Page 143 - Security Today, September 2017

It’s a wondrous thing to behold. Your customer agrees with every one of your sales points. He agrees with your reasoning and the value of your solutions. Then, when it comes time to sign on the dotted line, close the deal, and get started...he hesitates. Too often, this is the case when resellers recommend to their customers that they upgrade to cloud-based networking.
Typically, the customer understands the concept that an intelligent cloud solution greatly simplifies network operations. They also grasp that it enables administrators to see how a network is performing and to manage it easily from anywhere. They see the value in a system that can be easily scaled and they agree that cloud networking allows IT to easily distribute responsibility for different locations in order to provide better overall network management support.
Yet, still, there are concerns. Much of that stems from the fact that although cloud discussions have become part of our everyday life, cloud networking is still a relatively new concept. And as customers explore making the shift from traditional network management to a cloud-based model, there are always concerns, mostly centered on security and cloud outages.
We asked Trent Fierro, Director of Software Marketing for Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, how they help quell their customers’ concerns about the cloud.
“Security is a key concern, whether talking about wired or wireless networking solutions,” he said. “When it comes to cloud networking, other considerations such as administrative access and data encryption also come to mind. To alleviate concerns, Aruba Central uses secure HTTPS to establish connections. Tiered administrative privileges and an option to trigger multi-factor authentication per administrator role and additional attributes are also available.”
What about outages? “There are a number of factors that can contribute to potential outages.
And, unfortunately, we can’t control them all. But, there are many things we do to combat potential outages. For one, high availability and redundancy is accomplished via the use of multiple datacenters. And, in the event that connectivity to the cloud is lost, the Aruba network will continue to perform, and will be locally manageable via a built-in console port on all Aruba Instant Access Points (IAPs).” He added, “This is a feature that is unique to Aruba.”
In addition, Aruba has taken steps to ensure that intelligent software features have been added to their cloud solution. For instance, AppRF provides the visibility needed to view app and web traffic by the percentage of use throughout the day and over time. Administrators can then fine-tune the network for video, versus voice or data, based on timeframes of heavy use.
As organizations reprioritize what their IT staff is responsible for, rethink how budgets are being spent, and strategize on how to most quickly adapt to changing business demands, the idea of a flexible cloud networking model is becoming more popular. It offers everything they are looking for, namely: reliability, scalability, and flexibility.
Cloud-managed networks are the answer to many of your customers’ needs and challenges. It’s up to you to provide them with the information — and, at times, the guidance — they need to make the move.
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