With networks judged by how well they support business processes, the annual Interop networking conference in Las Vegas continued
the trend of recent years, expanding its horizons beyond data networks and toward broader enterprise issues, such as the need
for better application monitoring tools, network access control, and the impact of VoIP.
Vendors showed off application-centric network management tools that can monitor performance in real time. Application acceleration
was also a hot topic, with news of new appliances from vendors including Radware, Coyote Point Systems, and Stampede Technologies.
Extreme Networks joined arms with Internet Security Systems and other partners to prevent intrusions, encrypt network traffic,
and control network access. Cisco Systems continued its integration of security with a new VPN adapter for its aging 7200
Series routers.
As functions like security become embedded in the network, control of network buying has shifted to IT administrators, said
Yankee Group analyst Zeus Kerravala.
That shift could open the door to new competitors. For example, as voice becomes a managed service or just a feature of other
enterprise applications, Google or Skype parent eBay could come into enterprise telephony in a few years, Kerravala said.
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(InfoWorld) - In the litigious world we live in, deploying a unified communications platform in your enterprise could...
