Data Center SDN: Comparing VMware NSX, Cisco ACI, and Open SDN Options

The data center network layer is the engine that manages some of the most important business data points you have. Applications, users, specific services, and even entire business segments are all tied to network capabilities and delivery architectures. And with all the growth around cloud, virtualization, and the digital workspace, the network layer has become even more imporant.

Most of all, we’re seeing more intelligence and integration taking place at the network layer. The biggest evolution in networking includes integration with other services, the integration of cloud, and network virtualization. Let’s pause there and take a brief look at that last concept.

SDN is Coming. Is Your Workforce Ready?

SDN is moving into the data center at a rapid clip, but while deploying a new technology is one thing, getting people to use it properly is quite another.

According to market analyst IHS Inc., SDN revenues grew more than 80 percent in 2015 compared to the year earlier, topping $1.4 billion. The bulk of that came in the form of new Ethernet switches and controllers, although newer use cases like SD-WAN are on the rise as well and will likely contribute substantially to the overall market by the end of the decade.

This means that, ready or not, the enterprise network is quickly becoming virtualized, severing the last link between data architectures and underlying hardware. This will do wonders for network flexibility and scalability, but it also produces a radically new environment for network managers, few of whom have gotten the appropriate levels of training, if anecdotal evidence is any indication.

DATA CENTERS: MAKING THE BUSINESS AND CONSUMER WORLDS GO ’ROUND

Today, a connection to the Internet is absolutely critical. Many activities require network support, from checking social media and sending emails to video conferencing with colleagues and accessing an employer’s online tools. Each time you take part in processes like these, you’re using a data center to do so.

Asia Pacific drives leather goods market due to increases per capita, female employment: report

The leather goods market is expected to reach revenues of $94.7 billion by 2020, according to a new report by Allied Market Research.

Leather luggage and goods are also being propelled by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5 percent during the five-year period between 2015 and 2020. The “World Leather Luggage and Goods Market Opportunities and Forecasts 2014-2020” report attributes this growth to factors such as an increase of per capita income, a higher tourism rate and evolving fashion trends.

Allied Market Research’s report examines the leather luggage and goods market in regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and LAMEA (Latin America, Middle East and Africa). Key brands analyzed in the report include Coach, Prada, Samsonite, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Kering, Delsey, Christian Dior, Tumi and VIP Industries.

Data Traffic Control Issues Help Drive Exploding SDN Market

The worldwide software-defined networking (SDN) market is expected to reach $132.9 billion by 2022, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 47% from 2016 to 2022, according to a new report published by Allied Market Research titled "World Software Defined Networking Market.”

The growing need for efficient management of data traffic and centralized control of networks has encouraged communication service providers to adopt SDN, the report says. Implementation of SDN has increased significantly across industries because of growing network complexity, the demand for cost and time efficiency and the need for flexibility in network infrastructure.

Shoptech’s tracker tools fuel growth in CT, abroad

As the operations manager for Berlin precision tool and fixtures manufacturer Sirois Tool, Andre Nadeau is concerned with efficiencies.

"In manufacturing, it's important to have a snapshot of your jobs," Nadeau said. "It helps us understand how far along a job is, how much time we've spent and our costs."

For many 21st-century manufacturers, that snapshot is increasingly being created by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, which tracks business resources — cash, materials and production capacity — and the status of business commitments, purchase orders and payroll. That in turn, has fueled an ERP industry that's projected to expand by more than 7 percent annually and grow to $41 billion by 2020, according to Allied Market Research, a global research firm.

Managed IT security services firms resell cloud-based offerings

Managed service providers are reselling security as a service offerings from third-party providers to expand their service portfolios in the IT security arena.

Bret Laughlin leaves little doubt that partnering with third parties has enabled BrainTrace, the managed IT security services firm he founded, to offer what he considers to be the best enterprise-level security technologies to non-enterprise companies. One of those technologies is cloud-based active breach detection from Eastwind Networks, which BrainTrace signed on with a few months ago.

While Laughlin considered acquiring technology, when he found Eastwind, "it was a perfect fit." He particularly liked that it has "very fast search capabilities and keeps lengthy logs, and we believed with its combination of machine learning and human resources using that type of data … we could provide best overall service to our clients."