What Cisco’s acquisition of ThousandEyes could mean for networking today
As remote work becomes the “new normal” for a number of businesses, the challenges associated with maintaining a large remote workforce have become more pronounced than ever.
More remote workers means greater strains on networks, network-based services and wide area network (WAN) performance. Moreover, increased dependence on the Internet today can substantially reduce the ability for enterprise IT teams to predict and control operational behavior. This can result in a muddled IT environment that causes issue resolution to take longer, potentially taking a toll on the customer experience, brand reputation and revenue.
It’s for reasons like these that Cisco’s recent announcement about its intent to acquire ThousandEyes has brought conversations about network intelligence (NI) solutions to the forefront of the networking conversation.
What are network intelligence solutions?
As networks become more complex, many businesses will deploy more intricate network technologies, products and services, allowing people and organizations to perform tasks that require more power and technical skill; however, this has the potential to leave these networks vulnerable. This is where network intelligence comes in.
Network intelligence uses data, algorithms and special techniques to monitor and analyze network information and IP data packets in real time. Network intelligence tools can help organizations everywhere secure their networks while simultaneously ensuring a smooth and secure customer experience.
How network intelligence solutions work
Most NI solutions use deep packet inspection to operate, which involves collecting data packets crossing through the network, analyzing it, and then using that information to gain a better understanding about network performance. By analyzing packet paths and traffic levels, NI solutions can quickly deliver insights on interactions between users, applications and more.
These solutions can provide an end-to-end view into the digital delivery of applications and services over the Internet, enabling them to identify potential issues while expanding network and application performance across networks.
Benefits of NI solutions
While NI solutions serve several purposes, one of the most beneficial functions in the business space is their ability to collect data on consumer behavior and market analysis to help businesses become more efficient. This means that any business can use NI solutions to learn more about how their customers use or engage with the brand, allowing them to segment customers into groups for testing or more accurate targeting.
Other uses of NI solutions include:
- Delivering actionable insights to improve the quality of business services
- Helping to ensure that proper network security processes are in place
- Setting up alerts to flag potential network issues
Start your NI journey today
Network intelligence solutions are quickly becoming a valuable networking tool for businesses of all sizes to improve their services and ensure that proper security processes are being utilized. To learn more about network intelligence solutions, be sure to discuss your networking options with your Sirius representative or contact us for more information.
