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Take the Intent-Based Networking Assessment to understand how you really compare to thousands of IT leaders across industries and from around the world.
Intent-Based Networking
With an estimated $2T global spend on digital transformation (DX) technologies in 2022, your network is becoming exponentially more important. Organizations worldwide are already on their way to evolving their network to an intent-based networking model that can deal with the agility, scale, complexity and security challenges posed by digital transformation.
Intent-Based
Networking Assessment
Your Intent-Based Networking Assessment brief
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Question 1
What are the top business priorities informing your network strategy?
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Question 2
What are the top technology challenges facing your network today?
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Question 3
How would you describe your network architecture today? And where do you plan to be in 2 years?
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Question 4
How do you approach network security today? And where do you plan to be in 2 years?
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Question 5
How do you assure network performance and operations? And where do you plan to be in 2 years?
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Question 6
How do you make sure branch users have a great multicloud experience? And where do you plan to be in 2 years?
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Question 7
What’s your approach to supporting Internet of Things (IoT) applications and devices on your network? And where do you plan to be in 2 years?
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Score
Your Score
employees
Your Network
Average Peer
Top 30% Peers
Congratulations. You are ahead of 97% of your peers.
Congratulations. You are ahead of 75% of your peers.
30% of your peers received a similar score.
33% of your peers received a similar score.
12% of your peers received a similar score.
You have an advanced network with the agility and security to continuously deliver on the needs of your organization every minute of every day.
You have a network that is well suited to deliver the dynamic services your organization needs. Only 3% of your peers scored above 80.
You are just behind the leading 25% of your peers that scored 68 and above. You are ready to take the next step to building a networking platform fit for the digital age.
The leading 25% of your peers scored 68 and above. You have an opportunity to accelerate your journey to an advanced network based on tried and trusted technologies.
The leading 25% of your peers scored 68 and above. You have an opportunity to accelerate your journey to an advanced network based in tried and trusted technologies.
Recommendations
Intent-Based Networking Assessment Results
You have an advanced network with the agility and security to continuously deliver on the needs of your organization every minute of every day. You have a network that is well suited to deliver the dynamic services your organization needs. Only 3% of your peers scored above 80. You are just behind the leading 25% of your peers that scored 68 and above. You are ready to take the next step to building a networking platform fit for the digital age. The leading 25% of your peers scored 68 and above. You have an opportunity to accelerate your journey to an advanced network based on tried and trusted technologies. The leading 25% of your peers scored 68 and above. You have an opportunity to accelerate your journey to an advanced network based in tried and trusted technologies. Download your personalized report to receive your score and to find out how your network compares with your peers.Please accept the use of cookies to access your customized report and read the guidance on how to achieve your 2-year goals.
Provide your email address to receive your customized report and read the guidance on how to achieve your 2-year goals.
Download PDFIn this brief you will find:
- Executive summary - Your business priorities and network challenges, visual peer comparison charts, and the Digital Network Readiness Model
- Essential guidance - Detailed information on current peer comparison and 2-year guidance per: network architecture, network security, network assurance, Wide Area Network, and IoT
- Recommended solution - A suggested Cisco solution that can help your company based on your business priorities and network challenges
Read the disclaimer
The information found in this report was produced solely based on responses provided to the Intent-Based Networking Assessment. Cisco Systems, Inc. (“Cisco”) makes no representations, warranties or guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability or validity of any information in the report and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, losses, injuries or damages arising from its use. All information is provided on an “AS IS” basis, and you are responsible for verifying your own facts. You should not rely on the information in the report as an alternative to technical advice from a qualified professional. If you have questions on networking solutions, please contact a Cisco Partner or a Cisco Sales Representative. Nothing herein shall be construed as a quotation or offer to contract directly with Cisco. The Cisco logos, trademarks, and other information provided by Cisco appear in this response with Cisco’s permission and are proprietary and confidential information of Cisco Systems.
Executive summary
You identified your key business priorities and top network challenges as:
Key business priorities for your network
- Minimizing operational expenses
- Preventing security attacks
- Achieving required application service levels
- Minimizing network disruptions
- Accelerating new application deployments
- Enabling business innovation
- Aligning the network to dynamic business needs
- Optimizing the customer experience
Top network challenges
- Optimizing access to multi-cloud services
- Improving network visibility to prevent service degradation
- Improving secure access for mobile/wireless users and things
- Improving the experience of branch users
- Optimizing data center and private cloud networking
- Identifying and containing security threats
- Simplifying network operations
- Achieving secure convergence of IT and OT/IoT networks
Your Score
/100
Congratulations. You are ahead of 97% of your peers. Congratulations. You’re ahead of 75% of your peers. 30% of your peers received a similar score. 33% of your peers received a similar score. 12% of your peers received a similar score.
You have an advanced network with the agility and security to continuously deliver on the needs of your organization every minute of every day. You have a network that is well suited to deliver the dynamic services your organization needs. Only 3% of your peers scored above 80. You're just behind the leading 25% of your peers that scored 68 and above. You’re ready to take the next step to building a networking platform fit for the digital age. The leading 25% of your peers scored 68 and above. You have an opportunity to accelerate your journey to an advanced network based on tried and trusted technologies. The leading 25% of your peers scored 68 and above. You have an opportunity to accelerate your journey to an advanced network based in tried and trusted technologies.
/100
Congratulations. You are ahead of 97% of your peers. Congratulations. You’re ahead of 75% of your peers. 30% of your peers received a similar score. 33% of your peers received a similar score. 12% of your peers received a similar score.
You have an advanced network with the agility and security to continuously deliver on the needs of your organization every minute of every day. You have a network that is well suited to deliver the dynamic services your organization needs. Only 3% of your peers scored above 80. You're just behind the leading 25% of your peers that scored 68 and above. You’re ready to take the next step to building a networking platform fit for the digital age. The leading 25% of your peers scored 68 and above. You have an opportunity to accelerate your journey to an advanced network based on tried and trusted technologies. The leading 25% of your peers scored 68 and above. You have an opportunity to accelerate your journey to an advanced network based in tried and trusted technologies.
