Scaling network capacity during critical events

If nothing else, the pandemic has revealed the central role that wireless networks play in our lives. Network capacity has always been a mission-critical consideration for first response and disaster relief, but the current situation is forcing businesses of all sizes to reckon with network capacity considerations in real time, all the time. Whether your company is approaching cloud storage limits or taxing bandwidth with latency-sensitive applications, scaling network capacity to the needs of the moment—or the week—is delicate and vital work. Here are some considerations and best practices which, along with the right scalable network solutions, can keep your teams executing, your IT department informed and, above all, your business ready for what’s next.

‘Re-baseline’ your network: Companies must address their current situation, and mine those usage patterns to project future needs. How does your company’s day-to-day intersect with network capacity considerations? “Re-baselining” your network needs means evaluating capacity against the realities of remote work, application deployments and use, and network management.

Scale to need: Every business uses bandwidth differently. The dynamic network capability—which allows IT departments to increase or decrease capacity as they see fit— afforded by scalable network solutions benefits enterprises large and small. You don’t have to purchase set capacity and worry about ever hitting it—or about blowing through it. When an all-hands video meeting is scheduled for 10:00AM, your IT department can modify capacity through an enterprise customer portal, up to 15 minutes in advance of the first participant login, for pinpoint control.

Address latency-sensitive applications: Virtual desktops and video-based collaboration tools are latency-sensitive, and they perform optimally when the applications themselves “sit close” to their end users. If your New York team is heavily reliant on virtual desktops, you don’t want those applications sitting on servers in Nevada. By thinking strategically about application use and deployment, lag can be minimized and user experiences improved.

Make the most of it: Nobody knew how, or how quickly, COVID-19 would rewrite the old playbooks. Supple companies will use today’s changes to help inform them while acting now to leverage technologies that can make their networks more agile, programmable and on demand—ultimately preparing them for tomorrow’s business environment. Think of all the rapid changes your company is making today. These will form the tips, tricks and lessons you apply to the world’s ever-evolving notions of work.