Moving Forward - Making Application-Aware Networking a Reality
Today WANs lack awareness about the content of the information they transport and how to route information to applications and users more intelligently. The next step in the evolution of the network is to build additional intelligence into the network with hardware that is aware of the content and nature of the traffic moving through it. As this network evolution occurs, enterprises will benefit by being able to leverage the network's application intelligence to build more scalable and agile business solutions.

The end result of this network intelligence will be to blur the line between the enterprise and the service provider, or the data center and the outsourcer, to a point where it's almost invisible. Services like e-mail are already offered in a virtual outsourced way, but the move towards Services Oriented Architecture in all sectors will increase this location transparency and undoubtedly improve the functionality of the applications we depend on and enjoy today. However, a traditional software approach is simply unable to provide the functionality that is required.

The Bottom Line
So what is the business value of this latest transformation of the network? The answer lies in more than just speed and efficiency. An application-aware network will deliver messages that execute actual business events with incredibly low-latency, the importance of which cannot be underestimated. It also brings the promise of distributed network computing and Web Services to life. Enterprise IT departments will be able to compose new applications from their existing software assets and extend those applications across the WAN to employees, suppliers, and customers around the world. Application-aware networks (and shared Web Services) allow IT departments to skip complex development and integration processes and literally roll out new applications. They also let network managers implement uniform policies across the network, reducing risk, improving security, and eliminating redundant systems and processes. Simplifying network complexity and building fewer larger systems also reduces operating and capital costs, and this, in turn, frees up precious staff resources for priority projects and longer-term planning. Best of all, CIOs and CTOs will be able to respond to market pressures, instead of development schedules, making them more nimble. This latest network evolution makes the mandate "do more with less" truly achievable.