Your Results
Cisco Digital Networking Readiness Model
Learn more about the Digital Network Readiness Model in the 2020 Global Networking Trends Report
Essential guidance
To overcome your challenges and achieve your business priorities, you should consider the following essential guidance for improving in each network area:*2019 Global Network Trends Survey, **Cisco Visual Networking IndexTM, 2018, ***2018 Cost of Data Breach Study: Ponemon Institute
Network architectureCurrent Peer Comparison
You selected:
Eight percent of survey respondents* also manage their siloed networks manually using a traditional command-line interface (CLI). Without moving to a controller-based network architecture, it will be increasingly difficult to keep up with your organization’s digital initiatives. According to our research, within two years, 35 percent of IT leaders plan to adopt an intent-based network architecture.*
Twenty-three percent of survey respondents* also manage their end-to-end networks manually. Seventy-three percent of our survey respondents* say they spend more than half of their resources on maintaining the network status quo today. Without moving to a controller-based network architecture, it will be increasingly difficult to keep up with your organization’s digital initiatives. According to our research, within two years, 35 percent of network professionals plan to adopt an intent-based network architecture.*
Like you, 41 percent of network strategists have begun their journey to an intent-based network by introducing automation capabilities with a software-defined network (SDN). However, according to our research,* 43 percent of IT leaders identify the network as a business-enabling or business-enhancing platform for their organization. Accordingly, within two years, 35 percent of IT organizations plan to move beyond SDN and adopt a fully intent-based network architecture that can quickly adapt to new business requirements and services.
When it comes to your network infrastructure, you’re among the 23 percent of survey respondents* that are well ahead of the pack and have a proactive plan. You’ve seen the projections—cloud, mobility, Internet of Things (IoT), analytics—and are well on your way to an intent-based network that embraces advances in software-defined networking (SDN), automation, virtualization, programmability, and AI. Now is a good time to up your game even further and extend your controller-based network architecture across all domains (for example, access, WAN, data center, and multicloud) to further support your digital business strategy end to end.
There are some IT teams that don’t like to follow—they’d rather lead. That would include you and your team. You’re among the 4 percent of survey respondents* that are way ahead of the rest. You’ve implemented a proactive plan to deploy a controller-based network architecture that takes advantage of advances in software-defined networking (SDN) and AI across all network domains. Now is a good time to reap the benefits of your work and drive your organization’s faster and more secure adoption of digital initiatives.
2-year Guidance
You selected:
The status quo may seem like the easiest path, but it’s certainly not the best for IT or the organization. And you will quickly find that your network is holding your business back. It is no secret that manually configuring networks has been outpaced by the advance of modern technology. Traditional networks simply can’t keep up with current user demands, let alone with the increasing requirements they will experience in the next two years and beyond.
By combining siloed wired and wireless networks, you will achieve greater ease of management and more efficient use of network hardware. But manual network management will continue to be problematic and will likely mean your network will still cost more to operate than the actual cost of the hardware. Think about enabling a controller-based architecture, with automation, programmability, and real-time analytics to support your organization’s digital strategy.
By adopting a software-defined approach that takes advantage of separation of the control plane from the data plane, you will enjoy the benefits of greater automation and management simplicity. You should consider adopting these capabilities across all your network domains. In addition, the easiest and most fundamental next step toward a complete intent-based network is to collect and analyze end-to-end network data to gain deeper visibility and improve networks and service assurance.
Once you have a network architecture that is digital ready from head to toe, it will be your responsibility to focus your super-advanced network on enabling better business outcomes. How can your network better align to business priorities? How can it drive new business models and processes? How can it better integrate into IT operations and SecOps workflows? How can it predict problems and threats? And how can it protect the organization in the midst of the most transformative business initiatives? Prepare to reap the benefits and receive the associated credit for being a true leader.
Now that you have a fully intent-based network architecture across all domains, it will be your responsibility to focus your super-advanced network on enabling better business outcomes. How can your network continuously align to business priorities? How can it drive new business models and processes? How can it seamlessly integrate into IT operations and SecOps workflows? How can it predict problems and threats? And how can it protect the organization in the midst of the most transformative business initiatives? Prepare to reap the benefits and receive the associated credit for being a true leader.
Network securityCurrent Peer Comparison
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You’ve joined the 7 percent of survey respondents* who reported that they have basic perimeter controls to manage threat detection and access policies device by device. With the adoption of mobility, cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT), together with increasing threats, you’re probably feeling burdened with a model that’s both rigid and unsustainable. If, like 26 percent* of your peers, you consider minimizing security events as a top networking priority, a more advanced approach to network security could help you rapidly and comprehensively protect the network, its users, and their data. That will also give your organization a secure foundation to move forward with any digital transformation plans.
You’ve joined the 30 percent of survey respondents* who reported that they manage threat detection and access policies network-wide. Achieving visibility throughout your network is the first step to protecting your organization against threats. However, with increased adoption of mobility, cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT), you will be challenged with achieving continuous protection in a zero-trust environment. You should consider how you can integrate advanced network analytics and policy-based segmentation across your network. This will deliver greater protection and better speed to detection and resolution.
Your team obviously takes security seriously—as it should. You and 39 percent of survey respondents* have the ability to dynamically apply precise controls over who, what, when, where, and how user and Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints are allowed on the wired and wireless network.
When it comes to security, your team really understands the critical role of the network. You and 21 percent of survey respondents* are ahead of 76 percent of your peers (kudos!). You have a network system that is able to continuously adapt to new conditions by proposing policy updates that can be activated across the network. Although you are a frontrunner, you know that the next security challenge is not far off. So start working with your SecOps team to see how specific security threats can be detected, contained, and remediated automatically to better scale increasing threats.
