Digital transformation is the process by which businesses update traditional models of internal collaboration and communication with partners and customers to make use of new technologies and capabilities. Most organizations have already adopted cloud applications for infrastructure, software, or platforms, and digital transformation will drive continued cloud technologies, creating a significant opportunity for data center providers to offer innovative solutions for enterprise organizations.
In its “Cloud Computing Trends to Watch in 2018”, software developer, Apiumhub reports that by the end of 2018, the number of organizations with entirely cloud-based IT infrastructure will increase from 45 percent to 60 percent.
Cloud and virtualization are the key technologies which underpin digital transformation, essentially bringing back-office IT infrastructure and capital investments to an end. In their place, all workloads will eventually migrate to the cloud. The tipping point has already been reached, with organizations planning cloud-only migrations to become more nimble, secure, competitive and cost-efficient.
Cloud Demand Drives Data Center Connectivity Requirements
Enterprises migrating to the cloud will need to access cloud applications from several data centers in different locations. They will also need the connections between these data centers to be fast and uncongested. For this reason, public internet alone is insufficient to meet business connectivity needs.
Dark fiber connectivity to and between data centers is an essential enabler of digital transformation. Dedicated connections leveraging dark fiber, such as those provided by FiberLight, provide the security and performance enterprise networks need to run critical applications in the cloud.
This makes a private optical network connecting enterprise locations, corporate data centers, and cloud service providers the best solution for many enterprises. Data centers providing colocation services that partner with dark fiber providers can offer enterprise organizations complete network solutions to enable digital transformation.
Dark Fiber Enables Robust Enterprise Networks
Transformative digital technologies such as Big Data analytics and the Internet of Things create tremendous amounts of data. In order to be effectively used and shared, the volume of data requires enterprise networks to have high capacity and deliver high speeds.
Digital transformation therefore requires highly flexible, scalable, and cost-efficient network connectivity. Dark fiber provides that connectivity, with support for current network speeds of 10 and 100Gbps, and also generates a viable future upgrade path for future connectivity options.
Managing the network is generally not an efficient use of resources, even for organizations with the internal capacity to do so. Dark-Fiber-as-a-Service (DFaaS), a new offering from FiberLight, provides the engineering and equipment expertise and support organizations need to confidently monitor and manage their own private network, therefore ensuring business continuity. This enables enterprises to dictate a desired architecture without the headache of personally managing and operating infrastructure.
FiberLight has an expansive dark fiber network footprint, along with industry-leading connection management. It also offers best-in-class service and support, and works with organizations to develop custom networking solutions.
Enterprises will continue to embrace the inevitable digital transformation in order to remain competitive. Service providers, like FiberLight, who deliver dark fiber connectivity are invaluable partners on this journey.
