Open Network Featured Article

The traditional network – it can be overwhelming to see it in the flesh. Cooled rooms, rows and rows of servers, bundled wires of varying colors. Just about everything in sight was provided by the same company, which had a tight hold on that particular network and in many cases, the market at large. It was great for vendors, but it ensured that companies lacked the agility they needed to stay competitive in the market.

When a change needed to happen, the network was often the bottleneck. Companies couldn’t move quickly and therefore they lost. Fortunately, this limitation was not a death sentence and something better emerged. Open networking came along and offered a path toward breaking the linkage between hardware and software. In the process, Linux-based software can run on any network switch, providing businesses with more flexibility and allowing them to move faster so as to capture more opportunities.

According to a recent piece in Forbes, the drive toward open networking is being driven by companies like Dell (News - Alert) and Hewlett Packard. Companies are continuing to gravitate toward Dell’s open networking strategy as they seek an alternative to traditional networking. Many want to make the move, but are leery about trusting an unknown provider. As Dell often delivers server infrastructure for a number of these organizations, migrating to an open platform offered by Dell is a natural move.

For some, the demand is so intense that they’re seeking to build out their own open networking opportunity. ICM Netsystems, for instance, is a hosting provider in Spain. The company wanted to build an open networking data superhighway in an effort to boost growth and innovation. ICM Netsystems has already enjoyed a flood of network traffic from virtualization and as the demand for secure cloud-based storage, on-demand streamlining and virtual private networks continues. Innovation was a must for the company and open networking offered a smarter solution.

Management was simplified considerably with the use of open networking and a Linux-based network OS. The company also worked with Dell and Cumulus to boost flexibility by 50 percent and efficiency by 20 percent. ICM Netsystems customers reaped the most benefit, including a 45 percent increase in performance. In addition to other benefits, the company has also experienced a 35 percent increase in the bottom line.

As the demand for instant access to information, entertainment, transactions and more continues to intensify on a nearly daily basis, traditional networking has a limited shelf-life. Capacity simply won’t be able to keep up with demand. Companies hoping to stay on the cutting edge need open networking solutions to remain agile, flexible, efficient and competitive if they hope to stick around.