Time to celebrate! You are in the very small minority of 3 percent of survey respondents* that have a self-learning and self-protecting network. Working closely with SecOps, your team seizes the advantages of AI-enabled threat detection, policy creation, and enforcement to proactively block attacks, sometimes even before they happen. You can now focus your attention on the new opportunities this opens up to help the organization explore new frontiers.
2-year Guidance
You selected:
The status quo may seem like the easiest path, but it’s certainly not the cheapest. Mobility, cloud, and Internet of Things (IoT) adoption are creating the need for a zero-trust model. Because your network will be more exposed than average, the likelihood of a material breach will be higher than the average of 27.9 percent, and the cost per breach would likely be more than the average of $3.9 million.*** You should consider how you can integrate advanced network analytics and policy-based segmentation throughout your network. This will deliver greater protection and better speed to detection and resolution.
Achieving visibility and threat detection everywhere are the first steps to protecting your organization against threats. Now you will have insights at device, network, and application levels so you can detect network devices and applications that are under attack. However, with increased adoption of mobility, cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT), you will be challenged with achieving continuous protection in a zero-trust environment. You should consider how you can integrate advanced network analytics and policy-based segmentation across your network. This will deliver greater protection and better speed to detection and resolution.
By adopting policy-based access and segmentation, your network is much better positioned to survive in a zero-trust world. You will be able to use group-based policy controls and end-to-end, client-to-application segmentation to dynamically control the access to resources on your network. You will also be in a great position to explore how you can adopt AI to dynamically define and enforce policies to meet changing business and security needs.
Your team really can see the critical role your network will need to play in continuously protecting your organization. Having an AI-enabled network system that dynamically adapts to new conditions by proposing security policy updates that can be activated across the network will allow you to minimize risk and reduce your mean time to respond (kudos!). This will also put you in a great position to start working with your SecOps team to develop a number of well-defined, self-protecting workflows to meet the fast-growing numbers of devices, applications, and threats.
You realize that having a self-learning and self-protecting network will put your organization in a position to innovate faster and fearlessly explore new uncharted opportunities. Working closely with SecOps, and building on an intent-based network (IBN) model, your team will take advantage of AI-enabled threat detection, policy creation, and enforcement to proactively block attacks. With this is in place, you can better focus your attention on new ways your network can deliver value to your organization.
Network assuranceCurrent Peer Comparison
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You’ve joined the remaining 8 percent of survey respondents* who still aren’t using the rich network data available to them. This will be increasingly challenging in a mobile-first, cloud-first world. The network is uniquely positioned with visibility into every connecting user, device, application, and service. By taking advantage of readily available analytics capabilities, you will be able to correlate events and identify problems in real time across your whole network. AI-enabled analytics systems will allow you to better identify, troubleshoot, and even predict network problems, while building the network assurance vital for an intent-based networking system.
You’ve joined 27 percent of survey respondents* who can receive individual device events and view device-level reports for stats and monitoring. That’s a bit like being able to see just one basketball player on the court at a time. You’ll realize the full benefit of network data only when you have full visibility and contextual analytics across all users, devices, and applications. By deciding to deploy AI-enabled network assurance systems, you will be able to better identify, troubleshoot, and even predict network problems, while building the network assurance capabilities vital for an intent-based networking system.
You’re well on the way to enjoying the many benefits your network data can provide. You’ve joined 43 percent of survey respondents* who have full contextual visibility into users, applications, and devices. Your network data empowers your team and provides the visibility to respond quickly to events so that service levels are maintained and disruptions minimized. You are well positioned to make analytics the foundation for your intent-based network that improves agility and innovation while minimizing risks and costs. The next step is to work predictive analytics and automation into the mix.
You are ahead of three-quarters of your peers. You’ve joined 20 percent of leading-edge survey respondents* who already use AI-enabled predictive analytics to identify potential problems, threats, and bottlenecks. By building these capabilities across all network domains, you will be able to correlate, predict, and correct issues anywhere in the client-workload traffic path. You now also have the foundation you need for a closed-loop intent-based network that integrates AI-enabled assurance with automation to continuously align the network to business requirements.
You are light years ahead. You’ve joined just 3 percent of survey respondents* who already use AI-enabled analytics for pre-emptive problem remediation. Now the network advises network operators on the most appropriate corrective actions using knowledge bases enabled by machine learning and machine reasoning. That means you can spend your time building business value and driving new innovation. You are well on your way to a complete intent-based network that continuously aligns the network to business requirements.
2-year Guidance
You selected:
Dealing with analyzing the masses of data available on your network can seem like an overwhelming task. However, analysis of network data can provide huge value to your networking team in a mobile-first, cloud-first world, where visibility is more critical than ever. Network analytics forms the foundation for a network that can deliver the automation, service assurance, and security your business needs to move into the digital era. By taking advantage of AI-enabled analytics systems, you will be able to better identify, troubleshoot, and even predict network problems, while building the network assurance vital for an intent-based networking system.
Viewing individual device-level reports for stats and monitoring is a bit like being able to see just one basketball player on the court at a time. You’ll realize the full benefit of network data only when you have full visibility and contextual analytics across all users, devices, and applications. Analytics forms the foundation for a network that can deliver the automation, service assurance and security your business needs to move into the digital era. Take advantage of readily available analytics capabilities to help you correlate events and identify threats in real time across your whole network.
By deploying a centralized network assurance system, you will be well on the way to enjoying the many benefits your network data can provide across all network domains (access, WAN, DC, and multicloud). Having full contextual visibility into users, applications, and devices will provide you the visibility to respond quickly to events to ensure that service levels are maintained and disruptions minimized. You will be well positioned to make analytics the foundation for your intent-based network that improves agility and innovation while minimizing risks and costs.
Like many of your peers, you clearly recognize the importance of adopting advanced network analytics as part of your networking strategy. Using AI-enabled predictive analytics to identify future problems, threats, and bottlenecks will allow you to take preventive action to maximize performance and availability. This means you can spend more time building business value and driving new innovation. It will also lay the foundation for a closed-loop intent-based network that integrates AI-enabled assurance with automation to continuously align the network to business requirements.
