Most networks evolve in response to changing business needs and external pressures. This process is natural… but it’s not what we’re discussing today.
Today, we’re looking at network transformation—the wholesale redesign of an entire business network. For many businesses, network transformation is among the most important, costly and intimidating initiatives they will embark on in 2022.
So what’s it all about?
Rather than a gradual evolution, network transformation is a fundamental redesign of an entire business network, including (but not limited to):
Network transformation initiatives are typically highly important to the business and are usually only undertaken when necessary. For example, to support business needs such as the mass shift to remote working forced on enterprises worldwide by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other common motivations for network transformation include:
Traditional business networks shared several common hallmarks:
This approach worked reasonably well up to a point. As technology and business needs changed, business networks could evolve slowly in response. However, the reality of business in 2022 radically differs from what we saw a decade ago.
Instead of the above, we now see:
This new paradigm is so radically different from what business networks were designed to deliver that—for many businesses—gradual network evolution is no longer enough. Instead, the only option is to redesign and rebuild business networks completely.
In the past, cyber security had a bad reputation for blocking transformation initiatives. Solving security challenges was difficult and security teams often delayed important business initiatives while determining the best route forward.
This is no longer acceptable.
For some time now, businesses have been under pressure to “transform or die,” and COVID-19 was the final nail in the coffin. In the early days of the pandemic, businesses had no choice but to solve the mass remote working challenge overnight… whether or not their security team signed it off.
While most businesses have now addressed the need for mass remote working, they still face significant challenges that can only be addressed via network transformation. Often, these initiatives are highly time-pressured and security teams must find a way to support their timely delivery while keeping cyber risk to a minimum.
A core network transformation strategy is essential to ensure your initiative starts (and stays) on track. The most important component of your plan is deciding what your initiative needs to achieve to succeed.
Common examples include:
Asset management and connectivity between assets, servers and the cloud have always been challenging. Unfortunately, there’s no way around it—you must know precisely what devices, services applications you have, where they are and what they should be doing.
This has been a fundamental component of IT Service Management (ITSM) since the 1980s… but many businesses still struggle with it. If you want to transform your network to support new business needs while staying secure and maintaining uptime, it’s time to get it right.
Building your network piecemeal without a firm plan is a bad idea. Implementations and network models that address individual business needs will eventually cause issues if they aren’t combined carefully. For example:
Any of these projects can potentially have a huge positive impact on the business… but each requires planning, investment and (most likely) upgrades to people, systems and processes to achieve successfully. Without a centralised and agreed-on operating model, it’s not uncommon for businesses to find out (usually too late) that projects, implementations and technologies conflict, causing unforeseen problems.
To avoid this, decide centrally which technologies will be used and supported and which won’t—and without a solid business case, don’t deviate from these decisions.
Technology is an incredible business enabler, but it’s not something to be chased for its own sake. It’s easy to get hung up on the latest must-have technology. Still, the cost can be significant and it must be clear that new technology will deliver quantifiable value to the business, for example, by enabling higher revenue or reduced risk.
Network transformation is often a huge initiative that takes time, often more than initially expected. Being realistic in your planning and roadmap development is essential because it can be the difference between a project being:
If you’re unsure what timescales are realistic, seek advice from an experienced source.
Similarly, you should be realistic about the resources needed to deliver the project successfully. Most network transformation projects are large enough in scale to constitute their programm, —including dedicated personnel resources. To maximise your chance of success and avoid costly delays, ensure your initiative is adequately resourced.
Security is no longer the ‘hurdle’ it once was. Many security teams don’t have the authority to delay network transformation initiatives while they find a suitable way to minimise risk.
However, this does not mean businesses should accept a lower security standard for new network architecture, which would open them up to an unacceptable level of cyber risk.
Instead, security teams should be involved in network transformation initiatives, working alongside IT to create secure-by-design network architectures that protect against cyber threats without harming user experience.
At CyberOne, we can support your network transformation initiative with next-generation network security solutions that protect your business against current and future threats while enabling the agility and performance required to meet your business needs. Because our security solutions are embedded into your network architecture, they’re easy to scale and adapt as your needs change.