Monday, December 27, 2021

3 NETWORKING TRENDS FOR 2022

Throughout the years, business leaders have faced many challenges put forward by the dynamically evolving landscape of enterprise networking. While organisations have evolved to meet the changes by developing more robust networks, there still exist several advancements in networking speed, communications, flexibility, and technology that haven’t yet attained their complete potential.

At the end of every year, networking analysts come up with a list of predictions for the upcoming year. Yet, no one could accurately forecast COVID-19 and how it would change the way businesses operate. So, when we look at the networking trends for 2022, it is worth keeping in mind the primary themes of the past few years and analysing how these trends fared amidst the pandemic.

In 2020, before the onset of the pandemic, the critical focus areas in networking were 5G cellular, network automation, software-defined WAN (SD-WAN), Wi-Fi 6, and AI enablement. These technologies will surely continue to be in the limelight going into 2022, primarily because they represent true technological advantages for businesses.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the top networking technology trends and how they are shaping the industry.

#1 – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

With enterprise businesses continuously leveraging hyper-automation to smoothen various aspects of their operation, solutions built with AI will prove to be a top priority in 2022. According to expert network consultancy, three applications will be of primary importance for enterprise businesses.

Cybersecurity – Cybersecurity tools are perhaps one of the fastest-growing applications when it comes to AI. For enterprises, managed network services is the most important solution, and considering the concerns surrounding 5G cybersecurity.

Virtual Assistants – Virtual assistants happen to be one facet of AI that enterprises are increasingly interested in for their business operations. Sales and customer service teams leverage virtual assistants to automate and learn from customer support.

Task Automations – As mentioned earlier, AI-driven automation applications like RPAs are rising in popularity among enterprises. In fact, they are the precursor to tapping into the full potential of AI-based automation tools.

#2 – CYBERSECURITY

As stated in the previous section, cybersecurity will be a huge part of AI. Similarly, it will also be the main topic for enterprises considering the fact that technologies and advancements happening in spheres like hyper-automation and 5G comes with security implications.

Another reason why cybersecurity will be a hit in 2022 is because of the vast amount of data businesses deal with. Currently, IT departments are foregoing traditional methods by implementing AIOps to manage all the data. AIOps, along with data democratisation, can help minimise cybersecurity threats by opening up analysis to a greater range of departments.

Nonetheless, this means that any breach can be harmful to enterprises due to the massive amount of customer data cyber attackers could tap into. Another point of vulnerability lies in the adoption of 5G networking by enterprises. 5G cybersecurity is of great concern for a lot of enterprises that they will have to adopt advanced business standards to reduce any risks.

To put it short, concerns around cybersecurity must be at the forefront as we dive into 2022.

#3 – HYPER AUTOMATION

Hyper automation refers to identifying and automating as many processes as possible. Often several solutions adopted under hyper-automation are powered by AI and machine learning (ML).

The development of hyper-automation is already evident from the increase of robotic process automation (RPA) tools. These solutions enable enterprises to employ bots and automate simple, routine processes within specific software applications. In other words, RPAs indicated the potential of hyper-automation to move forward.

The two main advantages of hyper-automation are employee up skilling and business efficiency. Due to automated solutions being low- or no-code, the everyday user gets to tap into advanced techniques. This ultimately results in general up skilling across the enterprise employees.

Along the same lines, as your employees get access to more advanced technologies, business operations will turn more efficient. It will also enable employees to empathise with various departments and thereby improve their efficiency.

FINAL THOUGHTS

2020 and 2021 introduced new dynamics into the field of networking. But their doesn’t necessarily mean new ideas. A lot of companies were placing their IT budgets to handle radicals and breakthrough processes. So, more than it is about new technologies, it is about new ways to do things.

As we head into 2022, the innovations in IT will continue to be challenged. Even the predicted changes in the arena will be temporary.