Big Data: How to get the bigger Picture

Everybody’s heard of the business applications touted by big data advocates – data-driven purchasing decisions, enhanced market insights and actionable customer feedback. But organizations only have to look inwards to find more untapped potential. Two major internal IT processes can benefit from embracing big data: network management and application delivery.

SNS Research estimated Big Data investments reached $40 bn worldwide last year. Industry awareness and reception is equally impressive – 89 percent of business leaders believe big data will revolutionize business operations in the same way the Internet did, according to a study by Salesforce, a business software company. But big data is no longer simply large volumes of unstructured data or just for refining external business practices – the applications continue to evolve. The advent of big data analytics has paved the way for smarter network and application management.

Big data can ultimately be leveraged internally to deliver cost saving efficiencies, optimization of network management and application delivery. Achieving complete network visibility has been a primary concern of CIOs in recent years. Now the arrival of tools to exploit big data provides a lifeline. Predictive analytics techniques enable a transition from a reactive to a proactive approach to network management. By allowing IT departments visibility of devices – and crucially applications – across the network, the rise of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend can be safely controlled. The newest generation of switch technology has advanced to the stage where application visibility capability can now be directly embedded within the most advanced switches. These switches are capable of providing an advanced degree of predictive analytics. he benefits of these predictive analytics are varied – IT departments can establish patterns of routine daily traffic in order to swiftly identify anomalies.

Through the effective deployment of resources based on big data insight, ROI can be maximised.

_{Ingo Schneider, Director Business Development Data Network Infrastructure at Alcatel Lucent Enterprise Germany}

What‘s trending on your network?

Put simply, the ability to detect what is “trending” – be it backup activities, heavy bandwidth usage or popular application deployment – has now arrived.
More tasks can be automated than ever before, with a dynamic response to network and user needs becoming standard practice. Highpriority users, such as internal teams requiring continued collaboration, can be prioritised the necessary network capacity in real-time.
effectively deploy your applications.

Networks converging on the future

Big data gathering, processing and analytics will all continue to advance and develop as more businesses embrace the concept and the market grows. But while the existing infrastructure in many businesses is capable of using big data to a limited degree, a converged network infrastructure, by providing a simplified and flexible architecture, will maximise the benefits and at the same time reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and meet corporate ROI requirements. By introducing this robust network infrastructure, businesses can ensure a future-proof big data operation is secure. The advent of big data has brought with it the ability for IT departments to truly develop their ‚smart network‘. Now it is up to businesses to seize the opportunity.

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