Source: Enterprise Strategy Group Research Report, A Network Perspective on SASE and SD-WAN, November 2023.

The level of interest in secure access service edge (SASE) architectures has exploded recently as organizations struggle to use traditional, on-premises-based network and security solutions to support distributed, cloud-centric enterprise environments. While this has been an increasing challenge over the last few years, the pandemic and resulting spike in newly remote workers pushed many organizations to a tipping point when it comes to both security and network traffic. Additionally, the broad applicability of SASE leads to some confusion on where to begin and which technologies are required, exacerbated by legacy organizational dynamics. While Enterprise Strategy Group has seen SASE elevated to a CIO/CISO-led initiative in some cases, inconsistencies remain for many organizations in day-to-day collaboration across network and security teams.

The post Data Point of the Week appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.

To learn more about these trends, download the free infographic, The Life and Times of Cybersecurity Professionals Volume VI.

The post The Life and Times of Cybersecurity Professionals Volume VI appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.

To learn more about these trends, download the free infographic, A Network Perspective on SASE and SD-WAN.

The post A Network Perspective on SASE and SD-WAN appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.

Recently, I was able to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the newly renovated Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots and New England Revolution, to better understand how they are improving in-person experiences. If you are not aware, Gillette Stadium recently underwent a significant renovation in its north end zone to provide additional hospitality services, a massive outdoor screen, and modernize its video network to support broadcast TV, security and safety, and eventually deliver video content to the screens distributed throughout the stadium. Regardless of where you are, you never miss a play.

For those attending the game/event, it is impossible to miss the massive outdoor screen in the north end zone. This 22,000-square-foot screen (for context, that is almost half an acre) is the largest curved outdoor HD video board in the U.S. And in case you are wondering, no, this will not fit in your living room. Being over five times larger than the video board it replaced, it provides a great view of the action taking place on the field for almost the entire stadium. And of course, the new 22-story lighthouse with an observation deck behind the board is also quite distinctive.

While these additions have a dramatic visual impact, it is really what is going on behind the scenes that provides the more differentiated experience. A big part of this renovation was creating an in-house video production studio for the stadium. So, while production trucks will still be required for uplinks, all the game video feeds now run through this production room. This allows the stadium to control the content going to the screens in the stadium and why those attending the game get to see replays (NFL, MLS) on the big screen before those at home do—if at all. To always ensure high availability, the stadium leverages redundant on-premises data centers and multiple redundant network connections on each side of the stadium. As a side note, the data center environment we toured was as impressive as the screen—not a wire out of place—and everything was labelled according to the standards of the Kraft Group (owners of the Patriots and Revolution). To ensure all the video feeds can be collected from the cameras, then viewed in the production room, and delivered to broadcasters and the video screens, Gillette Stadium turned to Cisco Systems network technology for a wired solution that was designed and implemented by the Acadia Technology Group. The deployment also included the infrastructure to support the main press conference room as well as several breakout Cisco WebEx interview rooms.

In addition to game/event day, Gillette Stadium also created an operations control room to improve operational efficiencies. Again, aided by dozens of video panels, this main operations control room tracks weather, real-time automobile traffic, and foot traffic in and around the stadium. Aided by AI technology that can quickly alert this team, comprised of Gillette Stadium staff, local, state, or federal officials, of any issues that need to be addressed. For example, the AI-enabled scene analytics software could detect something as simple as a full trash can and alert maintenance to empty it or monitor inventory levels in self-checkout kiosks so staffers can ensure products are always available, to detecting a fan trying to scale a fence to an unauthorized area, which would alert security teams to act. Ultimately, this enables Gillette Stadium staff to provide the best possible and safest experience on game day or event.  

As an aside, it is worth noting that Micheal Israel, the Kraft Group CIO who led the tour, is also in charge of the other Kraft businesses and that the innovative technology deployed at the stadium often gets implemented at the other Kraft Group locations to deliver greater operational efficiencies and safety. The aforementioned AI-enabled scene analytics capability and Cisco networks are just a few of the technologies that have been implemented, and they have led to improved processes and productivity at the Kraft Group recycling plants.  

