As the year 2024 unfolds, the enterprise network market is poised for significant changes, driven by the evolving landscape of IT operations and emerging technologies. One key trend that is expected to shape the industry is the growing strain on IT operations teams. This strain is a direct consequence of IT’s multifaceted role, the rapid migration to cloud-based solutions, and the increasing adoption of digital infrastructure.
The expanding role of IT within organizations has placed immense demands on these teams, often stretching their resources to the limit. In many cases, IT departments find themselves grappling with a shortage of skilled personnel and the daunting task of maintaining and securing complex technology ecosystems. This struggle will continue to hinder the progress of digitization projects for all but the largest corporations. Even as organizations strive to embrace advanced technologies like generative AI, they must first address the resource and skill gap to ensure successful implementation.
The evolution of campus NaaS
Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) has been a concept in flux, causing confusion within the enterprise network market. However, in 2024, the industry is expected to witness a crystallization of the NaaS concept, with a clarified definition that may not align with incumbent vendors’ expectations. NaaS will no longer be viewed merely as a business model; instead, it will emerge as an architectural approach that represents a fundamental shift in the enterprise network paradigm.
This new paradigm of NaaS will be inherently cloud-native and software-centric, characterized by five key attributes:
Standardized hardware and software stack.
Guaranteed high performance in terms of availability, coverage, and capacity.
Extension of zero-trust security to both campuses and branch locations.
Simplification and automation of all aspects of lifecycle management services.
Consumption as a subscription-based model, billed on a per-usage basis.
These attributes will distinguish providers delivering a genuine “as-a-Service” model, differentiating them from those relying on conventional leasing agreements. Furthermore, this evolution sets the stage for the integration of AI Networking into NaaS solutions.
The rise of AI networking
While AI has been steadily gaining ground in the IT landscape, 2024 is expected to witness its widespread application across all facets of IT infrastructure, including wired and wireless LAN, and overall network operations. In contrast to AIOps, which primarily offers insights into network traffic, AI Networking is poised to revolutionize enterprise network operations by enabling full automation.
AI Networking encompasses a range of technologies, including Machine Learning, real-time streaming analytics, soft bots, and automation. It covers a spectrum of operations from initial planning (Day-0) to ongoing management and optimization (Day-N). This means that tasks such as deploying wireless access points, orchestrating software upgrades, and identifying cabling issues using voltage sensors can all be automated.
By embracing cloud-native principles, IT organizations will have the opportunity to reduce their reliance on traditional Network Operations Centers (NOCs) significantly. This shift towards automation may even lead to the emergence of the term “NoOps” within the enterprise network domain for the first time in 2024. This transformation will empower IT teams to prioritize higher-level strategic initiatives.
The phasing out of outdated networking technologies
In 2024, the enterprise network market is poised to witness the decline of several traditional networking technologies that have outlived their relevance or failed to meet evolving requirements. Some of these technologies will either lose prominence or migrate to the cloud. Among the technologies facing obsolescence are:
Virtual LANs (VLAN): Originally designed for segmenting connected devices within enterprise networks, VLANs have become less relevant in modern networks.
Network Access Control (NAC) Solutions: Once used to enforce user/device-level policies as overlays, NAC solutions have lost their prominence in the evolving network landscape.
AIOps Solutions: Solutions that provide summarized reporting and alerts may see diminished relevance as organizations increasingly prioritize infrastructure automation.
SD-WAN: Initially conceived as a transitional technology from MPLS-based networks to IP, SD-WAN may face reduced relevance as Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions mature and gain adoption.
2024 promises to be a transformative year for the enterprise network market. IT operations teams will grapple with increasing demands and the need to close resource and skill gaps. NaaS will redefine itself as an architectural approach with specific attributes, paving the way for AI Networking to take center stage. Simultaneously, outdated networking technologies will gradually make way for more modern and cloud-native solutions, allowing IT teams to focus on mission-critical applications. The enterprise network market is in the midst of a significant evolution, and only time will tell how these predictions will unfold.
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