Commercial technologies are continuously developing, evolving, and adapting to accommodate consumer demands. Network architecture can evolve the same way to meet ever-growing business demands. Due to constant developments, modern businesses are looking to shift from conventional business networks to open networking. It allows them to add flexibility and agility to their business network and improve business productivity and services while reducing operational costs. Let’s discuss open networking and its benefits to help you better understand how. But before we begin, always remember to consult expert professionals like Communications Solutions Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida, for all your business network needs. That being said, let’s dive right in.
Open Networking and Its Benefits
Here, we will explain open networking and share its benefits to help you understand how your business can take advantage.
What Is Open Networking?
Open networking is an innovative network architecture that separates network hardware devices from the software code. The concept is based on stripped-down hardware and open standards that let your business choose the equipment, software, and network operating systems (OS).
This freedom allows open networking to provide your business with a programmable business network that is highly agile and flexible. But that’s not all; the segmenting of hardware and software in open networking opens connected systems and computers to interoperability, component compatibility, and expansions. As a result, your business can be more flexible and facilitate growth and development.
Benefits of Open Networking
The benefits of open networking are great for business, especially when compared to conventional business networks. Open networking offers improved flexibility and enables your business to improve its potential and abilities and reduce costs, ultimately improving return on investment (ROI).
Here are some key benefits of open networking, especially compared to conventional business networks.
· Superior Network Flexibility
Open networking adds flexibility to your business network, providing multiple options for business network deployment. When you have an open network, you can deploy suitable topology and protocols that meet your specific and unique business requirements.
With open networking, you can extensively customize your business network since it does not have to conform to a set architecture. It also means that you can source your network equipment, software, and designs from separate vendors, allowing you to reduce costs by creating the most cost-effective configuration for your business network.
The best part is that your business network does not have to follow the standard network protocols of a conventional business network. You can program it directly as per your business needs.
· Increased Productivity Through Agility
Open networks are highly agile, allowing your business network to be managed through familiar open interfaces and protocols. They allow you to be more productive when using business network processes like deployment, testing, and validation.
You can easily remove overbuilds and prevent a stagnant network bandwidth, allowing your business to make the most of its resources. Ultimately, an agile business network results in increased business productivity because it increases your execution speeds to deliver faster services.
· Higher Cost-Effectiveness
Since you have more freedom of choice regarding network hardware and equipment, the initial cost of deploying an open network for your business is far lower than deploying a conventional one. Generally, open network hardware and OS are usually available at lower pricing than conventional networks while being a perfect fit for your business requirements.
Moreover, open networking typically costs less to install and offers lower operational costs. Your business saves precious real estate with fewer equipment and server racks. Open networking also helps save money on operational costs through energy savings.
Open networks allow for savings from the fact open networks generally require half as much rack space and energy compared to conventional business networks; this is just one way open networking results in savings.
Key Considerations for Deploying/ Shifting to Open Networking
Consider a few essential factors before deploying or shifting to open networking for your business.
Network Devices
Equipment selection is critical for deploying open networking for your business. You should be careful when selecting network devices and ensure they meet your requirements. A simple example of this is the essential network switch.
You cannot just choose any network switch. Get the right network switch, one with an open-standard UI. The open-standard UI for such switches allows them to be more user-friendly and not require the involvement of many employees, reducing your operations expenses. Of course, this is just one example, and the appropriate open network equipment and solutions will depend on your business requirements.
Expenses and Business Budget
The cost-effectiveness of open networking is very attractive for businesses. However, they often overlook the expense of deploying or shifting to such a network. You must ensure that your business can afford such a move and create a realistic budget before deploying open networking or transitioning from your existing business network.
Technical Ability to Deploy and Maintain Open Networking
Deploying or shifting to an open network means changing your business network architecture. While it isn’t too difficult, it isn’t as simple as changing a router. You need skilled technical support for deployment, maintenance, and follow-up procedures of open networks, which are different from similar procedures of conventional networks.
You may have an in-house IT team for such purposes, or you can outsource these things to expert professionals like Communications Solutions Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida.
Conclusion
Open networking and its benefits are unlike conventional business networking, which can be incredibly powerful for your business. There is nothing you can’t do with open networking because it offers you immense customization, flexibility, agility, and productivity while costing less.
However, for a successful business network, your open networking must have a strategic design and architecture that focuses on your business needs and the long-term operations and maintenance of the network.
Consider every step of the process carefully, from planning to deployment to execution. For this reason, we highly recommend consulting expert professionals like Communications Solutions Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida.
They are experts in business networks and network architecture capable of helping you deploy the perfect open networking solutions that suit your business requirements perfectly.
If you want to learn more about open networking and its benefits or the best business network and open network solutions in Florida, Contact Us Today!