Infrastructure Intelligence: 2020 technology trends

SD-WAN meets cloud networking

'You can rely on hybrid cloud to improve performance and innovate faster, while a good intelligent infrastructure can help you decrease cost and complexity.'

Doug Adams, CEO, RagingWire Data Centers, an NTT company

Follow on LinkedIn

The role of the telco is being redefined as organizations are moving away from using a single telco provider and turning to the public internet. This has been accelerated by maturing SD-WAN technologies, which have become a billion-dollar industry in just a few years.

The reality is that there are multiple connectivity methods – including, now, the large-scale backbone networks that hyperscalers are making available to their clients. This move arguably means they’re also becoming network providers.

Explore all your options for network connectivity

With so many choices for connecting and improving the performance of the network and how it connects to a hybrid cloud environment, it’s advisable to explore all your options. Invest in the appropriate skills for the design, installation and management of your new WAN for optimal performance. You’ll also need people who understand applications and cloud environments and can architect for these requirements.

Managed services platform and automating the network with intent

In 2020, artificial intelligence and machine learning will play an increasing role in improving performance and optimizing the network environment. Intent-based networking uses analytics to deliver visibility and awareness of network performance, and automated orchestration enhances agility across the infrastructure – from the campus through the WAN and into the data center or cloud.

Network management operations need to incorporate intent-based networking technologies into their managed services platform to remove operational complexity and break through the traditional silos of the network – the campus, WAN and data center – which have historically been managed separately. Common elements will be abstracted into a single management approach that delivers much higher levels of consistency and provides for a more holistic approach to network operations.

In addition to ensuring that the infrastructure intelligence can support new technologies, organizations will need appropriate automation, operational processes and platforms to manage large-scale infrastructure rollouts. Identity-based security will be critical (see Intelligent Cybersecurity for more detail).

Partnering for the right skills

Automation and analytics require investment into the developers and data scientists who put those systems in place and keep them going. Given the massive skill shortages in these areas, organizations are likely to partner with providers that are investing heavily in the required software DevOps and data science capabilities.

Disruptive technologies to watch

One of the cool domains we’re working on now is adaptive computing. It has applications in complex environments such as smart stadiums and safe hospitals, where information comes from a range of sources – massive video feeds, sensors, and so on – and a fast, real-time response is key.

We’re creating a new generation of capabilities for NTT data centers to tackle these complex scenarios and target 5G. Adaptive computing uses Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), a new generation of semiconductor devices configured to manage and process massive amounts of information. We aim to create the first full-stack solution that can, for example, process information in real time from thousands of feeds from cameras, sensors and other devices, as well as social media, to assist with fast decision-making and quality responses.

In developing these solutions, we’re mindful that all this infrastructure and processing demands huge computing power, which in turn will require massive power supplies. So, in tandem with these solutions we’re exploring, we’re also focusing on technologies that could reduce the consumption and cost of energy by up to 80%. Achieving this would have a significant impact on helping our own business and our clients’ organizations live up to their sustainable development goals.