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Simon Waller , Regional Director ,
EMEA & US at Epsilon
The era of hybrid multi-cloud The continued rise of 5G
In today ’ s cloud-first world , it is not just about connecting to the cloud , but about connecting multiple clouds efficiently . Businesses have already started to understand the benefits of having private , direct cloud connections , as many are now way past the adoption phase .
Organizations are expected to manage clouds across their infrastructure even more effectively in 2022 , as visibility and security become even more important . They will also need to decide between integrated security vs . standalone security and hardware ( appliances ) or software .
With increasing productivity and efficiency , organizations will continue to use remote working models , which will further accelerate adoption of cloud services in long-term transformation strategies .
More companies are transforming into cloud-first organizations , making the right underlay network a necessity to support them . They need a simple , efficient and effective way to connect their network infrastructure .
2022 could also be an interesting year to use more 5G for last mile connectivity . 5G eliminates the last mile barrier through faster speeds and lower latency , enhancing enterprise connectivity end-to-end in the most challenging situations .
With 5G , provisioning and deployment issues commonly associated with last mile connectivity could be eliminated . It allows businesses to get the connectivity they need instantly , where they need it , without needing to wait for physical connections to go live . In addition , it reduces the risk of physical disruptions while maximizing performance and efficiency .
Hybrid cloud models will push enterprises to use Software-Defined Wide-Area Networks ( SD-WAN ) for managing access and connectivity for :
• Remote workers
• Offices
• Branches
• Clouds and data centers
Meanwhile , IT teams are facing increasing cost and efficiency challenges with an increasingly distributed workforce .
The shift from MPLS to SD-WAN
TeleGeography ’ s latest WAN Manager Survey found that MPLS usage across enterprises dropped by 24 % between 2018 and 2020 , while SD-WAN saw a 25 % growth in the same period . We can expect this shift to continue in 2022 .
When looking at their continual transformation strategies , enterprises are seeking more costeffective ways to maintain or even improve control and security across their networks . Long term , SD-
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