Our WiFi and wired networks must operate reliably under increasingly challenging conditions: increased demand, IoT proliferation, a mobile workforce, growing cloud adoption…The list goes on. To keep our businesses thriving, we need more agile, adaptable, and scalable networks – and we need to design and maintain them cost-efficiently.
AI-powered network automation and digital experience monitoring (DEM) solutions are the easiest way to achieve success.
Understanding Scalability Challenges in Network Infrastructure
A scalable network is a network that continues providing optimal performance and reliability no matter how its users, data demands, or devices increase.
Here’s a breakdown of the top challenges our networks face today. Truly scalable networks can overcome these challenges without extensive, expensive upgrades.
Increased Bandwidth Demand
Bandwidth is a measurement of the maximum possible data transfer rate of a network. Every network action involves the transmission of data between two points: sending an email, opening a portal, downloading a report, etc. With more and more demand placed on a network, more and more bandwidth is needed.
When these demands include data-intensive applications such as cloud applications and video conferencing, the need is compounded. Scalable businesses know how much bandwidth they currently use, and can more efficiently predict future demand.
Complex Network Architectures
Determining how to best scale means predicting how your network needs to grow over the next few years in the face of hybrid work environments, multi-cloud strategies, and geographically distributed offices and work sites.
Reliability and Downtime Risks
Surges in network traffic can result in disruptive issues such as network congestion, packet loss, and jitter if the network isn’t prepared. These issues will all impact business continuity and user experience – and not in a good way. Scalable networks are prepped for sudden jumps in demand.
Security Concerns
Maintaining network security is always a priority and a challenge. As networks rapidly expand, maintaining security becomes more difficult and no less important. Data must be safeguarded, any unauthorized access must be immediately identified and stopped, and organizations must be able to assure all stakeholders that networks comply with evolving regulations. If your network can’t do that as it grows, it isn’t scalable.
Overcoming Challenges with AI and DEM
The key to overcoming these challenges and designing a reliable, optimal, and scalable network is visibility and proactive alerts. With thousands of devices and users to oversee, traditional methods of network monitoring struggle to adequately provide these elements. That is why we turn to AI-powered network automation and DEM.
The Role of AI-Powered Network Automation in Scaling Efficiently
AI-powered network automation solutions automatically detect, identify, and mitigate wired and WiFi network issues. These solutions scale alongside networks, reduce the need for human intervention by drastically reducing issues, and increase network reliability.
Here is why they are necessary for efficient network scalability:
Proactive Problem Solving
AI-engines and machine learning algorithms study network performance. Over time, these solutions get better and better at identifying issues before they escalate. This gives IT teams time to resolve the problems before operations are affected, and alerts decision makers as to pain points that must be addressed so that networks can maintain performance.
Enhancing Efficiency and Reducing Operational Costs
These solutions automate the analysis of all network activity, run network testing, and identify the root cause of all problems. By automating these routine tasks, IT teams are free to focus on strategic initiatives – such as maintaining optimal networks and meeting all business goals – and not manual troubleshooting.
Predictive Maintenance
AI-powered network automation solutions don’t only proactively address existing problems, they also preemptively address potential problems. These solutions learn from past network behavior and predict future needs. This allows IT to perform predictive maintenance, which both reduces downtime and future-proofs networks.
Enhancing Digital Experience Monitoring to Improve Scalability
Digital experience monitoring (DEM) is the practice of measuring the performance and availability of end-user devices. DEM solutions deliver the information that IT needs to keep all users and devices connected for seamless business continuity. As networks consist of more and more users and devices, DEM insights tell IT how well networks are doing at meeting user needs.
Organizations need DEM solutions for:
User-centric Monitoring
DEM solutions provide end user insights at the device level. This helps IT to understand how the network is performing from the user’s perspective, and what, if any, performance issues need to be resolved for a seamless digital experience.
Holistic visibility
DEM solutions monitor the entire user experience as far as the network is concerned. When combined with AI-powered network automation solutions, IT teams are given holistic visibility into the entire network ecosystem – from end user to server.
Aligning IT with Business Outcomes
DEM analytics reveal what an organization’s specific users need from the network. With these measurable user analytics, businesses can scale the network in the way that is best for their users and business goals.
Building a Resilient Network with AI and DEM: Practical Steps
Human IT teams have enormous responsibility. They must maintain optimized wired and WiFi networks – the foundation of all business operations – in real time, 24/7.
No matter how great a team is and how hard they work, they cannot do this alone. They need the support of AI-powered network automation and DEM solutions.
Here’s how to get started.
- Assess current network reliability and scalability. Remember, scalability is the ability to maintain performance no matter how network demand changes.
- Identify immediate and long-term needs.
- Set short and long-term goals for network automation and DEM adoption.
- Research AI-powered network automation solutions. Select a solution to test.
- Research DEM solutions. Select a solution to test.
- Start small. Implement these solutions first in targeted areas (identified in Step 2).
- Assess impact and benefits.
- Adopt on a wider scale if the results prove the investment is worthwhile. If not, research and select another solution.
Measuring ROI and Business Value in AI and DEM
We recommend evaluating your AI-powered network automation and DEM solutions using the following metrics. Gather metrics for 1-3 months before adopting AI and DEM solutions. Then proceed to gather metrics while using the solutions for 1-3 months. How do the metrics compare?
Performance Metrics
This includes:
- Network reliability
- Incident response times
- Mean Time to Resolution
- User satisfaction scores
Cost-benefit Analysis
Evaluate the cost savings from reduced downtime thanks to proactive troubleshooting and predictive maintenance, minimized manual labor thanks to the automatic detection and mitigation of issues, and more efficient resource utilization with the solutions taking over many manual, routine tasks.
There should be notable cost savings. If there isn’t, determine if you need to test the solutions in a different environment or if the problem lies with the solutions.
Alignment with Business Objectives
AI-powered network automation and DEM solutions should return in-depth real time and historical analytics that allow IT to maintain optimized, reliable networks now and into the future. The insights from these solutions should identify exactly what needs to be done to create network ecosystems that optimally meet all business objectives.
If the insights you receive from a solution don’t enable you to design a future-proofed, scalable network that better supports all strategic goals, then it isn’t the right solution for you.
Maintain Your Competitive Edge
Take advantage of AI-powered network automation and DEM solutions that will deliver the network and digital experience metrics you need to cost-effectively and efficiently design and maintain a scalable network in the midst of ongoing challenges such as increased bandwidth demand, exploding IoT adoption, remote work sites, and a mobile workforce.
Ask us today for a free trial or demo of our AI-powered network automation solution, and learn more about our DEM solution here.
Wyebot is the leader in AI-driven WiFi Automation. Our sensor, cloud, and client device technologies eliminate wired and WiFi network issues and improve the digital experience for every user, independent of location. Our award-winning, first-to-market, innovative solutions are changing people’s lives in the enterprise, healthcare, manufacturing + warehousing, MSP, retail, and education industries.
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