8 Ways The Network Will Change In 2017

Networking is changing faster than ever before and next year promises more rapid change. Cloud adoption and an influx of mobile devices have reshaped networking over the past decade and these trends likely will accelerate in 2017.

The days of maintaining and storing applications, data and services within a private data center are now long gone. The ability to scale and pivot to new technologies at a fraction of the cost has led many organizations to abandon much of their internal infrastructure in favor of a hybrid model. This shift from on-premises infrastructure to the cloud is not likely to end. In fact, some network changes you'll see over the next 12 months may be due to the fact that organizations move from a hybrid model to an entirely public cloud architecture. The question then becomes: How can an IT department best handle resources in multi-cloud environments?

The impact of  mobile users and devices on network architecture may reach a tipping point in 2017. If there are more mobile users than users behind corporate network perimeters, then many aspects of the network design change, including security, data flows and a general need for increased flexibility in the form of automation. Network boundaries will be completely eroded, which will re-write the book of enterprise networking in the coming months.

Organizations that have largely ignored or neglected IT networking must face the reality that in order to have a successful business in 2017, significant investment must be placed into the network infrastructure. Whether you are a small business with only a few employees or a huge enterprise looking to take advantage of the latest Internet of Things (IoT) advancements, investment in the network will be of utmost importance.

2017 promises to be a great year for networking as a whole. The vast number of changes and disruptive technologies will require a solid foundation that begins and ends with network engineers and administrators. Click ahead to find out what trends will transform the network in the coming year.

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