3 ways your network can be your competitive advantage

Think about the last time you ordered a cab, or booked accommodation, chances are you used one of the many online market leaders that didn’t exist a few short years ago.

With blockchain, IoT and edge computing poised to emerge into the mainstream, the fluidity, speed, and complexity of business is undeniably increasing. Who knows what tomorrow’s market leaders will look like? This presents exciting new opportunities for those that can move with agility.

That’s why the selection and creation of network architecture is one of the most vital decisions a business can make. The network is the critical digital backbone your organisation needs to meet the increasing demands of business today, and to prepare for the opportunities of tomorrow.

With a host of new applications and devices coming online every day, patchwork upgrades to traditional static networks will inevitably fail to keep pace. We need to simplify and automate our network infrastructure to enhance availability and provide a higher network capacity at lower costs.

Is your network up to the challenge of today’s disruptive business environment? Here are three common scenarios where a modernised network is key:

1. Winning in a dynamic marketplace

You can now market your products and services to customers in any location, at any time of the day, and on any device. However, serving these new dynamic marketplaces requires a network that can offer reliable and expandable bandwidth, especially during peak buying periods. Going to market with a new offering, but not having the network capability to facilitate high transaction volumes is a recipe for disaster.

Always-on networks, that can scale to meet demand, are critical to allowing dynamic marketplaces – with their increasingly sophisticated customers – to flourish. To achieve this we need to unleash the network from hardware constraints. Virtual networks, routers, switches can now be deployed as software and software-defined networking provides the next generation agility you need to support innovation, a faster time to market and better security.

2. Powering a cloud-native workforce

Look around you. Business is no longer confined to the four walls of an office. Many of your employees are on the move, whether working remotely with clients, or at home. With a third of employees expected to be working from home in 10 years¹, it’s a trend that’s set to grow.

Today, more than 90% of businesses have part of their application portfolio in the cloud², and the rest expect to follow by 2021. Your employees now expect you to enable always-on access to cloud-native applications via their personal devices.

This means you need a robust network that can intuitively facilitate self-service provisioning in an environment of increased security and compliance requirements. We know from Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, that employees who have access to the technology they need are 61% more likely to say that they effectively accomplished multiple tasks during the day, and 65% more likely to believe their role is strategic to their organisation³.

3. Delivering the digital experiences your customers desire

Today’s customers can switch suppliers in a heartbeat. Their expectations for seamless transactions and memorable experiences have never been greater. In a digital on-demand economy, the experience you serve up to your customers is set to overtake price and product features as the biggest differentiator of your brand as early as next year, according to research firm Walker⁴.

As most customer’s digital experiences are created from a patchwork of systems – it’s the connective power of your network architecture that is key. Modern networks can deliver more than just fast and stable uptime. Aruba’s network architecture enables your business to leverage capabilities such as location-based services to deliver more personalised and targeted services or promotions, while providing more frictionless experiences between all of your channels of engagement.

Thinking about upgrading your network infrastructure to power a digital workplace and deliver seamless customer experiences? Get in touch with us today to find out how we can build the foundation for your business growth through Aruba’s world-leading network architecture.

1 Upwork (2019). Future Workforce Report. [Online] Available at: https://www.upwork.com/i/future-workforce/fw/2019/

2 Aruba (2018). There’s a business transformation wave coming. Will your network be ready? [Online] Available at: https://www.arubanetworks.com/assets/infographic/Midmarket_Infographic.pdf

3 Aruba (June, 2018). Beyond Productivity: The Human Side of the Digital Workplace Quantified. [Online] Available at: https://news.arubanetworks.com/press-release/beyond-productivity-human-side-digital-workplace-quantified

4 Walker Information (2013). Customers 2020. The Future of B-2-B Customer Experience [Online] Available at: https://www.walkerinfo.com/Portals/0/Documents/Knowledge%20Center/Featured%20Reports/WALKER-Customers2020.pdf