Business is mobile, wireless and more flexible than ever. But increased capabilities also mean more stress on networks.
Applications and solutions that aid in network optimization are beyond essential, and both enterprises and network administrators are always keeping an ear to the ground for solutions that facilitate content management and reduce bandwidth consumption.
Just in case you’re not a network administrator and don’t speak High Tech, an application delivery network is broad term that refers to a set of technologies which provide efficient computing, application and data delivery to end-users.
Various solutions such as data traffic management, resource optimization, content management, and end-user system management are installed in specific nodes in the wide area network (WAN) to provide end-user systems access to various applications and data.
A big factor forcing changes in these services are BYOD policies and cloud computing, both of which have been cited time and again as major instigators of evolution in enterprise networks and applications. These factors have had a huge bearing on the application delivery sector, and can be credited for growth in the Global WAN Application Delivery Market, which is posting a CAGR of 14.39 percent from 2014-2018.
Just a few years ago being able to access enterprise resources from your own mobile device was a privilege at best and downright unheard of at worst. Now, companies are recognizing the huge productivity gains that result from allowing employees to use their own devices for work. But connecting to the enterprise network on a mobile phone, tablet or laptop also comes with certain expectations, one of which is speed. Applications must be delivered quickly in order for BYOD policy to really be useful from a productivity standpoint.
Then there’s the now-ubiquitous cloud. According to senior researchers from TechNavio, “private and public cloud infrastructures are the two major models utilized by enterprises to deliver applications and data solutions to employees and end-users”.
These private and public systems are being integrated in order to deliver applications on a single platform. The resulting hybrid systems present a world of new opportunities for enterprises, but they also open a Pandora’s Box of challenges. Cloud service providers are working on protocols that will be implemented in WAN application delivery systems to access data and applications simultaneously from both private and public cloud infrastructure.
All these steps forward in terms of network optimization can be boiled down to one (albeit very simplified) end goal—creating a better end-user experience.
There is a growing need for WAN application delivery systems as they provide a satisfactory computing experience to end-users, be they employees in an enterprise or customers.
It’s a delicate line that administrators walk, between increasingly complex networks and simplified, optimized user experience. This dichotomy will continue to spur evolution and consequently growth in the market for the next four years.
For more insights, view our Global WAN Application Delivery Market 2014-2018 report.
