News

Survey Report Details AI Influence on New-Age Networking

• By David Ramel
• 06/07/2019

With artificial intelligence technology impacting nearly every aspect of IT and datacenter operations, a new survey on the software-defined networking (SDN) movement reaffirms AI's influence on new-age networking.

In reporting on a survey of some 500 IT decision-makers to gather data on the transformative SDN movement, Juniper Networks found AI to be such a significant impact that it titled its report on the survey as "Beyond Software-Defined Networking: The AI-Driven Enterprise."

The survey indicated the vast majority of respondents are employing or considering SDN, but the journey to software-centric networking shows some bumps in the early stages, "and AI sets the stage for the next step where experience is the new uptime."

With 98 percent of respondents using or considering SDN, the burgeoning software-defined wide-area-networking (SD-WAN) movement is providing an entry point into the new order. Among factors that are smoothing the bumpy journey is the influence of AI.

"We believe AI is a driving element in this operational journey," Juniper concluded. "The AI-driven enterprise transforms the network from reactive to proactive and ultimately to adaptive and predictive. From abstracted controls, to automated workflows and AI-driven experience and insights, we're quickly moving away from the days of device-by-device management and into a future where security protections learn as fast as threats emerge and networks adapt to assure the best user experience even amid dynamic conditions. The key to unlocking the future of the network is AI."

In making that observation, Juniper nodded to its recent buyout of Mist Systems and acquisition of its AI-powered Wi-Fi solution as the company's "next step in this evolution -- the AI-driven enterprise."