AI & ML to power the future of enterprise networks
Much has been said about the future of enterprise networking, what it will look like and how it will simplify day-to-day operations.
However, little has been done in the way of actual innovation towards reaching this goal by the big providers. It's the more agile companies like Aerohive that are putting in the hard yards in terms of solutions that simplify and secure networks using a cloud-managed solution with machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Aerohive senior vice president and products and marketing general manager Alan Amrod says AI-driven innovation enables customers to discover untapped business insights, allowing them to implement informed decisions based on these predictive analytics, while providing flexibility in deployment, management and licensing of cloud-managed wireless, switching, routing and security solutions.
Effectively, it's just like being on autopilot.
"When designing your network with Aerohive, you'll only need to do the most basic of configurations and then the machine learning and artificial intelligence combination will actually self-optimise the network for you," says Amrod.
"Even with the complexity of BYOD increase, the network will self-segment and self-alert and identify a device based on device behaviour, type, and user profile. The networks are increasingly more intelligent and all about associating common behaviours.
Once users get the network to their desired level, Aerohive's autopilot function allows them to lock the network so no one can make changes or deviations that might negatively impact performance or client experience.
Amrod says there are several benefits to utilising a network that has AI and ML components built in, which include:
- AI/ML enables IT teams to automate previously manual tasks decreasing the time and budgetary overheads attributed to manual processes.
- The ability to provide increased visibility, rapid analytics and insights into network performance - user experience
- Capturing data will come from a variety of sources including IoT and edge devices (as well as mainframe and enterprise systems)
- Growth in using ML in applications such as network threat monitoring and giving IT teams better insight into how enterprise network speed, power, efficiency and intelligence can be improved.
"AI and ML services allow networks to be managed using insights driven by network performance data that is collected frequently," says Amrod.
"With rapid IoT growth and a vastly growing number of uses of enterprise networks beyond the traditional notebook/tablet/smartphone use-case, we expect AI to keep pace with rapid changes that enterprise networks will undergo in the future.
Another important point that Amrod brought attention to, is that Aerohive is not just a WiFi company.
"Shifting completely to cloud management with machine learning and artificial intelligence, Aerohive is not just managing Aerohive devices," says Amrod.
"We'll manage almost anything that through our sensors, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, is reachable through standard network protocols and can then visualise those in relation to our network as well. Anything that has to do with WiFi, and eventually switches and routers, we can manage – yes, including your 4G and 5G cellular devices.
On top of that, as an industry first, Aerohive simplifies network management even further for IT managers by way of AI-driven voice commands – providing a virtual network assistant to streamline the set-up and monitoring of a cloud-managed network.
