It Is not surprising that one of the most interesting directions for networking is the concept of Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Software Defined Wide-Area Networks. SDNs and SD WANs are both the result of the application of technology and computing power to emulate network functionality in the cloud. Early forecast for SD WAN had revenue racing into the tens of billions of dollars before the end of this decade, but reality is setting in. Although the growth is rapid with SD WAN, it is not at the rate of the forecasts made in 2013. However, it is the coming multi-location network trend.
The benefits of SD WAN land in the traditional set of normal cloud transitions. They include better scalability, faster time to deployment, improved reliability, lower cost and future proof technology. However, there is more to be considered when making the transition to SD WAN.
It is also important to understand what functionality is transitioning from MPLS and to SD WAN. One of the reasons to transition from MPLS to SD WAN is the continued increase in traffic that’s expected both within a network and between networks. Another consideration is the demand for new services, applications, and security. MPLS cannot compete with the faster time, lower costs and the range of service offerings that will become available as SD WANs evolve, making SD WANs the primary networking methodology to support future business needs. A key study that’s done every year by Cisco is an analysis of Internet traffic volume, users, usage and so forth.
Cisco’s annual Visual Networking Index makes it is easy to see that the growth of Internet traffic in business networks will outpace service providers’ ability to remain committed to physical infrastructures and closely tied hardware for networking. Therefore, SD WANs will become much more commonplace and ultimately the dominate form of multi-location business networking.
The Cisco Visual Networking Index reported in June that busy hour Internet traffic is going much more rapidly than overall Internet traffic. The busy hour increased 51% year-over-year in 2016 versus 32% growth overall. It can be debated as to what percentage of this busy hour traffic is strictly business. However, we know that traditionally the busy hour or the traffic that occurs in the mid-morning and afternoon is driven by business users. and that busy hour traffic is increasing at a faster rate than the average traffic usage across the Internet. The only way to support businesses when there’s such a demand is by moving it from hardware defined to software defined cloud infrastructure. It’s cheaper to improve, upgrade and evolve software than it is to replace install and maintain hardware.
Although SD WAN did not reach the early forecast numbers for growth that were proposed in 2013, it is clear that the only way business can reach or meet demand is by transitioning from MPLS to SD WANs. The transition’s timing will depend upon current investment in private circuits, network infrastructure and other infrastructure operations and support elements. For those businesses without an investment in MPLS solutions, the transition to SD WANs will accelerate given faster ROI and reduced costs. SD WANs will provide real-time visibility and control, true centralized management, and the ability to track software and service innovations more quickly.
Given the potential for SD WANs to overtake MPLS within the next few years, it is important to market these solutions matching the way that businesses evaluate the benefits and drivers to SD WANs. Too much of the marketing today continues to be based on the traditional cloud benefits which may not reflect the same answer as examining if existing infrastructure costs are too high or the increased value of new services and functionality are not properly weighed. Understanding how the technology can improve business productivity, revenues, and, ultimately, profits will be the biggest driver of change.
Raven Guru Marketing can assist in you in developing effective marketing strategies for SD WANs, MPLS and other SDN solutions. Contact us to find out how.]]>Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)
Integrated Marketing Communications ensures that all forms of communications and messages are carefully linked together. Done well it integrates digital and direct marketing, social media, advertising, PR, events and sales promotions. IMC ensures messaging consistency is presented to prospects and customers by all elements of the organization. However, IMC should not be confused with end-to-end or comprehensive marketing strategy and planning.
A comprehensive marketing plan will include the same activities as an IMC plan. But following questions may be unanswered:
A comprehensive marketing plan has each of the above activities in place with conscientious personnel faithfully executing their assigned tasks each day. An integrated marketing plan has that plus the processes in place to ensure consistency and proper direction of each activity.
There are five levels or areas of integration which should be mastered if IMC is to be achieved:
Benefits of Integrated Marketing Communications
IMC can create competitive advantage, boost sales and profits and orchestrates communications to leads and prospects by moving them through the various stages of the buying process. It has more impact than a disjointed myriad of messages and has a better chance of cutting through the hundreds of commercial messages circulating through the target audience’s media.
Finally, IMC saves money and time as it eliminates conflict and duplication of graphics, digital imagery and collateral.
Raven Guru Marketing has real experience in implementing IMC and is a strong proponent. However, it is essential that organizations perform the upfront work of segmentation and positioning to be develop a successful IMC strategy.
]]>It is important for a business about to purchase Office 365 to know what material benefits the solution will deliver to the company. It is also important for the sales or agent to know how to position the solution in terms of Return on Investment (ROI). Too often each party is left with open ended value proposition statements that neither can quantify. However, each party, the seller and buyer accept these statements as fact. For the last few years I have campaigned for sales and buying processes to accept the value proposition statements but insist upon having enough information to quantify that value for the business.
Consider the following regarding an employee productivity improvement: Skype for Business improves collaboration and communications with Presence and Instant Messaging (IM). Sounds good to both parties and in most presentations that’s enough. I disagree. If we apply a little research we discover that Sage Research and Chadwick, Martin Bailey determined that using Presence and IM could save 22-40 minutes per employee each day. Knowing if a team member is available, how to best communicate with that team member and executing the communication quickly saves an employee time. And time is money.
Consider that an employee is budgeted to work 260 days per year (including vacations). That translates to 124,800 minutes per year. Further, consider that the latest average wage for 2014 according to the Social Security Administration is $46,481.52.
$46,481.52 salary/124,800 minutes = $0.37 per minute
If Skype for Business with Presence and IM can save 22-40 minutes per employee each day, then the real value to the business per day is $8.19-$14.90. An employee that uses Presence and IM as a part of his or her daily activities, can expect to save the company a minimum of $2130 per year and up to $3873 annually.
The cost of Office 365 with Business Premium that includes Skype for Business as well as Yammer, SharePoint, OneDrive and Office online is only $15 per month or $180 per year. Comparing $2130 of benefit to a cost of $180 demonstrates that the benefit easily delivers a return to the business that far exceeds the cost.
The primary value derived from Office 365 varies by the nature of the business and by the feature adoption per employee. However, by examining which features apply to a given business, department or function, all of the stated benefits can be quantified using a little bit of research.
While I like analyzing the numbers, I know that many of you like to see the results. In a subsequent blog, I’ll present the value of improved collaboration and access to documents and files by having the Office Suite Online, a mainstay of Office 365.
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