You will join 29 percent of your leading-edge peers* who also plan to use AI-enabled analytics for pre-emptive problem remediation in two years. Now the network will be able to advise network operators on the most appropriate corrective actions using knowledge bases enabled by machine learning and machine reasoning. You will be well on the way to an intent-based network that integrates automation with AI-enabled assurance to continuously align the network to business requirements.
Wide area network (WAN)Current Peer Comparison
You selected:
Since you don’t have branches or use cloud services, you don’t have any need for WAN services.
You are part of a dwindling 12 percent of survey respondents* who indicated they still use traditional WAN services over MPLS and leased lines. With the rapid increase in the use of multicloud services, global business IP WAN traffic is set to double by 2022. In two years, 94 percent of survey respondents believe they will have a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) of some sort. A secure software-defined approach to managing the WAN allows you to optimize the multicloud application experience and greatly simplify WAN operations.
Like 30 percent of survey respondents,* you have made some progress toward reducing your costs by moving some of your traffic to more affordable broadband connections. However, with the rapid increase in the use of multicloud services, user application experience will be paramount, and traditional backhaul and manual approaches to application optimization will not suffice. A secure software-defined approach allows you to optimize the multicloud application experience and greatly simplify WAN operations.
You have made great progress by adopting a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) approach that allows you to optimize the multicloud application experience and greatly simplify WAN operations. Thirty-eight percent of survey respondents* are also enjoying the benefits of a basic SD-WAN deployment. And with secure SD-WAN you can achieve “direct cloud access” capabilities to securely connect users directly from the branch to cloud services. Now you should be looking to build on this platform to better leverage advanced analytics and an intent-based model to continuously align your network to changing network and business conditions.
You are among the first-mover organizations, along with 17 percent of survey respondents* who indicated they are using software-defined (SD-WAN) with AI-enabled analytics. By using machine learning capabilities, you can provide continuous WAN performance and operations enhancements for responding to increasingly dynamic network, application, and security conditions. This provides an ideal platform for delivering a complete intent-based WAN that continuously optimizes user experiences for all multicloud services.
Bravo! You are among the elite 3 percent of survey respondents* who indicated that they have achieved an intent-based WAN. Now your WAN can continuously align to business intent on a per-user and per-application basis, so that user experience is continuously optimized for all multicloud services. Don’t stop here. Explore ways to drive profitable business innovations as you enable your organization to fully embrace the digital journey.
2-year Guidance
You selected:
Since you don’t have branches or use cloud services, you don’t have any need for WAN services.
Your traditional WAN is not serving the best interests of your organization. The proliferation of multicloud services and the cost and complexity of managing traditional WAN infrastructures means that the time for change has arrived. The majority of your peers have already recognized that they need to move to a software-defined model for their WAN. So what are you waiting for?
While you will make some progress toward reducing your costs by moving some of your traffic to more affordable broadband connections, your WAN will not be optimized to support rapidly growing multicloud services. With multicloud, the user application experience over the WAN will be paramount, and traditional backhaul and manual approaches to application optimization will not suffice. In two years, 94 percent of survey respondents* believe they will have a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) of some sort. A secure SD-WAN approach will allow you to optimize the multicloud application experience and greatly simplify WAN operations.
By adopting a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) approach, you will have made a big step toward optimizing the multicloud application experience and greatly simplify WAN operations. According to our survey, 94 percent of organizations will have an SD-WAN of some sort within two years.* And with secure SD-WAN you will be able to deliver “direct cloud access” capabilities to securely connect users directly from the branch to cloud services. This will also provide you with a platform to better leverage advanced analytics and an intent-based model for your WAN to continuously align your network to changing network and business conditions.
You will be in good company with 47 percent of survey respondents* who indicated they also plan to use software-defined (SD-WAN) with AI-enabled analytics in two years. By using machine learning capabilities, you will provide continuous WAN performance and operations enhancements for responding to increasingly dynamic network, application, and security conditions. This will also provide an ideal platform for delivering a complete intent-based WAN that continuously optimizes user experiences for all multicloud services.
Bravo! Now your WAN can continuously align to business intent on a per-user and per-application basis, so that user experience is continuously optimized for all multicloud services. You will enjoy the benefits of self-optimizing WAN performance levels and security protections based on defined policies and intent. Don’t stop here. Explore ways to drive profitable business innovations as you enable your organization to fully embrace the digital journey.
Network for IoTCurrent Peer Comparison
You selected:
You’ve joined 8 percent of survey respondents* who report that they have not yet connected operation technology (OT) devices to their IT network. Because so much converges in the Internet of Things (IoT)—connectivity, security, automation, analytics, cloud, and open APIs—it’s increasingly important that IT and IoT teams work together. With nearly 14.6 billion** IoT devices forecasted by 2022, now is the right time to start down the path of creating an IoT strategy that will drive efficiency and new innovation.
You’ve begun your Internet of Things (IoT) journey, joining 34 percent of survey respondents* who report that they have begun to allow some initial IoT capabilities on a converged IT network. That’s a good start; however, with 94 percent of survey respondents* claiming they plan to have more advanced IoT capabilities within two years, you are still at risk of falling behind peer organizations. Now’s a good time to forge ahead by enabling your business with more-demanding IoT applications that can take advantage of the deterministic performance and secure segmentation a digital-ready network can offer.
You are well on your way to enabling your organization with advanced Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities. You join the 36 percent of survey respondents* who report that they are capable of supporting new IoT capabilities across a converged IT network. You have made great strides in securing your IoT environment by automating endpoint IoT classification that allows you to apply group-based segmentation policies automatically. Recognizing the benefits of scaling IoT analytics to private, public, and hybrid cloud environments, it’s time to think about extending your IoT capabilities to the cloud as well.
