We all have to make compromises in life – settle for less than we really want. Whether it’s that Aston Martin you’ve lost your heart to (I swear I have never seen a prettier car than the DB10 in the latest Bond movie), or the Hermes handbag you want so much it makes your hands itch, we all have to (sadly) be sensible on occasions.
However – there are times when going for the cheaper option just does not make sense. When you are making an investment in your future like buying a new house, you can always find a cheaper property, but other concerns such as schools, amenities, transport links play a huge part. Going for the cheaper option will cost you more in the long run.
As a young marketing exec (and I am carbon dating myself here) there was a saying ‘Nobody gets sacked for buying IBM’ (which was a tad frustrating at the time as I worked at an AppleCentre, and yes, they were key competitors back in the day). Which translated as ‘no-one ever got sacked for making a safe investment in their future’. A phrase I now believe applies to Cisco.
Times are a-changing. Digitisation, disruption and IOE have all gone from discussion points to real business concerns. Your company needs to keep up, or lose out. The IT dept and specifically your network are at the heart of these changes as never before.
So when refreshing your network you cannot just look at what your organisation needs today – but what your department heads will be asking for soon.
Many companies are keen to reap the benefits of an increasingly mobile workforce. The cost savings and increased efficiency are clear, and it is also an attractive benefit for employees.
Just consider the demands of an increasingly mobile workforce on your network.
Will it be able to offer both the speed and volume your staff will demand? How will you manage and deliver business critical apps? How will you control peaks and troughs of demand to ensure that access at key times like end of month is not compromised? And with all this business critical data and the increased access demands on your network, how can you ensure your network stays secure?
As you look ahead to the future and the new high speed wi-fi becomes standard, consider what happens when the ultra fast wi-fi hits wired and the copper cables can’t cope. Will your network be able to handle this? IDC has already highlighted this as one of the biggest future bottlenecks to be faced by business.
And those are internal concerns. Consider how your competitors may be using the increasing power of the network to engage with their customers and offer them a unique experience. How they can access detailed data on customer behaviour and preferences and use this to offer them tailored solutions. How the network is powering disruption.
If your network is ready for today, but not tomorrow then the cost will not just be to your IT budget.
If you would like to know more about the unique benefits offered by Cisco networks, take the first step by clicking here
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