Cutting-edge technologies crafted to enhance network speed, intelligence, security, and streamline management processes.

1. Unified SASE: Catering to the Hybrid Workforce and Cloud Environment Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) seamlessly amalgamates security and networking within a singular platform. This technology leverages a one-pass scanning architecture while being guided by a consolidated policy administered through a unified console fed by a unified data repository. As Kelly Ahuja, the CEO of Versa Networks, a prominent networking and cybersecurity firm, emphasizes, this innovation carries great significance in enabling organizations to uphold a consistent and secure user experience while safeguarding users, devices, locations, and data in the face of rapidly evolving dynamics expected in 2023.

   In the coming year, many enterprises will still require their employees to spend some of their time in physical office spaces, creating a scenario where a hybrid and transient workforce will traverse the traditional enterprise boundaries. This evolving landscape effectively dissolves the traditional enterprise perimeter, as Ahuja duly warns. Unified SASE confronts this challenge by delivering network and cloud-centric security that is accessible anywhere and at any time, accommodating any user, device, or location in a consistent and reliable manner.

   Moreover, Unified SASE also tackles the intricate management and security dilemmas posed by the rise of hybrid cloud environments. Ahuja notes that while most enterprises entered 2022 with strategies to migrate workloads and applications to a single cloud, today, they often embrace a hybrid cloud approach or even opt for a multi-cloud strategy for reasons related to business continuity, cost-effectiveness, and operational efficiency.

   Unified SASE, as Ahuja elucidates, equips organizations to provide persistent, high-performance connectivity and application access across diverse cloud platforms.

2. Multi-Cloud Networking Software (MCNS): Overcoming Challenges in Cloud Connectivity Multi-Cloud Networking Software (MCNS) is designed to address the complexities associated with connecting networks and applications across various public cloud environments. The primary objective of MCNS products is to establish a unified framework for managing networking, policies, security, and visibility, ensuring consistency across multiple cloud platforms through a centralized management point. Ron Howell, the managing enterprise network architect at IT consulting firm Capgemini Americas, highlights that many cloud providers often struggle to effectively integrate multiple cloud services, as they tend to concentrate on their specific cloud offerings as if they were the sole solution for enterprises. Howell underscores the value that multi-cloud networking software brings in this context.

   MCNS goes beyond being a mere conduit for connecting a network to diverse cloud services. As Brad Casemore, the Vice President of Research in Datacenter and Multi-Cloud Networking at technology research firm IDC, elucidates, it offers automated, policy-driven networking solutions that provide connectivity and network services for distributed workloads spanning multiple clouds and locations.

3. Cilium: The Leading Network Technology of 2023 According to Ashish Kakran, a principal at Thomvest Ventures, Cilium is set to take the spotlight as the most influential network technology in 2023. He highlights that Cilium, an open-source software, adeptly integrates networking, observability, and security into a user-friendly solution tailored for container-based applications within multi/hybrid cloud environments.

   Kakran enumerates the distinctive advantages of adopting Cilium, emphasizing that it requires no code modifications to achieve granular visibility, eliminates the need to acquire a new programming language, and delivers exceptional performance. These attributes make Cilium a compelling choice for organizations.

   Beneath its surface, Cilium harnesses the power of an open-source technology known as eBPF, which effectively transforms the Linux kernel into a programmable entity. Kakran draws a parallel to the innovation of JavaScript in the context of web browsers, as eBPF enables secure code execution within the kernel without necessitating any kernel-level code alterations. Kakran asserts that this technology provides effective solutions to networking and observability challenges in Kubernetes, particularly as organizations scale up their operations.

4. Shifting Focus to Data Security in 2023 Enterprises have diligently fortified their networks, endpoints, and devices over the years. However, the current emphasis is on data security, ensuring that vulnerabilities at the data layer, particularly within the vast volumes of unstructured data residing in the cloud, are swiftly identified and safeguarded. This perspective is presented by Karthik Krishnan, CEO of Concentric AI, a firm specializing in data risk assessment and monitoring.

   Krishnan asserts that Data Security Posture Management (DSPM), through its automation of data detection and protection operations, is a pivotal tool for enabling organizations to more effectively uncover, oversee, and secure their sensitive data. DSPM delivers remarkably precise outcomes, all without the necessity of maintaining extensive security teams.

   Among the numerous advantages of DSPM, Krishnan highlights its ability to detect sensitive data within an enterprise environment comprehensively, encompassing a wide range of data types, from financial data to intellectual property and personal information, all without the need for predefined rules or upfront configurations.

   Furthermore, DSPM serves as a vigilant guardian by monitoring data for potential risks, such as improper permissions and incorrect entitlements. It promptly rectifies these issues, thereby mitigating the risk of data breaches and loss.

5. The Evolution of Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) and Virtual Network Services In 2014, the inception of Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) marked a pivotal shift towards a software-centric approach to wide-area networking. However, the next phase necessitates a comprehensive approach that extends the software-defined paradigm to encompass all network functions within the wide-area network. These insights are shared by Roopa Honnachari, Director of Network Advisory at ISG, a technology research and advisory firm.

   Honnachari highlights the role of NFV-based virtual network services, which enable the transformation of traditional hardware-centric network functions, such as routing, WAN optimization, and firewall, into a software-based format. This transition is made possible through a standardized x86 hardware platform known as a universal Customer Premises Equipment (uCPE), which can host multiple network functions.

   Virtual network services offer the promise of significantly reducing the costs and complexities associated with deploying extensive global WAN networks. By consolidating multiple functions on standardized hardware, organizations can lessen their reliance on specialized hardware for each function, thereby reducing overall hardware sprawl, as explained by Honnachari.

   When virtual network functions (VNFs) are deployed on a virtualized uCPE, the need for physical maintenance is greatly reduced, enabling network personnel to allocate their resources to other tasks. In contrast to the traditional network approach, where hardware replacement is required when a device fails, VNFs offer a more agile solution. Network administrators can swiftly reconfigure and rebuild a specific function, given that it is deployed in a software format. The process of downloading and configuring VNFs can be completed in a matter of minutes, a stark contrast to the days required in a hardware-centric approach.