The Network Barometer Report 2012 predicts that new technology trends will render close to half the enterprise network infrastructure obsolete in the next five years. By KTP Radhika
CIOs across the globe are looking at adopting new technologies such as virtualization, Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), high-end video communications, anywhere-anytime access, etc. into their organizations but these will strain corporate networks if they are not upgraded. This warning was issued by the Network Barometer Report 2012 that was released recently by Dimension Data. The report stated that 45% of enterprise networks would become obsolete in the next five years. That number was 38% last year. The report also said that 75% of network devices are carrying at least one known security vulnerability. A single vulnerability named PSIRT 10944 that was identified by Cisco in September 2009 was found in almost 47% of the devices evaluated. Compared to last year, the number of configuration errors per device increased from 29 to 43 and the security related configuration errors such as AAA Authentication dominate in this area.
The report covered aggregate data compiled from Technology Lifecycle Management (TLM) assessments done globally on 300 organizations of all sizes across industry verticals. Of this, around 12% comes from India. “There are different stages for a technology to become obsolete. To start with, the vendor will stop selling them. Then, they will no longer bring in any updates on that particular technology. Later on, the vendor will stop taking maintenance contracts on that particular technology. Finally, the vendor will stop supporting the technology, making it totally obsolete,” said Murtaza Bhatia, Practice Head, Security and Performance Optimization, Dimension Data India.
“While doing TLM, we found out that almost 45% of the network infrastructure and technologies used by enterprises today will go end-of-support within the next five years. These cater largely to routing and switching equipment and also to some network security equipment.”
In the past few years, the percentage of such equipment has risen. The share of end-of-sale technologies and equipment jumped from 4.2% in 2011 to 70% in 2012.
Security risks
According to Network Barometer Report, organizations are largely adopting wireless connectivity, new-age mobility devices, videos, collaborative methods and integrated channels for communication. All these require a high amount of bandwidth. However, only 18% of all access switches discovered during the evaluation were found to be able to properly support all of these new technologies.
According to Bhatia, if a company has invested in a piece of networking equipment, it wants to use and retain the same for the maximum period of time in order to get the best possible RoI. Therefore, if the device is working, a company would tend to keep it.
“However, without the necessary infrastructure upgrades, a business will not only affected by poor network performance, but it will also face substantial risk. This risk will directly affect the security of the organization, its business processes and overall services to clients,” said Bhatia.
That said, organizations are upgrading their wireless access point at the edge of the network. The report stated that a third of all wireless access points discovered were 802.11n-capable. This is nearly triple the 12% 802.11n penetration from last year. For 2013, the report predicted 50% higher 802.11n penetration.
Road ahead
With innovation and development in new-age technologies, it is vital to look at an architectural approach to network design rather than a point solution approach.
“Shifting to virtualization, the Cloud and BYOD will add pressure to the already stretched network. Unless managed proactively, it will impact business efficiency and success to a great extent. Therefore, enterprises would need to upgrade their network connectivity, visibility and equipment,” said Bhatia. “We also need solutions that will be capable of providing the required bandwidth, support different kinds of devices and manage security.” This will need a clear and detailed roadmap that would address the key architecture, security and configuration issues of the network and grant multiple levels of security.
