A new cloud networking platform from Avaya aims to simplify and accelerate the deployment and management of enterprise networks. Announced last week at the IP Expo in London, the Avaya Cloud Networking Platform includes an entirely new network lifecycle management solution for enterprises and midsize business clients, the company said.
The new platform promises to help companies deploy and manage wired as well as wireless networks, while providing both greater visibility and control to network administrators. The company said the new platform will offer a more secure, scalable and unified way to manage cloud-based networks.
The Growth of Cloud-Managed Networks
Cloud-managed networks have increased rapidly in the enterprise sector, with cloud-managed Wi-Fi networks growing at twice the pace of traditional Wi-Fi deployments.
“Avaya Cloud Networking provides IT professionals with centralized management, visibility, and control over their network without the complexity of controller appliances or overlay management software,” the company said in a statement.
Unlike with a traditional network deployment, hardware included in a cloud-managed network, such as switches and access points installed on a customer premises, are configured and managed from the cloud. That allows IT managers to add, change or modify network services more easily and from more locations.
“As the demand for unified access solutions continues to grow, the burden of managing and securing networks has become nearly untenable — especially at a time when there’s pressure to reduce IT budgets and resources,” Jean Turgeon, chief technologist at Avaya Networking, said. “The Avaya Cloud Networking Platform provides the much needed relief with a highly-secure, cost-effective solution that fits any size business.”
Scalability and Security
The new platform includes a number of new features that should appeal to enterprise network administrators, particularly those looking to deploy and administer their networks with minimal resources. That includes zero-touch activation of new access points and switches, along with automated software updates and simplified license management. According to Avaya, those features will help relieve IT administrators of some of their biggest operational burdens, while an integrated guest portal and BYOD on-boarding capability further improve operations.
Avaya is also promoting the platform’s security features to address data privacy, regulatory needs as well as to align networks with business policies. As a multi-tenant platform, the service provides data isolation among different cloud tenants. All communications are also fully encrypted, with user traffic remaining on the firewall protected LAN and cloud connectivity only required for out-of-band management functionality, the company said.
The company also said the new platform will offer enough scalability to support thousands of network devices to help organizations future-proof their networks. Meanwhile, the multi-tenant feature and SaaS (software-as-a-service) model will allow clients to pay for increased service as they grow.
Finally, Avaya is guaranteeing service availability with data center redundancy and data replication. Wireless access points (APs) will act autonomously even when the cloud connection is lost, while traffic and security will be processed directly at the network edge in each AP, the company said.