Why does all this matter? It demonstrates the value that innovative technology can have in improving not just a game day or concert experience but also any business process. Stadiums such as Gillette, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, and others continue to use technology to deliver a differentiated and safe game day/concert experience. Video, Wi-Fi, and 5G networks all play a role in enabling these massive stadium environments to deliver an enhanced experience. It’s great to see Gillette Stadium (and the Kraft Group) continue to innovate and share their experiences with other stadiums to raise the bar for all stadium events. More importantly, businesses outside of sports and entertainment can learn from these technology deployments and leverage them to improve their own process, product, or ensure a safe and productive work environment—or provide a differentiated experience to their employees!

The post Modernizing the Video Experience at an NFL Stadium appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group Research Report, Customer Experience Strategies and Technology Frameworks, June 2023.

Customer experience is the sum of a customer’s digital interactions with a company throughout the customer lifecycle, from early online research of a product or service to active use and repeat business such as subscriptions. Most customer experience programs include the measurement of customer satisfaction and sentiment analysis. These processes aggregate and analyze customers’ perceptions and feelings resulting from interactions with a brand’s products and services, most often through short surveys collected throughout an engagement. Customer loyalty and retention are the desired results from the thoughtful execution and continuous improvement of CX.

The post Data Point of the Week appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.

To learn more about these trends, download the free infographic, The State of Infrastructure Modernization Across the Distributed Cloud.

The post The State of Infrastructure Modernization Across the Distributed Cloud appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.

To learn more about these trends, download the free infographic, Security Services Edge (SSE) Leads the Way to SASE.

The post Security Services Edge (SSE) Leads the Way to SASE appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.

Organizations first need to build the proper data management infrastructure to achieve these results. In our 2023 “State of DataOps: Unleashing the Power of Data” research, we found that 39% of organizations find keeping pace with rapidly evolving technology and tools is one of their top challenges for data management, with 33% ranking the integration of disparate data sources, 32% limited resources and 29% lack of skills. All emphasize the need for solid, forward-thinking partners.

Some of the value brought by Informatica together with AWS in their announcement include these areas:

Strengthening Foundations for AI-powered Solutions

Informatica’s partnership expansion unveils a deeper integration with Amazon Bedrock, a managed service offering access to foundational models for generative AI applications. Leveraging Informatica’s Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC), this integration ensures trusted data provisioning, enriching context for enhanced accuracy in pivotal AI use cases. The comprehensive suite of data management tools within IDMC, from cataloging to governance, amplifies Amazon Bedrock’s capabilities, empowering customers to harness AI’s potential.

Empowering Healthcare Data Management

Another milestone lies in the alignment with AWS HealthLake, a HIPAA-eligible service facilitating secure storage, transformation, and analysis of health data. Informatica’s IDMC, fortified with healthcare-specific accelerators, ensures seamless integration with AWS HealthLake. This synergy not only harmonizes master data but also furnishes a holistic view of healthcare entities. The result? Improved patient engagement, optimized provider networks, and elevated clinical outcomes—all within stringent compliance frameworks.

Redefining Data Lake Access and Governance

Recognized as a Launch Partner for Amazon S3 Access Grants, Informatica continues to innovate in data lake management. This integration addresses the need for streamlined, secure access to data stored in Amazon S3. By merging AI-powered data access management with Cloud Data Marketplace capabilities, Informatica simplifies self-service access while upholding enterprise-scale governance protocols.

A Testament to Mutual Growth

The resonance between Informatica and AWS signifies a commitment to advancing cloud, data, and AI capabilities. This underscores the significance of these integrations in empowering customers, particularly those in regulated industries, to seamlessly manage trusted data, driving intelligent decisions and operational efficiencies.

A Future of Data Transformation

As enterprises strive for agility and innovation, partnerships like the one between Informatica and AWS pave the way for cutting-edge solutions. These integrations exemplify a shared vision: to empower businesses with secure, governed, and actionable data—a fundamental pillar in shaping a data-driven future.

In essence, the amalgamation of Informatica’s robust data management suite with AWS’s scalable infrastructure heralds a new era of possibilities, where data becomes not just a resource but a catalyst for unprecedented growth and innovation.

The post Informatica and AWS: Powering Transformative Data Innovations appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.

Source: Enterprise Strategy Group Research Report, Beyond the GenAI Hype: Real-world Investments, Use Cases, and Concerns, August 2023.