You’ve joined the 19 percent of survey respondents* who report deep integration between the IT network, cloud environments, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Nice work—this integration puts you way ahead of your competition, especially as many struggle to find their footing in IoT. Recent forecasting** suggests that nearly 14.6 billion IoT devices will be connected to networks by 2022, so you’re well positioned to succeed. Take a moment to appreciate and share what you have accomplished, and the direct business benefits you have succeeded in driving, before looking to the next IoT summit.
You’ve joined a very elite group of organizations that have moved beyond just enabling specific Internet of Things (IoT) applications to supporting complete IoT-enabled business processes across your IT network. Together with just 3 percent of survey respondents*, you are light years ahead of your peers, by using AI-enabled intent-based networking to help continuously deliver IoT services aligned to dynamic business needs. Take a moment to congratulate your team for the incredible possibilities you have opened up to your organization.
2-year Guidance
You selected:
The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming a business enabler and differentiator for many organizations and industries. With nearly 14.6 billion** IoT devices forecasted by 2022, if you’re not deploying IoT-based digital innovations, your peer organizations most certainly are. So it’s the right time to start down the path of creating an IoT strategy that will drive efficiency and new innovation. You can begin by identifying a couple of non-time-sensitive IoT applications that you can run across your IT network without risk.
You will have begun your Internet of Things (IoT) journey, allowing some initial IoT capabilities on a converged IT network. It will be a good start, but with 94 percent of survey respondents* claiming they plan to have more advanced IoT capabilities within two years, it will still put you at risk of falling behind peer organizations. Now is a good time to think ahead about how your business can take advantage of more-demanding IoT applications that use the deterministic performance and secure segmentation offered by a digital-ready network.
You will be well on your way to enabling your organization with advanced Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities by supporting new IoT capabilities across a converged IT network, while making sure you don’t open your network up to unwelcome security risks. You will have made great strides in securing your IoT environment by automating IoT device classification that allows you to apply group-based segmentation policies automatically. This allows you to deploy devices anywhere on your network and be confident they are placed on an isolated segment that offers no threat to your other users and applications.
With as many as 14.6 billion** IoT devices expected to be online by 2022, integrating your IT network and Internet of Things (IoT) applications will put you way ahead of your competition, especially as many struggle to find their footing in IoT. To accomplish deep integration between the IT network, cloud environments, and IoT applications requires end-to-end service assurance, not only across your network, but also across your cloud applications.
You will be joining a very elite group of organizations that have moved beyond just enabling specific Internet of Things (IoT) applications to supporting complete IoT-enabled business processes across your IT network. By using AI-enabled intent-based networking, you will be able to continuously deliver IoT services aligned to dynamic business needs and conditions. Take a moment to congratulate yourself on having the vision to open the door to the incredible possibilities that will be available to your organization.
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Secure the Access
Solution overview
Cisco Catalyst switches and wireless solutions
The access network needs to be wireless first, cloud driven, and data optimized, with security in its core, for an uninterrupted experience. Cisco® next-generation wireless and wired solutions are the foundation of a modern intent-based network. They are reliable, scalable, and secure to provide an access network that is simple to operate and powerful enough to meet increasing business demands.
In addition, the Cisco Software-Defined Access (SD-Access) solution provides automated end-to-end segmentation to separate user, device, and application traffic without redesigning the network. SD-Access automates user access policy so organizations can make sure the right policies are established for any user or device with any application across the network through a single network fabric across the Cisco Catalyst® wired and wireless infrastructure.
In addition, the Cisco Software-Defined Access (SD-Access) solution provides automated end-to-end segmentation to separate user, device, and application traffic without redesigning the network. SD-Access automates user access policy so organizations can make sure the right policies are established for any user or device with any application across the network through a single network fabric across the Cisco Catalyst® wired and wireless infrastructure.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Preventing security attacks; minimizing operational expenses; aligning the network to dynamic business needs
Network priority:
Improving secure access for mobile/wireless users and things; achieving secure convergence of IT and OT/IoT networks; identifying and containing security threats; simplifying network operations
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Network Assurance
Solution overview
Cisco DNA Assurance on Cisco DNA Center
The Cisco Digital Network Architecture (Cisco DNA) Analytics and Assurance solution helps you get the most from your network. It proactively monitors your network, analyzing information from your devices, applications, and users and presenting it in Cisco DNA Center, an easy-to-use single dashboard for managing all your analytics tasks.
The key to Cisco DNA Assurance is its ability to establish deep visibility into the network, and to process the performance against global data as well as data from your network through the use of an advanced machine learning engine: Cisco® AI Network Analytics. Using this data, Cisco DNA Assurance can offer personalized IT insights with guided remediation that drives optimal network performance. Cisco DNA Center collects data across the network in real time to continually monitor how devices, users, and applications are performing. The solution baselines the collected data to establish “norms” and uses these for network analysis to find outliers. It then performs advanced processing to evaluate and correlate events. This correlated data is instantly actionable through the Assurance functions within Cisco DNA Center.
