BIZTECH: How would you define the state of networking right now? Where is the industry in its evolution?
DEBACKER: For starters, the network has never been more strategic. There is almost nothing in an organization that doesn’t touch the network: It’s the central nervous system of every business, connecting all branch sites and linking every piece of technology. Yet with new devices, new locations and new demands placed on the network each day, it’s getting more difficult for organizations to deploy and manage networks effectively.
Customers are tired of the status quo when it comes to licensing complexity, management and cloud choice. They want network management to be simple, seamless and flexible enough to adapt to and scale with the changes in their businesses.
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BIZTECH: What are your customers and prospective customers looking for in networking solutions? What are their biggest challenges?
DEBACKER: Customers want their networks to be simple and flexible. The number of users, devices, services and applications drives complexity, and it’s our job to help our customers cut through that. So many critical functions rely on the network, from online testing in schools to medical devices crucial for patient care. It absolutely must be reliable and resilient to potential interruptions.
When it comes to agility, this can be defined as a combination of flexibility and scalability. How easy is it to make changes to your network when you open a new branch office or hire a new remote employee? Or when security standards are updated, or when you need to swap out your operating system because your needs have evolved over time? People don’t want network solutions that they’ll need to rip and replace in a few years. They want a foundation that is easy to use and that can grow with them.