The importance of subsea cable networks that carry the bulk of all international Internet traffic is being called into focus (yet, again) due to the conflict in the Middle East. The volatility of the region is forcing enterprises and providers to consider satellite and ground cable options that in the past were dismissed because of their cost and performance. What is driving this change? Many critical cables linking Asia, Africa, the U.S., Northern Europe, South America, and more converge in choke points at the edge of the Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. Recent subsea cable cuts, while still no ..read more

Technical debt afflicts networks as well as software. Managing network infrastructure means swimming up a waterfall of new technology, while keeping up with software updates and security patches. The torrent of demands often drowns out the fundamental maintenance of the foundational network elements. The idea of technical debt was first introduced by Ward Cunningham, best known for devising the Agile methodology that breaks each project into phases and emphasizes continuous review and improvement cycles. He compared software development shortcuts to financial debt. When first developing an app ..read more

In today's interconnected world, the accelerating digital environment and real-time communication are becoming an essential requirement of everyday life. The Middle East region is readily embracing more and more technologies and increasingly recognizing the pivotal role that low latency networks play in driving growth and enhancing user experience. Consumers now expect carriers to deliver low-latency routes, even when using the most demanding applications and services. It is not enough to simply provide a connection. According to Future Market Insights, the digital transformation market in the ..read more

You've probably seen the ads: "Arriving Soon! Our high-speed fiber network is coming to your area!" Then, after some research, you discover that "soon" can indeed be a very relative term. "In the U.S., there are economic, market, and morphology dynamics that have prohibited ubiquitous fiber to the home (FTTH)—and they're all intertwined," says Michael Misrahi, telecommunications leader with business advisory firm EY Americas, in an email interview. As Internet service providers (ISPs) vie for local dominance, many are jumping the gun and planting the idea that FTTH is just around the corner wh ..read more

Network provider Nile just announced that its Nile Access Service is getting a new solution architecture, including Nile Service Blocks and Nile Services Cloud, along with a few AI application categories (Nile Copilot and Nile Autopilot). The company says this announcement combines cloud-native service delivery and AI-powered closed-loop automation for campus and branch IT infrastructures. For those unfamiliar with Nile, the company launched last year and offers networking as a service (NaaS). While many vendors use the term “NaaS,” it has many meanings. Some have the customer buy the hardware ..read more

Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) is much more than an emerging subscription model for corporate networks. With NaaS, the provider is responsible for buying and managing the routers, switches, load balancers, firewalls, and other security devices that once made up the infrastructure of costly, resource-draining, and limited-flexibility private networks. What Preceded NaaS? For decades, the traditional solution for wide-area networks has been private networks whereby enterprises bought, managed, and maintained networking equipment and secured connections serving onsite data centers. That practice was ..read more

Is network resiliency able to reach beyond five nines and SLAs for enterprises seeking always-on services? Given recent headlines and discussion in the wake of undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea, the answer is still no for multinationals. The situation is best described as business interruption as usual. On Saturday, February 24, three different cables were reported to have suffered faults: Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1) Europe India Gateway (EIG) SEACOM/Tata TGN-Eurasia. These international systems connect far-apart states like South Africa, the United Kingdom, and China. The faults off the c ..read more

With a wealth of experience, Mike has developed future state technology blueprints, transition plans, and roadmaps, showcasing his strategic vision and foresight. His collaborative approach extends to running customer network transformation workshops, contributing technically to proposals, and establishing positive business outcomes through strategic alignments with internal and external stakeholders. “My certifications are like my tech badges, right? Proving that I’m not just winging it, and when I’m not drowning in tech stuff, I like to share my two cents with the industry. You might catch m ..read more

HPE recently made massive waves in the IT networking space by announcing the acquisition of Juniper Networks in a deal worth $14 billion. While most have proclaimed this as an excellent long-term strategic move by HPE to better compete against Cisco, which offers a wide range of compute, network, and security solutions, only time will tell where Juniper technologies and assets will be positioned in the market. It also may give pause to existing Juniper and HPE Aruba customers or to those looking to purchase Juniper/Aruba enterprise solutions in the new year. Here’s my take on the acquisition a ..read more

In the world of professional sports, the fan experience is everything. Recognizing this, the New England Patriots initiated a major project to upgrade their home field, Gillette Stadium, into a cutting-edge facility. This project required a major revamp of the network infrastructure to support advanced video and augmented experiences. As the official technology provider of the National Football League (NFL), Cisco played a leading role in this transformation, bringing its expertise in enterprise networking and cybersecurity. For all businesses, the network is core to delivering a great custome ..read more