Should networks be a boardroom issue in a digital business?

Networks are one of the primary enablers of digital transformation

For many organisations, the focus of their digitisation effort is on applications. But apps are only one part of the picture, because the performance of those apps, and their power to deliver a differentiating customer experiences, is dependent on the performance of the network connecting the customer to the app.

This is why networking is critical to digital business – and should be as high on the CEO’s agenda as cybersecurity, profitability, and digital transformation itself. But is it? The sad truth is that for many, the network is invisible; it only gets noticed when there’s a problem.

How to convince your board that networks are an investment priority

It’s part of the analogue mindset to think networks don’t matter.

The negative approach to changing this is to accuse anyone who says networks aren’t a priority of ‘legacy thinking’. The digital age is the networked age. Without networks, digital doesn’t happen. If that doesn’t make the CFO reach for his chequebook, try the positive approach.

The positive approach is to point out all the great things that networks make possible:

1.   Cloud. Compute, storage, and application services delivered from the cloud are only possible with networking to connect them. Office 365, Salesforce, Workday wouldn’t exist without the network.

2.   Mobility. Today’s styles of working require fast robust networks to give a good user experience and keep them secure. They need investment to handle the voice and video traffic people put across them, and to be flexible so services can be rollout out quickly.

3.   Security. The network is changing from something you have to secure, to the means by which you secure the enterprise. Security is being embedded into networks by design so that they can analyse the traffic they’re carrying and prevent cyberattacks from reaching applications and data.

4.   New business models. Emerging ways to conduct business – like IoT and the API economy –are enabled by the network. IoT sensors of all kinds are connected via network and business value is created through the collection and analysis of data from sensors. Equally, business partners and customers consume API driven services across the network.

Networks are not just a technology issue

Strategy

The purpose of a corporate network is to implement the company’s strategy and thereby achieve business objectives. The way to design a network is to ask yourself what it is you want to do with it. This cuts right to the heart of business strategy. The networks in most established organisations weren’t designed to do what they’re being asked to do today. They need to be re-architected to deliver digital business processes and moved to programmable infrastructure support the company’s DevOps strategy.

People

Networks are run by people, and the skills of yesterday aren’t applicable today. Networking is moving from hardware to software, and becoming automated. People in the networking team have to transform their skill sets to adapt to the new paradigm. We believe companies should invest in transforming the skills of their network (and wider IT) department, but it takes time, and you can’t hire people with the skills you need because they simply aren’t out there in the marketplace. This is why it’s a good idea to partner with a network service provider to get access to the skills you don’t have in house.

Sourcing model

Only board members have the authority to answer the question: ‘What business are we in?’ They alone can determine whether owning and running a network constitutes core business. They must ask themselves if buying equipment, installing it, and employing people to operate and maintain it is the business they want to be in – or whether there are other people who could do that better and cheaper. If owning and operating a network is a source of competitive advantage, then carry on doing so. For everyone else, reconsider your sourcing model.

Sourcing models have moved on

There’s a lot more flexibility in how you can procure network services than there used to be. Flexibility lies in what segments of your network you outsource.

There is ongoing focus on outsourcing all areas of the network, including the data centre network and the wide area network, but there is increasing interest in the wired and wireless LAN, because it’s a lot more complicated and mission critical than it used to be. It’s one of those areas where getting it right can make a big difference to user experience. The business wants the insight from the analytics these networks yield; they don’t want the bother of monitoring and maintaining them themselves.

So, yes, networking should be a boardroom issue in a digital business, because:

1.   Under-investment in networks suggests that the boardroom has a lack of understanding of the critical role networking plays.

2.   All the benefits of cloud, mobility, an improved security posture, and the ability to leverage new digital business models depend on the right kind of networks.

3.   Networks aren’t just a technology issue, but touch business strategy, people, and sourcing models.

If your board members are very short of time, all they really need to understand is this: without better networks, digital doesn’t happen. For more on this topic, watch this video.