Issue 10 2019

28 CORPORATE VISION / Issue 10 2019 , 7 Myths About Network Management and Security in a Digital World By Ashraf Sheet, regional director, Middle East and Africa at Infoblox In today’s digitally driven, 24/7 world, how well you thrive as a business depends, more than ever, on your network. It’s the central nervous system that drives business innovation, cus- tomer satisfaction, and market expansion. It’s no overstatement to say that your network is one of your most valuable business assets. But how well do you understand the challenges it’s up against in an ever-shifting landscape of rising customer expectations, massive device proliferation, increased virtualis- ation, cloud adoption, the Internet of Things, and evolving threats? It’s time to get real. Myth 1: Data centre manage- ment tools optimise applica- tion deployment speeds. Reality: You can fully optimise application deployment speeds in the data centre only by automat- ing core network services. If you believe your current data centre management tools can serve up apps as fast as your business requires, you may be guilty of wishful thinking. Truth is, most data centres are built on legacy technology, which can leave you at a serious disadvan- tage when it comes to providing your business with the digital agility it needs to compete in today’s hyper-connected world. Conventional management tools were designed to support more static assets, not to roll out en- terprise apps on demand or pro- vision hundreds and thousands of virtual machines in the blink of an eye. These days, to optimise data centre performance, you must first automate the core network services that make con- nectivity possible across virtual, physical, and cloud environ- ments. These services include DNS, DHCP, and IP address management (IPAM), otherwise known as DDI. Myth 2:Your current policies and procedures can eliminate shadow IT Reality: Shadow IT is here to stay, but with automation and actionable insight you can bring it into the light. Shadow IT, the use of technology solutions without the knowledge or support of IT, is on the rise. It has become pervasive for the simple reason that business us- ers need new tools and solutions faster than IT can provide them. The consumerisation of IT is in full swing. Powerful cloud-pow- ered business apps are coming online every day. It’s folly to as- sume you can put the genie back in the bottle by simply ramping up your enforcement efforts us- ing your existing procedures and network management tools. The reality is, when business users reach for the latest cloud app without approval, they’re not out to sabotage your security or compliance. They just want to do their jobs as quickly and effec- tively as possible. Rather than fight shadow IT, your enterprise would be wise to find ways to identify its presence, and then embrace it, safely and efficiently. Myth 3: Manual processes are an unavoidable part of collect- ing data for compliance. Reality: Your network can help you meet your compliance obli- gations— automatically For most companies, gathering data for compliance is an unend- ing burden that entails endless cycles of manual effort. Given the disjointed toolsets that most IT departments rely on to perform compliance tasks, manual effort just comes with the territory. Un- fortunately, manual compliance processes carry steep costs, and not just in terms of staff time. They introduce errors and con- sume vital resources. They make it difficult to manage in-scope data and stay ahead of regulato- ry change. They also complicate the task of rooting out instances of non-compliance quickly and determining corrective action, leaving your organisation vul- nerable to security threats and regulatory violations. There are network platforms to- day that automate data gathering and policy enforcement so that organisations can take command of its compliance efforts while freeing staff to focus on core business objectives. Myth 4: Of the many security is- sues your network faces, DNS is important, but not a top priority. Reality: DNS is the #1 attack pathway into your network More than ninety percent of mal- ware uses DNS to communicate with command and control (C&C)