The key to Cisco DNA Assurance is its ability to establish deep visibility into the network, and to process the performance against global data as well as data from your network through the use of an advanced machine learning engine: Cisco® AI Network Analytics. Using this data, Cisco DNA Assurance can offer personalized IT insights with guided remediation that drives optimal network performance. Cisco DNA Center collects data across the network in real time to continually monitor how devices, users, and applications are performing. The solution baselines the collected data to establish “norms” and uses these for network analysis to find outliers. It then performs advanced processing to evaluate and correlate events. This correlated data is instantly actionable through the Assurance functions within Cisco DNA Center.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Achieving required application service levels; minimizing network disruptions
Network priority:
Improving network visibility to prevent service degradation; simplifying network operations
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Network Automation
Solution overview
Cisco DNA Center and SD-Access
Cisco DNA Center offers centralized, intuitive management and control that make it fast and easy to design, provision, and apply policy across your entire network environment. Cisco® Software-Defined Access (SD-Access) provides centralized automation of group-based policies for security and user profiles to enhance the application experience. Through programmability, automated network control helps IT rapidly respond to new business opportunities. The SD-Access controller provides a low-risk, incremental way to adopt software-defined networking (SDN) technologies in branch and campus environments. Using a policy-based approach, the controller automates provisioning of the end-to-end infrastructure to rapidly deploy applications and services and allocate network resources where they are most needed.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Minimizing operational expenses; minimizing network disruptions; aligning the network to dynamic business needs
Network priority:
Simplifying network operations
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Cloud-Ready WAN
Solution overview
Cisco SD-WAN
Cisco brings enterprise-grade software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) technology to address the problems of modern enterprise applications of today and tomorrow. Cisco® SD-WAN powered by Viptela and Cisco SD-WAN powered by Meraki® are cloud-managed, secure WAN architectures with integrated best in-class security. They help ensure a predictable user experience for applications and provide secure, seamless connectivity for multicloud environments, all with a simplified operational experience. Rich analytics deliver greater visibility and intelligent insights for troubleshooting, planning, and what-if scenarios.
SD-WAN is a new approach to network connectivity that lowers operational costs and improves resource usage for multisite deployments. It helps network administrators to use bandwidth more efficiently and deliver the highest possible performance for critical applications without sacrificing security or data.
SD-WAN is a new approach to network connectivity that lowers operational costs and improves resource usage for multisite deployments. It helps network administrators to use bandwidth more efficiently and deliver the highest possible performance for critical applications without sacrificing security or data.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Minimizing operational expenses
Network priority:
Optimizing access to multi-cloud services, optimizing data center and private cloud networking
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Rapid Threat Containment
Solution overview
Cisco SD-Access, next-generation firewall, Umbrella, Identity Services Engine
The threat landscape has changed significantly over the past few years, leading to increased frequency and intensity of cyber attacks. While protection at the perimeter addresses part of the threat landscape, the visibility and containment mechanisms can be extended to the Cisco® network infrastructure for greater control. The network as a security “sensor” and “enforcer” theme combines the unique Cisco Software-Defined Access (SD-Access) infrastructure capabilities with components from the Cisco threat containment solution to help improve network security and prevent data breaches.
Simplify the security access model, reducing policy maintenance and the propagation of malware. Respond faster and more easily to attacks, even in encrypted traffic, to limit exposure. Manage access and apply policy based on endpoint identity. Provide software-defined segmentation with SD-Access and Cisco TrustSec® to reduce risk and enable innovative new applications such as the Internet of Things (IoT).
Simplify the security access model, reducing policy maintenance and the propagation of malware. Respond faster and more easily to attacks, even in encrypted traffic, to limit exposure. Manage access and apply policy based on endpoint identity. Provide software-defined segmentation with SD-Access and Cisco TrustSec® to reduce risk and enable innovative new applications such as the Internet of Things (IoT).
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Preventing security attacks, minimizing network disruptions
Network priority:
Identifying and containing security threats
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Location Analytics
Solution overview
Cisco DNA Spaces
Cisco DNA Spaces displays real-time location analytics to improve customer experiences, loyalty, and internal asset management across sites. It is built into Cisco® Catalyst®, Meraki®, and Aironet® access points (APs) with no additional complexity. Data collected by APs is synced with Cisco DNA Spaces and automatically reported in the dashboard, revealing visitor traffic trends, dwell time, and new vs. repeat visitor loyalty. Use Cisco DNA Spaces to compare visitor trends between sites or after launching campaigns, and to find the effect of actions on visitor dwell time or repeat visit frequency. Customize the display to show data for a specific day or weekend, or even to see trends over a month.
Learn about customer behaviors with analytics such as dwell times, high traffic zones, and site benchmarks. Increase brand exposure and loyalty with guest Wi-Fi. Improve customer experiences by simplifying mobile guest connectivity. Optimize operations by identifying assets, detecting anomalies, and triggering alerts. Enhance your digital network readiness to support your organization’s digital transformation goals.
Learn about customer behaviors with analytics such as dwell times, high traffic zones, and site benchmarks. Increase brand exposure and loyalty with guest Wi-Fi. Improve customer experiences by simplifying mobile guest connectivity. Optimize operations by identifying assets, detecting anomalies, and triggering alerts. Enhance your digital network readiness to support your organization’s digital transformation goals.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Optimizing the customer experience; minimizing operational expenses; enabling business innovation
Network priority:
Achieving secure convergence of IT and OT/IoT networks; improving the experience of branch users
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Data Center Automation
Solution overview
Cisco ACI
Take your network to where your data is. Cisco ACI®, the industry-leading software-defined data center networking solution, enables time savings and operational efficiencies by automating one policy across the data center network. You can scale multicloud networks with a consistent policy model and gain the flexibility to move applications seamlessly to any location or any cloud while maintaining security and high availability.
Cisco ACI uses a holistic approach to provide application availability and segmentation for bare-metal, virtualized, containerized, or microservices-based applications deployed across multiple premises as well as cloud domains.
Simplify network management. Accelerate to multicloud. Reduce human error. Protect the network. This is Cisco® data center automation with Cisco ACI.
Cisco ACI uses a holistic approach to provide application availability and segmentation for bare-metal, virtualized, containerized, or microservices-based applications deployed across multiple premises as well as cloud domains.
Simplify network management. Accelerate to multicloud. Reduce human error. Protect the network. This is Cisco® data center automation with Cisco ACI.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Aligning the network to dynamic business needs; accelerating new application deployments
Network priority:
Optimizing data center and private cloud; simplifying network operations
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Data Center Assurance & Insights
Solution overview
Cisco Network Assurance Engine and Cisco Network Insights
The Cisco® Data Center Assurance and Insights solution transforms operations in data center networks to a fundamentally more proactive model and automates troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and remediation. Built on Cisco’s patented network verification technology, this comprehensive assurance engine mathematically verifies the entire network for correctness, giving operators confidence that their network is always operating consistent with intent.