While AI in general was already assimilating into the everyday business and IT lexicon thanks to ongoing AI and analytics strategies and initiatives, GenAI recently stormed the market and mindshare of decision makers across industries and major geographic markets. Business leaders see a massive opportunity to positively impact operations and customer strategies with GenAI, but its adoption and use across all business units carry a fair share of trepidation.

The post Data Point of the Week appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.

In order to investigate how businesses are faring with adoption plans, the use cases they seek to support, and the technologies they prioritize as part of SASE rollouts, TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group surveyed 390 IT and cybersecurity professionals at organizations in North America (US and Canada) responsible for evaluating, purchasing, and managing network and/or network security technology products and services, specifically security service edge technology and processes.

This study sought to answer the following questions:

• What are the drivers of interest in SASE? What are the initial use cases for SASE?
• How long do organizations expect it to take to fully adopt a SASE architecture?
• What cybersecurity challenges have been most impactful to organizations? What challenges do organizations face specifically with securing remote user access to corporate applications and resources?
• Do organizations expect their initial approach to SASE to be security- or network-first?
• What plans do organizations have to implement secure service edge technologies? What are the reasons organizations are interested in SSE?
• What challenges have organizations faced, or do they expect to face, when implementing SSE?
• What attributes are most important to organizations when considering an SSE solution?
• How are organizations prioritizing different security tools, such as CASB, ZTNA, and SWG, as they build out their SSE architectures?
• What do organizations believe are the most important attributes of a zero-trust network access solution as part of an SSE architecture?
• What capabilities do organizations find most important in secure web gateway and CASB solutions as part of an SSE architecture?
• How many technology vendors do organizations believe they will work with to support their SASE architecture? What are the drivers for organizations using more than one SASE vendor?
• How do organizations view the current cybersecurity landscape in terms of management difficulty? How does this vary, if at all, according to current SSE adoption status?
• What benefits have organizations recognized to date as a result of implementing SASE?

Survey participants represented a wide range of industries including manufacturing, technology, financial services, and retail/wholesale. For more details, please see the Research Methodology and Respondent Demographics sections of this report.

Already an Enterprise Strategy Group client? Log in to read the full report.

If you are not yet a Subscription Client but would like to learn more about accessing this report, please contact us.

The post Security Services Edge (SSE) Leads the Way to SASE appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.

To determine the current state of infrastructure modernization across the distributed cloud, Enterprise Strategy Group surveyed 377 IT professionals in North America (US and Canada) responsible for evaluating, purchasing, building, and managing application infrastructure in their organization.

This study sought to answer the following questions:

• How fast do IT teams need to deploy applications and infrastructure compared with three years ago?
• How are organizations responding to the need to accelerate IT operations?
• How are IT budgets allocated between data centers and off-premises locations such as public cloud infrastructure services and edge?
• What is the distribution of production applications between on-premises infrastructure and public cloud infrastructure services or platforms? How will this change in 24 months?
• Are organizations deploying existing cloud applications or new applications on premises? Are organizations deploying existing on-premises or new applications on cloud infrastructure services?
• How many cloud services providers are organizations using? What benefits do they seek?
• What challenges do organizations face with multi-cloud deployments in terms of application deployment, management, and migration?
• Are organizations using one primary cloud services provider or do they distribute requirements evenly across their providers?
• What tools or technologies are organizations using to enable infrastructure automation? In which locations are these tools or technologies deployed?
• What processes do organizations automate with infrastructure automation tools? What benefits do organizations seek from this automation? What challenges do they encounter?
• What criteria are most important when selecting infrastructure automation tools?
• How important are APIs in terms of supporting IT operational metrics or key performance indicators? What are the key selection criteria for APIs?
• How often do organizations move data between data centers and public cloud services? What are the use cases for this movement?
• How often do organizations move data between multiple cloud services providers? What are the use cases for this movement?

Survey participants represented a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, technology, financial services, and retail/wholesale. For more details, please see the Research Methodology and Respondent Demographics sections of this report.

Already an Enterprise Strategy Group client? Log in to read the full report.

If you are not yet a Subscription Client but would like to learn more about accessing this report, please contact us.

The post Distributed Cloud Series: The State of Infrastructure Modernization Across the Distributed Cloud appeared first on Enterprise Strategy Group.