A Tsunami Of Empowerment Will Hit Your Network With The Internet Of Things

The empowered era — cloud, virtualization, and bring-your-own-device (BYOD)—pummeled the network and networking teams. This deluge isn't letting up, as the Internet of Things (IoT) promises to enhance business' competitiveness. In this era, networks' business potential will come to life in the hands of line-of-business (LOB) owners, such as those who design aircraft control systems and manufacturing assembly lines and who manage guest experiences in hotels or the next-generation retail store. But to do this, networks need to be handed over to these LOB professionals. This IT-to-LOB handoff will be physiological and transformational for all roles involved, but it will also be technical: Networks must evolve to embody the principles of virtual network infrastructure (VNI). This report outlines the shift of responsibilities brought on by the Internet of Things and the virtual network infrastructure that infrastructure and operations (I&O) professionals and their networking teams must set up.