Today, technology plays a greater role in advancing business goals, and enterprises are seeking to leverage the network as a competitive differentiator in order to accomplish digital transformation goals through software and applications. That being said, the networking space sits on a pedestal of constant change, and many organizational leaders are beginning to realize they need an agile infrastructure that can scale and adapt to support transformation initiatives if they are to be successful. Thus, we see a renewed focus on networking and infrastructure as a significant trend heading into 2019.
In the past, the focus in the industry has been on software and applications—experiencing an exponential rate of innovation and growth in those areas. However, in 2019, we will see the pendulum shift to a renewed focus on network infrastructure; only it will be smarter and faster. This will be the year of intelligent hardware such as new multi-rate switches and next-generation Wi-Fi. It will signify the start of a network refresh cycle that will pave the way for new business opportunities and technological advancements. Specifically, deployments of hardware supporting 802.11ax wireless capabilities, which will serve as the foundation for an IoT-driven world. Simultaneously, the much-hyped transition to 5G will add to the push for infrastructure refreshes.
This year we will see a continued focus on ‘everything’ security—ranging from the network, IoT to wireless, data security, and many more. Vendors will flood the market with innovative AI/ML augmented security offerings, enhanced security analytics; faster breach recognition, and remediation. The aim will be to have greater collaboration between traditional networking and security vendors. Enterprises will seek to improve defenses this year by segmenting networks, deploying analytics tools with packet capture and robust filtering, and strengthening security policies.
Improving the experience for customers is the key to increasing retention, satisfaction, and sales. Thus, businesses view customer experience as a key performance indicator. Consequently, networks of 2019 will be smarter by leveraging AI/ML to learn from the users, their devices, and their applications, to deliver an increasingly personalized experience. By processing and understanding relevant data on how customers and their devices behave on networks, it will be easier to enhance network operations through automation, improving performance, user experience availability, and security.
Extreme network solutions deliver the agile, efficient, and scalable network infrastructure needed to provide new services without added complexity and cost. To help organizations select the best vendors and advance their Extreme Networks initiatives, a distinguished panel comprising of prominent CEOs, CIOs, VCs, and industry analysts, along with Enterprise Networking Magazine's editorial board has assessed and shortlisted Extreme Networks Solution Providers that are at the forefront of providing cutting-edge technology solutions. These companies offer robust solutions coupled with innovative strategies that are distinctively prominent in the field. We present to you “Top 10 Extreme Networks Solution Providers – 2019”.