Network Communications News (NCN) October 2017 | Page 16

THE KNOWLEDGE NETWORK
Key Findings
T  he mean average spent
annually on data center
network infrastructure is
£161,000 in the UK, with a
further £86,000 spent on
WAN and interconnects.
In Germany, companies
are spending an average
of €326,000 annually
on data center network
infrastructure and
€140,000 on WAN and
other interconnects.
infrastructure for a little longer often
seems like the easiest and most
cost-efficient option.”
Mervyn adds: “Additionally,
there is often a disparity in
perceived quality of different
elements in the service chain
leading to a misunderstanding
that upgrades in one area will lead
to overall end to end benefits.
Hardware like laptops or desktop
computers break over time and
show signs of wear and tear.
Network assets, on the other
hand, are generally quite reliable,
making it easier to overlook
the need to upgrade network
infrastructure when everything is
running smoothly. So, there is no
sense of urgency as nothing is
broken and needs to be fixed.”
NCN also wanted to know what
the main points service providers
and integrators offering WAN and
interconnects should take away
from the findings?
Mervyn argues, “If there’s
one key take away from this
research, it is that a two-tier
strategy for technology renewal
cycles will always result in missed
opportunities. New client and
server hardware unlocks many
benefits for users and the wider
business. It makes little sense to
curtail these by using obsolete
network infrastructure that
becomes a bottleneck for new IT
investments instead of an enabler.”
So with the advances in Wi-Fi
technology, faster Ethernet protocols
and support for new broadband
and fibre standards, what specific
advantages are available?
16 | October 2017
‘One-fifth
of UK
businesses
are missing
out on the
operational
and cost
benefits of
new network
technologies.’
Mervyn explains, “A good
example here is the hardware
people use in an office
environment. Companies often like
to invest in the newest and shiniest
hardware, with the best possible
specs including high resolution
displays, advanced Wi-Fi protocols
and Bluetooth connectivity.
However, without upgrading the
network that these devices are
connected to, companies will get
into a situation where most of
these capabilities actually don’t
work to their full extent.
“If a new laptop supports the
latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi protocol, but
the network only operates off the
much older 802.11g protocol, then
the efficiencies of the new protocol
are lost. The same goes for much
larger networks. If an organisation
invests in hardware that supports a
10G Ethernet network, but the actual
Ethernet connection is made up of
1G copper cables, the ‘new’ network
de facto remains an old 1G network.”
More information: CIENA ciena.com
 ore than one-quarter
M
(27%) of UK businesses
are also using WAN
connections up to five
years old, potentially
missing out on service
improvements and new
services. This compares
with just 18% in Germany.
 ot h UK a n d G e r man
B
o rga n i sat i o n s i d e nti f i ed
t h e l ate st f i b re d ata
c e nte r i nte rco n n ects
a s t h e m o st c r i t i cal
i nve st m e nt t h e y would
ma ke , i f m o n e y was n o
o b j e ct . Acco rd i n g to the
st u d y , ro u g h l y 40 % of U K
re sp o n d e nt s wo u ld i nves t
i n t h i s a l o n g w i t h 42 .8 %
i n G e r ma n y .
 ver one-fifth (22%) in
O
the UK would invest in
site-to-site fiber in order
to improve internal data
speeds between sites,
compared to 11% of
German organisations.
 rom a market sector
F
standpoint, the study
concluded that the services
sector is the most likely
to invest in data center
infrastructure, with 94%
having invested in key data
center network hardware
(fibre, cabling, switches,
routers, firewalls etc.) in
the last three years. This
compares to 92% in the
healthcare sector, 89% in
the financial services sector
and 87% in the retail sector.
In addition, roughly 50% of
healthcare respondents had
done this investment within
the last year.