Your network. The key to a successful cloud strategy

The cloud is an enabler to make your business, processes and employees more productive, collaborative and efficient. Many companies therefore have a clear digitalization strategy. Their own network is often neglected in this. This is a mistake. The network is the key to the cloud. Only with a suitable network can the full potential of the cloud be securely exploited.

1. you need a network that matches your cloud

Operating business-critical applications via the cloud requires a network that:

is fail-safe and resilient to outages is flexible in its ability to add or change endpoints is scalable to changing bandwidth requirements responds inside and outside the network provides security to your users ensures strong Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and reliable access from multiple locations & device types

2 Which type of connectivity is best?

Companies have three main options when it comes to the cloud:

1. public cloudWith the public cloud, the infrastructure is shared with other companies:

2. private cloudWith the private cloud, companies use their own dedicated infrastructure:

3. hybrid cloudWith the hybrid cloud, companies primarily rely on a private infrastructure, but can outsource additional capacity to public data centers if required:

While the public Internet can provide basic connectivity, it cannot always guarantee the resilience, scalability or security required for critical business applications. A dedicated private network can fulfill these requirements while providing flexibility in terms of connectivity options:

IP VPN

A single wide area network (WAN) that can connect multiple branches and offices – whether they are a few locations or a few hundred – directly to the cloud at speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s. This is achieved by using the data center where the cloud applications are hosted as a node in the private network. (IP VPNs can also be extended to the public cloud to provide secure, direct access to cloud applications).

Ethernet

With its scalable and flexible point-to-point connectivity and speeds of up to 10 Gbps, Ethernet is ideal for companies considering a hybrid cloud connected to a public data center. For example, you might choose to run a limited number of workloads in the public cloud initially – but as usage increases, Ethernet allows you to quickly increase bandwidth to meet demand.

Wavelength

Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) is an all-optical technology that is essential for companies that work with large data sets or rely on bandwidth-intensive applications such as data replication. Wavelength offers a bandwidth of up to 100 Gbit/s with extremely low latency.

3. make the network part of your cloud project

There is a lot to consider when choosing a network for your cloud – from the cloud model to your connectivity and bandwidth requirements and the operation of your network. From the initial planning phase of your cloud project, your network must also be included.