Different problems, different resources

Network Optimization This newsletter is sponsored by Nevis Networks Inside the industry's largest public NAC test Get an independent review of Cisco's CNAC and the Trusted Computing Group's TNC network access control frameworks via Network World's latest Editorial Briefing "Implementing NAC." Get the real scoop and go inside the industry's largest public test of available NAC products. Network World's Network Optimization Newsletter, 06/07/07 Different problems, different resources By Ann Bednarz I hear time and time again that the primary reason enterprises invest in WAN optimization technology is to resolve a pressing business requirement. I wrote about the topic recently, and how industry gurus say the need to solve a particular application performance issue is what drives many customer engagements. Exinda Networks’ CEO Con Nikolouzakis summed it up well: “We’re still finding a lot of people want to solve one problem. They might be having problems with VoIP, or they're trying to do Lotus Notes replications, or something like that. The market is still at the stage where companies are trying to fix specific problems.” Manage Insider Security Threats Experts say 75% of security threats come from inside your organization. Watch the latest Network World Editorial Perspectives Webcast today, "Security From the Inside," and learn which technologies and processes best protect your intellectual property and assets inside the perimeter. Click Here to View In response to that newsletter, a reader wrote in with some interesting observations about how to reconcile tactical and strategic requirements. Some managers -- perhaps unintentionally -- pit strategic needs against tactical needs, says Dr. Neill Harris, a networking consultant and university faculty member. But a better approach is to consider the two together, not as competing for resources but as different animals, he suggests. “It seems to me that managers must have resources allocated to both and not steal from strategic resources to bolster tactical resources,” Harris writes. In Harris’ organization, there are two distinct “pots” of resources, and each is clearly labeled. “The strategic pot is there to help us address significant, tactical problems, like the one we are faced with at the moment, in the future more effectively. If you steal strategic resources, you will make the tactical problem much larger in the future.” “The strategic pot has resources to discover what we need in the future, whereas the tactical pot has resources to recover what we are losing at the moment. So the resources in each pot actually have, or should have, different approaches and skills.” Stealing resources from one pool or another can not only jeopardize the solution to the short-term tactical problem but also prejudice the solution to the strategic problem of the future, Harris says. For the most part, IT staff members have bought into the concept, according to Harris. “I have found that a simple explanation of strategic hits home and frequently silences the tactical opposition. Silences them, that is, in terms of their demands for resources, which they see as existing in a big, immediately accessible pot.” Though not everyone listens, Harris admits. But that’s the nature of life, right? Do you have a policy for allocating funds to tactical and strategic WAN projects? If you’d like to share your ideas, please e-mail me. Your comments are always welcome.   What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

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Contact the author: Ann Bednarz is an associate news editor at Network World responsible for editing daily news content. She previously covered enterprise applications, e-commerce and telework trends for Network World. E-mail Ann. This newsletter is sponsored by Nevis Networks Inside the industry's largest public NAC test Get an independent review of Cisco's CNAC and the Trusted Computing Group's TNC network access control frameworks via Network World's latest Editorial Briefing "Implementing NAC." Get the real scoop and go inside the industry's largest public test of available NAC products. ARCHIVE Archive of the Network Optimization Newsletter. BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: security.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007