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	September 8, 2006 The Debate Is Over: Businesses Prefer Smart Networks by Robert Whiteley with Christine E. Atwood, Benjamin Gray, Galen Schreck, Rachel Batiancila

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Executive Summary

Remember the "smart versus dumb network" debate from the late '90s? Well, it's back, thanks in large part to Cisco Systems. With its recent initiatives likes Service-Oriented Network Architecture (SONA) and Application-Oriented Networking (AON), Cisco is raising the bar for just how intelligent networks should be. And it has left firms asking, "Does all that stuff belong in my network?" To answer the question, we surveyed companies to see if they prefer a "smart" network (one with embedded intelligence like security, virtualization, and optimization technologies) or a "dumb" network (one with simple "plumbing" that just routes and switches). According to our survey respondents, this debate has been settled — smart networks have won. Companies, regardless of size, region, or industry, overwhelmingly prefer to use smart networks in their architecture. Hardware advancements, more sophisticated network software, and better management tools mean that firms can reliably embed intelligent security, mobility, virtualization, and acceleration directly into the network.

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