With the Cisco Network Assurance Engine, network operations teams can meet the agility, uptime, and security policy compliance requirements of modern data center networks by:
With Network Insights for Resources (NIR), you can get analysis and correlation of software and hardware telemetry data with a focus on day-2 network operations use cases. It can identify anomalies and provide drill-down to specific issues.
Network Insights Advisor (NIA) provides deployment-relevant supportability information and advisories, focusing on actionable recommendations based on known issues and Cisco best common practices.
With the Cisco Network Assurance Engine, network operations teams can meet the agility, uptime, and security policy compliance requirements of modern data center networks by:
- Predicting the impact of changes
- Verifying networkwide behavior
- Helping assure network security policy and compliance
With Network Insights for Resources (NIR), you can get analysis and correlation of software and hardware telemetry data with a focus on day-2 network operations use cases. It can identify anomalies and provide drill-down to specific issues.
Network Insights Advisor (NIA) provides deployment-relevant supportability information and advisories, focusing on actionable recommendations based on known issues and Cisco best common practices.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Maximizing service, application and network availability
Network priority:
Prevent network downtime or degradation happening, while reducing cycles spent troubleshooting if it does
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – WAN Cost Reduction
Solution overview
Cisco SD-WAN
Many IT organizations are under pressure to meet the growing bandwidth demands of cloud services, mobile traffic, and video in their branch sites. Today, IT departments are under pressure to do more with less: manage more sites and more clients with limited budgets and a relatively small team, all without any reduction in reliability and security. The high cost of WAN connectivity, support, and personnel, combined with the growth in bandwidth-hungry streaming applications and cloud-based services, is forcing many network administrators to search for alternative solutions.
With the Cisco® Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) powered by Viptela and Cisco SD-WAN powered by Meraki® solutions, remote sites are connected over low-cost Internet links secured by VPN. MPLS-like reliability is provided through sophisticated application optimization techniques with intelligent path control automatic failover. Cisco SD-WAN gives IT the ability to manage connectivity across the WAN from a single dashboard. It also lets them securely connect users to the cloud with greater speed, reliability, and efficiency, delivering a predictable application experience.
With the Cisco® Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) powered by Viptela and Cisco SD-WAN powered by Meraki® solutions, remote sites are connected over low-cost Internet links secured by VPN. MPLS-like reliability is provided through sophisticated application optimization techniques with intelligent path control automatic failover. Cisco SD-WAN gives IT the ability to manage connectivity across the WAN from a single dashboard. It also lets them securely connect users to the cloud with greater speed, reliability, and efficiency, delivering a predictable application experience.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Minimizing operational expenses
Network priority:
Improving network visibility to prevent service degradation
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Wireless Upgrades
Solution overview
Cisco campus wireless edge
The demands on your network are growing. With Wi-Fi 6, wireless capacities and speeds are increasing, and your network is handling more traffic and more mobile devices than ever before. Cisco® wireless products come with centralized management, enabling administrators to centrally manage networks of all sizes – from small sites with a handful of devices to massive locations with thousands of access points that connect hundreds of thousands of end-user devices to the network. Use Cisco wireless to meet many of your organization’s top priorities:
- Comprehensive security
- Data-optimized intelligence
- Built-in support for the Internet of Things (IoT)
- Reliability beyond the standards
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Achieving required application service levels; optimizing the customer experience
Network priority:
Improving secure access for mobile/wireless users and things; simplifying network operations
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Secure the Access
Solution overview
Cisco Meraki switches and wireless solutions
Built from the ground up for multisite networks, Cisco Meraki products have revolutionized distributed branch networking. Zero-touch deployments, multisite visibility and control, and automated alerts make deploying, securing, and centrally managing branch networks a breeze. The wired and wireless network is the central nervous system of every organization. Protecting this vital business asset is vital, and so Cisco Meraki switches and access points employ several security features to lock down ports and communications across the network and continuously scan and protect against security threats.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Preventing security attacks; minimizing operational expenses; aligning the network to dynamic business needs
Network priority:
Improving secure access for mobile/wireless users and things; achieving secure convergence of IT and OT/IoT networks; identifying and containing security threats; simplifying network operations
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Network Assurance
Solution overview
Cisco Meraki Insight
Cisco® Meraki® Insight helps IT administrators optimize the end-user experience, significantly reducing the time it takes to isolate network or application problems that lie beyond the LAN, and creating happy, productive users.
Reliable, fast networks have become ubiquitous, driving innovation, productivity, and instant collaboration, supported by the relentless growth of convenient cloud-hosted applications. As the use of these apps and services grows, so too does our reliance on every step of the journey, from app server to desktop or mobile device.
Even with a powerful, proven network infrastructure like Cisco Meraki, the end-user experience can be truly optimized only by considering all internal and external factors that contribute to it. Fast cloud application response times rely not only on a well-designed, high-performance LAN, but also on the performance of the service provider’s infrastructure, the WAN or Internet, and the remote software-as-a-service (SaaS) application itself.
Reliable, fast networks have become ubiquitous, driving innovation, productivity, and instant collaboration, supported by the relentless growth of convenient cloud-hosted applications. As the use of these apps and services grows, so too does our reliance on every step of the journey, from app server to desktop or mobile device.
Even with a powerful, proven network infrastructure like Cisco Meraki, the end-user experience can be truly optimized only by considering all internal and external factors that contribute to it. Fast cloud application response times rely not only on a well-designed, high-performance LAN, but also on the performance of the service provider’s infrastructure, the WAN or Internet, and the remote software-as-a-service (SaaS) application itself.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Achieving required application service levels; minimizing network disruptions
Network priority:
Improving network visibility to prevent service degradation; simplifying network operations
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Network Automation
Solution overview
Cisco Meraki dashboard
Cisco® Meraki’s cloud-based management provides centralized visibility and control over Meraki’s wired and wireless networking hardware, without the cost and complexity of wireless controllers or overlay management systems. Integrated with the entire Meraki® product portfolio, cloud management provides feature-rich, scalable, and intuitive centralized management for networks of any size.
