07 June 2023

With digital transformation in full swing and data volumes booming, how can network managers choose the right solution for their enterprise? Amy Saunders checks in with those in the know

Public networks have been around for decades and have transformed our lives as consumers. For enterprises, they are quick and inexpensive to deploy, with great bandwidth capabilities.

Public networks offer simplicity, explains Mike Kennett, head of regulatory affairs, Freshwave. “The network infrastructure already exists, so if there’s coverage on site then the enterprise only needs to source devices and SIM cards. Use of public networks is infinitely scalable, so works for enterprises of all sizes.”

“Public networks are convenient, and increasingly used by organisations that have made the shift to cloud services, meaning their focus is on obtaining fast and cost-effective internet connectivity,” says Richard Parkinson, director, FarrPoint.

However, the main focus for MNOs is consumer services, which is not always consistent with enterprise needs. Public network coverage and capacity is often poor in workplaces, especially in buildings constructed using modern energy-efficient materials. Additionally, the type of service needed by an enterprise may be very different from that for a consumer.

“Consumer services such as video streaming use mostly downlink traffic; consequently, public networks are designed to provide greater downlink data rates,” outlines Kennett. “Conversely, enterprises using other types of devices, such as wireless CCTV or mobile cameras on robots, are likely to need more uplink capacity than downlink. In addition, some of the advanced features of 5G designed for industrial applications, including ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) and massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), will not be available on public networks for some time.”

Trusting in the network

Among some organisations, the lack of control over the network, and the fact that it isn’t customisable, is a real sticking point. The enterprise has reduced control over security measures, meaning the public network providers hold all the cards.

As such, private networks have emerged in the last few years to offer exciting opportunities for organisations like control, flexibility, scalability, increased security, and no monthly fees.

One major difference between private and public networks is that there is no SLA in place for the latter - if the network goes down, there is no commitment from the provider. “You’re in their hands and their timeline for when it will be up and running again,” says Justin Day, CEO of Cloud Gatweway.

“Organisations that still host the majority of their services and applications on-premise may still need the guaranteed quality of service, availability and security of a private network,” agrees Parkinson.

Private networks give assured connectivity with dedicated resources and spectrum. “And they’re highly customisable as they are tailored to the exact needs of the organisation,” adds Kennett. “Private networks are therefore likely to be a better choice for mission critical use cases, and for requirements which can’t currently be met by MNO networks such as URLLC. The disadvantage is the cost of additional infrastructure, although hardware and software costs are reducing as more vendors enter the market.”

Indeed, the up-front costs can render private networks uneconomic for some enterprises, plus there is the maintenance support, and associated staffing, to consider.

Hybrid networks have thus emerged as a means for enterprises to get the best of both worlds. Users share some parts of the infrastructure to help reduce costs, gain greater resilience, and achieve increased capacity from aggregating two networks.

Catherine Doherty, enterprise networking leader, Cisco UK&I, says that the hybrid network model is becoming “the norm” for many enterprises today. “Our ‘2022 Global Hybrid Cloud Trends Report’ shows decision-makers are moving to hybrid networks for better business agility and access to cloud-based services,” says Doherty. “However, running a hybrid environment comes with security challenges and increased operational complexity.”

Managing big data

With digital transformation well and truly upon us, data generation is expanding exponentially, putting significant strain on networks.

“As IoT devices grow from billions to trillions, demand for bandwidth grows not only from connecting devices to the network but also from the AI/ML workloads required to drive insights from IoT,” says Doherty. “Applications such as generative AI, search, language processing, and recommendation engines, require more bandwidth than traditional workloads. Organisations will need to adapt their networking strategy to enhance and extend their capabilities to meet new competitive challenges.”

So, what does that mean when it comes to deciding between public vs private vs hybrid networks?

Much of the new data traffic is uplink in direction, in contrast with consumer phones where the traffic is overwhelmingly downlink. “So private networks, with their uplink/downlink flexibility, might be the best choice for organisations generating large quantities of data from wireless devices,” says Kennett. “5G is also likely to be a better technology option than 4G due to its faster data rates. A private network allows an enterprise to utilise 5G technology even if there’s no public 5G network coverage at the site.”

The data composition represents a significant component in choosing the right network. “For enterprises moving content that they don’t mind being in the public domain, public internet is the way to go,” explains Day. However, for important or private data, “it’s possibly better to look at a private network.”

“An organisation will need to have clear IT priorities to select the right enterprise network,” says Doherty. “Whether your priority is gaining 360-degree network visibility or security, or simplifying your wired and wireless access, branch, or WAN networks with software-defined networking. The right enterprise network architecture can optimise access to cloud applications, a mobile workforce, and/or IoT connectivity. These architectures adapted to your priorities can scale from the smallest to the largest deployments.”

According to Day, “there isn’t a single right answer. Some services are better suited to private networks, others public, and there are some that will benefit from multiple connectivity technologies. It’s all about weighing up responsibility versus control, cost, and performance - and how much you need of each.”