuned cloud strategy that will help you bridge the physical and cloud-native worlds . This is especially true for service providers . If your application delivery controller vendor lacks solutions for cloud-native applications , multi-cloud environments and ADC-as-a-Service , are they the right partner to invest in for your business future ?
What sets your operating
6 system apart ? Modern applications require speed and agility . If your box is running a legacy operating system or one that has not been updated or optimised in a few years , your applications may feel like they are running over dial-up .
How do your application
7 delivery controllers scale ?
There is nothing more frustrating than a box that does not scale . Do not get burned by limited scaling , or by a forced upgrade or additional purchases to achieve the scalability your applications require .
8
What do your customers say ?
Before you take the plunge and side with an application delivery controller vendor , it is imperative to learn about what their customer base thinks about them and their service . Due diligence requires close examination of case studies , reviews , references .
9
How stable is the executive leadership team ? Turmoil and turnover in the executive ranks can directly impact customers . It impacts productivity , decisions , and product direction and availability . Changes in leadership can create dramatic shifts and unsettle partners and customers .
10
What is inside the trophy case ? Finally , technology awards are a great validation of the product .
Chris Gale is Partner Director EMEA at A10 Networks
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