Imagine this: you’re leading an important video conference presentation for a long-sought-after prospect. Suddenly, the call stutters, pixelates, and then drops entirely. To no fault of your own, your dynamite presentation and prepared notes are of no use as the prospect is left with a sour taste. This frustrating scenario, which many have experienced either during a virtual sales pitch or during internal team meetings, exposes the faults of a complex network environment.
Network growth, the increased usage of IoT devices, and evolving end-user behaviors are pushing traditional network management approaches to the limit. This leaves IT teams overloaded and struggling to keep up with day-to-day tasks.
Thankfully, artificial intelligence (AI) networking solutions are revolutionizing the way organizations manage networks. Let’s explore how it proactively supports and empowers IT personnel by tackling these common workload challenges.
The Burden Of Network Complexity
As our dependence on connections increases, network complexity becomes a growing challenge. This manifests in several ways:
- Exponential Data Growth: Increasing data volume, applications, and mobile devices puts immense pressure on network capacity. This data surge creates bottlenecks, hindering network performance and overall functionality.
- IoT Integration: The integration of IoT devices adds another layer of complication. Each device contributes to network traffic and requires specific configurations, further straining IT resources and management time.
- Shifting User Behavior: User behavior is constantly evolving, demanding a network that adapts and delivers consistent performance. The rise of cloud-based applications, video conferencing, and bandwidth-intensive activities further strains traditional network infrastructure. Uptime is no longer the single measurement for network performance – it is the speed at which it delivers as well.
In turn, network administrators spend an inordinate amount of time on reactive troubleshooting, manually monitoring performance metrics, and configuring network settings. These tasks, while critical, are often repetitive and time-consuming, and leave little room for strategic planning and proactive initiatives. For an aspiring IT professional, this is not an ideal long-term scenario.
From Reactive To Proactive
AI analyzes network data and predicts potential problems before they arise. Imagine a network that anticipates congestion and automatically reroutes traffic, preventing users from ever experiencing lag. This proactive approach minimizes downtime and ensures a seamless user experience. However, the benefits extend far beyond mere prediction. AI is not a replacement for the human element in network management. Instead, it is a powerful tool that complements the skills and expertise of today’s IT professionals.
The combination of AI-driven automation and human intelligence allows organizations to achieve a level of network performance and efficiency by:
- Allowing Teams To Focus On Strategic Initiatives: IT personnel can dedicate more time to strategic initiatives like security assessments, network optimization projects, and exploring new networking solutions that align with business goals.
- Enhancing Skills: With AI handling mundane tasks, IT professionals can hone their skills in areas like network security, automation, and cloud networking. This upskilling allows them to contribute at a higher level and become true strategic partners within the organization.
- Improving Decision-Making Process: AI provides real-time, data-driven insights into network performance, enabling informed decision-making. IT leaders can leverage these insights to optimize network resources, prioritize projects, and make informed investments in network infrastructure.
AI Networking: Your Partner in Network Management
HPE Aruba Networking Central puts these concepts into action. This cloud-native platform leverages the power of AI in network management to enhance efficiency, streamline operations, and unlock new levels of productivity. This translates to significant benefits including:
- Automated Insights And Baselining: AI analyzes historical data to establish performance baselines for your network. Deviations from these baselines trigger alerts, allowing IT teams to identify potential issues before they snowball into major outages.
- Predictive Maintenance: AI analyzes network data to predict potential hardware failures. This proactive approach enables pre-emptive maintenance, minimizing downtime and ensuring optimal network performance.
- Automated Workflows: HPE Aruba Networking Central automates routine network tasks, such as configuration changes and security updates. This significantly reduces human error and frees IT teams from tedious chores.
- Intelligent Search And Troubleshooting: HPE Aruba Networking Central’s AI-powered search engine leverages Generative AI (GenAI) and large language models (LLMs) to understand your queries in natural language and deliver insightful results. This streamlines troubleshooting and empowers network analysts to resolve issues faster.
AI-driven networking solutions are ushering in a new era of proactive network management. This shift frees IT teams from the burden of tedious network maintenance. With newfound bandwidth, they can now dedicate their expertise to driving innovation and pursuing strategic initiatives that propel organizations forward. This is the true potential of AI networking: a future where IT teams are empowered to focus on what matters most.
Final Thoughts
As networks become more complex, AI networking evolves from a mere option to a proven strategic advantage. It unlocks a new era of network efficiency and growth, empowering businesses, and freeing IT teams for strategic initiatives.
WEI, with its expertise in AI and HPE Aruba Networking Central, simplifies your network operations to ensure reliable performance. Contact our team of experts today to unlock the transformative power of AI networking.
Next steps: Download our free tech brief, SD-WAN: 3 Components To Efficiently Connect Users To Applications. This tech brief identifies the three main components of HPE Aruba Networking's powerful EdgeConnect Enterprise platform:
- Physical or Virtual SD-WAN Appliance
- HPE Aruba Networking Orchestrator
- HPE Aruba Networking Boost
This free tech brief also expands on:
- The Advanced SD-WAN Solutions of Today
- Breaking Down HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect Enterprise
- Why Basic SD-WAN Is No Longer Enough
- Why MPLS Hub-and-spoke Topology Is Obsolete