Three Forcing Functions That Will Extend Your Data Center's Network Services Beyond Its Walls

Five years after introducing network fabrics, the networking industry has hit the reset button. Vendors haven't come any closer to helping customers build networks that can instantly mesh users, data, and applications — a critical capability in a world moving toward mobility and cloud. As a result, the industry has turned its attention to software-defined networking (SDN) as the key ingredient of an infrastructure that is standardized, automated, self-service, and multitenant. But simply deploying an SDN solution to help create a private cloud within a data center should not be the goal; businesses must be able to create a private cloud that extends to all data centers, seamlessly incorporates cloud services, and connects users with the best business tools. This report profiles three forcing functions that will help infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders meet these imperatives and shape a next-generation network that supports the innovation that businesses need.