| | JUNE 20189CIOReviewContain yourselfFor any enterprise already running 100 per cent on cloud, going serverless will be a natural move over the next year. However, a lot of businesses still have to deal with legacy infrastructure (and some may want to keep resources on premise for commercial reasons). This is where containerization can help. Like real life shipping containers, software containers are a way of packaging something so it can share space with others without revealing its contents. For example, you could use containers to move applications temporarily to the cloud during a big load and then bring them back in-house.The primacy of the networkThe network is the `longest pole in the tent'; it holds everything else up. And the more you depend on cloud, the greater the importance of your network.Inflexible, legacy networks are a poor fit for the cloud-based world. Whether using MS Office 365 on your laptop or connecting your data centres with Amazon's in Northern California and Microsoft Azure's in Singapore, the network needs to be available, scalable, resilient and secure. Enterprises need network services that mimic the same event-driven, on-demand environment offered by cloud vendors. Programmable networks based on software defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) are the enabling technologies. SDN allows enterprises to create dynamic networks that match the flexibility of cloud. It offers greater visibility and control of traffic flow, so critical applications and data can be prioritised to suit business demands. For fast-growing businesses or enterprises expanding internationally, it provides the ability to add new sites to the network quickly and simply. NFV simplifies and speeds up the deployment of new functions in the network, for example a firewall or a retailer's electronic point of sale application. Using virtualization, enterprises can deploy new functions as software rather than devices, enabling them to be rolled out across offices and branches nationally or internationally in hours rather than days or weeks.Programmable networks being built today using SDN and NFV will give enterprises unparalleled agility. They will allow them to make the most of their infrastructure, using secure gateways to offload non-critical traffic onto the Internet and using highly secure and resilient MPLS services for core business applications and services.For established businesses, these technologies promise agility and simplicity. But in a situation mirroring cloud adoption, applying SDN across layers of existing network services demands skills, technical capability and security experience. The solution, like cloud, is to buy a managed software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) and let a service provider manage the hybrid network while you get on with your business.Getting from here to thereIt's easy to talk generally about technology trends. It's a lot harder to work out how to use them in your particular situation. Here's what CIOs should consider:1. Stop running third party applications in house. Put everything in the cloud. Do an inventory. There's probably 20 or 30 items you can offload, along with their associated costs.2. If your IT infrastructure is intrinsic to your business, then take advantage of the cloud with containers. The cloud is especially good for bursts of work. 3. Expect your network partner to provide a secure, managed SD-WAN. Your cloud experience will only be as good as your network.4. Think and act more like a software house. Focus on the development, not the operation, of new services.Finally, when the dust of the stampede has settled, how will all this change the IT department? The job of the CIO? Immeasurably for the better. Moving infrastructure to the cloud and developing an agile, software-defined network will free up talented IT people to work with their business colleagues to find new ideas and bring them to life. And CIOs will at last find the time to be business leaders for the digital age, to contribute creatively and commercially to the success and reputation of the enterprise. For any enterprise already running 100 percent on cloud, going serverless will be a natural move over the next yearMark Bagley
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