08 June 2020

Whether they’re conscious of it or not, the typical user is consuming cloud applications daily, benefitting from greater accessibility to the software and data they need to function in the modern world. Whilst it is difficult to forecast what this cloud-based world has in store for users, it’s less so for another group closely tied to the cloud network architects.

The cloud brings benefits to end users, but also huge upheaval for the network architects tasked with overseeing this transformational shift. This chaos has unsettled network architects, who are struggling to see a future for themselves in this cloud-first ecosystem, where the network effectively doesn’t exist anymore.
Cloud transformation moves quickly

The cloud is giving businesses competitive advantages and driving change in the enterprise space, and many organisations looking to take advantage jumped on the cloud bandwagon early. However, these early cloud adopters didn’t necessarily account for just how quickly things move in the cloud space. This speed of development is unheard of in traditional on-premises architectures and has rattled network architects.

This is more of a governance issue than a technical one. It’s about shifting network architects’ mindsets. With legacy IT infrastructure, the conversation was somewhat simpler when physically interconnecting devices and infrastructure. The cloud moves more dynamically, and transcends the older physical controls and structure. You may be able to build a set of controls in AWS, Azure or any other cloud solution that meets your demands today, but before long that same cloud provider releases a dozen new products that are vital but weren’t part of the initial strategy. Adherence to legacy IT modes of governance leaves network architects chasing the tail of cloud providers’ updates when they need to think more dynamically to keep things moving.

The cloud devalues the corporate network

The corporate network is the network architect’s responsibility, but the cloud undermines its importance, which, in turn, diminishes the work of the network architects.
Gartner’s latest technological model  the secure access service edge (SASE), evidences this. SASE combines WAN capabilities with network security functions to support the changing needs of digital enterprises. These capabilities are delivered as a service based upon the identity of the entity, real-time context, and security and compliance policies. Identities can be associated with people, devices, IoT or edge computing locations.

This is another step in the consumerisation of the network. YouTube, in many ways, is an exemplar of this shift, presenting a service to the consumer at the edge of the infrastructure. The consumer has no idea what the backend looks like or what it entails. Translating SASE solutions into enterprise application use in the future means that businesses will no longer need to provide that path of connectivity. Users won’t actually have to be connected to any private network to consume a service. The service will be at the edge, away from the internal workings or functionality. Users are not going to need to know where that network is. Therefore, it can be anywhere.
In business terms there will be less reliance on IT as an internal service, and less need to have the internal skill sets and knowledge to manage the infrastructure that provided this connectivity: the network architects. This will bring cost savings and an opportunity to shift resources into different business areas.

This could negatively impact IT professionals in businesses where IT is not critical to success. Technology firms will still require these skilled individuals, but other sectors may lose headcount as they shift focus towards governance and management of the service provided by AWS, Microsoft etc. rather than relying on technical know-how. Understandably, this worries network architects. Pulling focus away from the corporate network in their charge and toward cloud-enabled models is essentially making their role redundant.

Resistance is futile

The issue here is not a lack of technical understanding around cloud, or concerns around security or the technology’s staying power. It is a reluctance to change. Clinging to the old boxes and styles of working may preserve a feeling of relevancy for network architects, but it’s a false sense of security.

They need to embrace cloud and adapt their expertise to the new style of network architecture to revalidate their positions and bring enterprise knowledge to cloud deployments. Cloud-driven, disruptive newcomers unburdened by technological infrastructure are taking larger chunks of market share. Think Starling Bank in financial services, or Airbnb in hospitality. When the C-suite in less digitally savvy businesses understands the value-creating power of new cloud solutions, and how it can even the odds with new competitors, those old boxes won’t protect the network architects, they’ll just weigh them down. Despite all this, the prospects for network architects in the cloud world are actually quite bright if they are willing to open their minds and embrace a new beginning.

Nathan Howe, head of transformation strategy, EMEA Zscaler