There is no question in my mind, the economic environment businesses operate in today is complex and volatile – stripping IT budgets while maintaining high expectations to meet business imperatives. Yet the question of how to optimize this “big picture” remains.
More than ever, excessive IT spending is a thing of the past as IT teams are forced to examine network infrastructures and find cost effective, more flexible solutions to support business objectives.
Initial hardware investments are no longer the only cost incurred as additional features – hardware/software updates, maintenance contracts, network management and security – all contribute to a business’s cost of ownership.
Today, it ultimately comes down to the cost and solution needed when designing a network – proprietary vs. open-standards – that challenges IT departments.
Perceived as easy and safe to adopt, proprietary solutions come with comprehensive professional services. Sure, there is one neck to choke but at what cost? These same networks are incredibly inflexible and limiting solutions with expensive and on-going price tags.
Organizations must understand the capabilities and scalability of the network solution. All too often, proprietary solutions lack the freedom to centrally manage the network in a unified fashion and scale appropriately to meet business needs – making network operations expensive and less transparent.
A standards-based solution offers a far different approach; addressing these challenges directly with flexible solutions that help businesses simplify the network, provide the flexibility to choose the best available solution yet minimize the operational and integration headaches through standards compliance. Adopting these open systems give customers the ability to design a networking tailored to their business needs.
Does it make sense to continue down the path of proprietary, costly and restrictive solutions? You know where I stand - break free with standards-based approach to networking.
Posted
09-17-2009 7:41 AM
by
Kowshik1