Important Trends and Considerations in Mobility: Juniper Networks

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

Technology advancements have a significant impact on our lives and looking back to 2010 may help us to better determine where we are going in 2011.

In a recent TMCnet interview, CEO Rich Tehrani asked Greg Maudsley, director of Product Marketing for Juniper Networks (News - Alert), his opinion on the most significant technology trend in 2010. Maudsley pointed to the ongoing mobility explosion and the introduction of the tablet as a productivity tool in the corporate environment. When asked about the impact the continued growth of cloud computing will have on the communications industry in 2011, Maudsley highlighted that this growth will drive traffic demands on provider networks.

As for the mobile winners in 2011, Maudsley noted they will all be winners to some extent and believes the future of the industry has multiple successful manufacturers. When asked about the impact mobile technology will have on the tech space, Maudsley said it will provide new ways for enterprises to conduct business and provide opportunities to address a number of customer issues with regard to mobility. As for the best opportunities in the tech space, Maudsley listed network, application and device security.

Maudsley does believe technology is bringing us together as never before, and Juniper Networks is using social media interactions in the form of blog posts or status updates on YouTube, Facebook (News - Alert) or Twitter. Internally, the company uses a community of interest collaboration sites and Maudsley believes that net neutrality is a good idea. As for the greatest technological development in 2011, Maudsley points to the use of smart devices in our jobs and at home. At his session at ITEXPO East, attendees will gain insight into important trends and considerations regarding mobility. As for his surprising prediction for 2011, Maudsley predicts Microsoft (News - Alert) will emerge as a viable competitor in the smart-device arena. Their entire conversation follows:

 What was the most significant technology trend in 2010 and what impact will it have in 2011?

 The ongoing mobility explosion and the introduction of the tablet as a viable corporate productivity tool lead the most significant technology trends in 2010. They are significant because they were not the result of government or corporate mandates. Rather, they were the result of the groundswell of smart device adoption by professional consumers. Because of the rapid and wide-spread adoption, businesses were unprepared to cope with the rapid influx of personal devices on their networks. Through 2011 and beyond, IT organizations will struggle to solve the security issues these devices and their users pose.

What impact will the continued growth of cloud computing have on the communications industry in 2011?

The growth of cloud computing will continue to drive traffic demands on provider networks. This in turn will drive demand for high-performance end-to-end security solutions which secure the device, the network, and the applications. For example, devices will require secure connectivity to hosted applications, and not only will the hosted applications need to be protected at point of ingress and egress, but inter VM traffic will increasingly require some level of security such that an attack on one server or application does not spread within the data center. Vendors capable of providing this level of comprehensive security will be well positioned in 2011. The providers offering cloud-based services will thrive as well as an increasing number of businesses are turning to the cloud to reduce IT overhead.

Who will be the mobile winners in 2011 out of Google Android (News - Alert), Apple, Microsoft, Nokia and RIM?

They will all be winners to some extent. Unlike the notebook industry which was dominated by Microsoft due to wide-spread enterprise adoption, the smart device industry is being driven by individual consumers who choose platforms based on a multitude of factors including available apps, cellular coverage, user interface, etc. Each of these vendors offers feature sets that are appealing to users and each has its own following. Hence the future of the mobile industry will be more akin to the automobile industry with multiple successful manufacturers, rather than the PC industry which is dominated by a single vendor. 

What impact will mobile technology have on the tech space in 2011?

Mobile technology will impact the tech space in two ways. First, it will provide new ways for enterprises in the tech space to conduct business, with an increasing amount of data and applications at employees’ fingertips 24/7. Business operations will be streamlined and productivity will rise as work is done and issues are resolved in real-time, regardless of any person’s physical location. Secondly, for a key segment of vendors in the tech space, mobile technology provides an opportunity to address a number of customer issues with regard to mobility, namely, the security and management of mobile devices on the corporate network, the majority of which are personally owned.

Where are the best opportunities in the tech space this year?

Due to the explosion in mobility, the introduction of new threat vectors, and the evolving threat landscape, we see the best opportunities in network, application, and device security. In 2011, businesses will be forced to look at security more holistically than ever before. They will need to deal with the massive influx of personal devices on the corporate network and figure out how to enforce consistent security policies across a wide variety of devices and operating systems. They will need to secure the connections from these devices to the network and enable uniform authentication and access policies across laptops, netbooks, tablets, and smartphones. And they will need to secure the network and the data center, where inter VM security will be as important as ingress and egress security. This new paradigm presents a significant opportunity for those in the security space. 

How can technology change the world for the better?

Technology is bringing us together as never before. Social media sites and applications such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have connected us to family, old friends, new friends, communities of interest, subject matter experts, and even to customers. Because of these connections, geographical borders are having less impact on information exchange, allowing people around the world to communicate and learn at little or no cost. With this communication and learning comes a better understanding of our world and the various cultures that share it, helping us to understand that although we are different, we are very much the same.   

What impact has social media had on how you interact with your customers?  How do you measure its effectiveness?

Most social media interactions come in the form of blog posts or status updates on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. These provide simple and effective ways to communicate with customers, both as a means of disseminating and gathering information. Success on this front can be measured by things such as site hits and number of blog views, and also by written comments

How have you leveraged social networking as an internal collaboration tool?

We use community of interest collaboration sites as a means of connecting employees and sharing information

The FCC (News - Alert) has recently voted to support net neutrality.  Is net neutrality necessary, or will it present more challenges than it will solve?

For the time-being, net neutrality is a good idea as it levels the playing field and makes the Internet equally available to all who use its services. Without it, businesses and consumers would need to navigate a complex web of service and application offerings provided by carriers around the world, akin to the emergence of U.S. rail barons at the turn of the 20^th Century.

What will be the greatest technological development in 2011?  Why?

In 2011, technology will be developed that redefines the way we use smart devices to do our jobs and manage our lives. An increasing amount of functionality will be at users’ fingertips, some of which will come in the form of on-device applications, and some of which will be hosted in the cloud. New levels of productivity will be achieved with collaboration applications, security solutions will evolve rapidly to address the evolving threat landscape, and business will be able to effectively managed personal devices on their networks. At the same time, technical complexity will be reduced for end-users, further driving the explosion in smart-device adoption 

Why is your session a must-attend at ITEXPO?

Attendees will gain insight into important trends and considerations regarding mobility that will have an impact on the productivity of their employees and the security of their network, devices, and applications.

What other topics should be at the top of attendees’ lists?

Data center security, virtualization, cloud computing

What new and exciting products/solutions can we expect to see from your company in 2011?

Juniper will continue to deliver products that define the new network and take device, network, and application security to new levels

Please make one surprising prediction for 2011.

Microsoft will emerge as a viable competitor in the smart-device arena.

To find out more about Juniper Networks, visit the company at ITEXPO East 2011. To be held Feb. 2-4 in Miami, ITEXPO is the world’s premier IP communications event. Greg Maudsley is speaking during “Securing Tablets and Smartphones in the Enterprise.” Don’t wait. Register now.

(source: http://hosted-exchange.tmcnet.com/topics/mobility/articles/137723-important-trends-considerations-mobility-juniper-networks.htm)