In Challenging Times You Need A Network Strategic Plan

As the economic slowdown starts to bite, many enterprises are looking to the innovative use of communications to reduce costs and improve efficiency. As a result, corporate network traffic is growing at unprecedented rates as firms implement voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), IP videoconferencing, collaboration applications, and data center centralization/server virtualization projects. These new wide-area network (WAN) applications all require demanding, consistent, and differentiated performance. Simple trending, the traditional approach to network capacity planning, is no longer adequate. Without a strategic plan, there is a danger of cost explosion and service degradation. Ethernet services, Internet VPNs, and mobility applications require new network architectures; network-based services and multisourcing add complexity to supplier strategies. A network strategic plan will help you find a safe path through this minefield by putting a formal process around gathering requirements, involving stakeholders, and communicating the outcome.