Meraki cloud management is designed to rapidly deploy enterprise or service provider networks by using the dashboard API for automation. Networks can be configured in seconds, and thousands of networks can be configured in minutes. The dashboard API also allows administrators to view group policies configured on Meraki networks and apply a group policy to, block, or whitelist network clients. Network access tasks such as changing the authorization of a device post-connection used to be a manual process or required a separate policy engine with RADIUS. Now security policies can be applied programmatically.
Meraki cloud management is designed to rapidly deploy enterprise or service provider networks by using the dashboard API for automation. Networks can be configured in seconds, and thousands of networks can be configured in minutes. The dashboard API also allows administrators to view group policies configured on Meraki networks and apply a group policy to, block, or whitelist network clients. Network access tasks such as changing the authorization of a device post-connection used to be a manual process or required a separate policy engine with RADIUS. Now security policies can be applied programmatically.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Minimizing operational expenses, minimizing network disruptions, aligning the network to dynamic business needs
Network priority:
Simplifying network operations
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Cloud Ready WAN
Solution overview
Extend your WAN to the cloud with Cisco SD-WAN
The Cisco® Meraki® MX SD-WAN and security appliances are the quickest and easiest way to significantly reduce total WAN costs while delivering the desired level of performance for critical cloud applications.
Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) is a new approach to network connectivity that lowers operational costs and improves resource usage for multisite deployments. SD-WAN helps network administrators to use bandwidth more efficiently and deliver the highest possible performance for critical applications without sacrificing security or data.
Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) is a new approach to network connectivity that lowers operational costs and improves resource usage for multisite deployments. SD-WAN helps network administrators to use bandwidth more efficiently and deliver the highest possible performance for critical applications without sacrificing security or data.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Minimizing operational expense
Network priority:
Optimizing access to multi-cloud services, optimizing data center and private cloud networking
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Threat Containment
Solution overview
Cisco Meraki enterprise security
The threat landscape has changed significantly over the last few years, leading to increased frequency and intensity of cyber attacks. While protection at the perimeter addresses part of the threat landscape, the visibility and containment mechanisms can be extended to the Cisco® Meraki® network infrastructure for greater control. Every Cisco Meraki MX security appliance supports unparalleled threat prevention via the integrated Sourcefire® Snort® engine. Intrusion prevention (IPS) is performed via rule sets, predefined security policies that determine the level of protection needed. Sourcefire refreshes the rule sets daily to help ensure protection against the latest vulnerabilities—including exploits, viruses, rootkits, and more—and these are pushed via the cloud to MX customers within an hour—no manual staging or patching needed.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Preventing security attacks, minimizing network disruptions
Network priority:
Identifying and containing security threats
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Location Analytics
Solution overview
Cisco Meraki Location Analytics
Cisco® Meraki® Location Analytics displays real-time location statistics to improve customer engagement and loyalty across sites, and is built into Cisco Meraki access points (APs) with no additional cost or complexity. Data collected by APs is synced with the Cisco Meraki cloud and automatically reported in the dashboard, revealing visitor traffic trends, dwell time, and new vs. repeat visitor loyalty.
Use Meraki Location Analytics to compare visitor trends between sites or after launching campaigns, and to find the effect of actions on visitor dwell time or repeat visit frequency. Customize the display to show data for a specific day or weekend, or even to view trends over a month.
Use Meraki Location Analytics to compare visitor trends between sites or after launching campaigns, and to find the effect of actions on visitor dwell time or repeat visit frequency. Customize the display to show data for a specific day or weekend, or even to view trends over a month.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Optimizing the customer experience, accelerating new application deployments, enabling business innovation
Network priority:
Achieving secure convergence of IT and OT/IoT networks, improving the experience of branch users
Next Steps
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – WAN Cost Reduction
Solution overview
Cisco Meraki SD-WAN
Many IT organizations are under pressure to meet the growing bandwidth demands of cloud services, mobile traffic, and video in their branch sites. Today, IT departments must find ways do more with less: manage more sites and more clients with limited budgets and a relatively small team, all without any reduction in reliability and security. The high cost of WAN connectivity, support, and personnel, combined with the growth of bandwidth-hungry streaming applications and cloud-based services, is forcing many network administrators to search for alternative solutions.
The Cisco® Meraki® MX SD-WAN and security appliances are the quickest and easiest way to significantly reduce total WAN costs while delivering the desired level of performance for critical cloud applications.
The Cisco® Meraki® MX SD-WAN and security appliances are the quickest and easiest way to significantly reduce total WAN costs while delivering the desired level of performance for critical cloud applications.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Minimizing operating costs
Network priority:
Optimizing access to multi-cloud services, optimizing data center and private cloud networking
Recommended solution
Network Initiative – Wireless Upgrades
Solution overview
Cisco campus wireless edge
The demands on your network are growing. With Wi-Fi 6, wireless capacities and speeds are increasing, and your network is handling more traffic and more mobile devices than ever before. Cisco® wireless solutions go beyond the Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) standard to provide an intent-based architecture to meet user expectations and scale for growing business demand. Based on the principles of automation, analytics, and security, Cisco solutions can proactively monitor, troubleshoot, and optimize your wireless network.
Cisco Meraki® access points are built from the highest-grade components and are carefully optimized for a seamless user experience. The outcome: faster connections, greater user capacity, more coverage, and fewer support calls.
Cisco Meraki® access points are built from the highest-grade components and are carefully optimized for a seamless user experience. The outcome: faster connections, greater user capacity, more coverage, and fewer support calls.
Solution Priorities
Business priority:
Optimizing the customer experience, enabling business innovation
Network priority:
Improving secure access for mobile/wireless users and things, achieving secure convergence of IT and OT/IoT networks
Next Steps
