1. SD-WAN
SD-WAN has become far more critical as businesses shut down offices, driving either a hybrid work environment or a complete work-from-home (WFH) strategy. WFH went from temporary to permanent for many companies, which redefined the network edge.
2. 5G cellular
Because of the pandemic, the migration to 5G cellular changed significantly and not just because some oddball conspiracy theories suggested 5G caused the pandemic. While carriers continued their 5G rollouts, many businesses that planned to migrate to 5G have stuck with 4G/LTE for now. Government programs for 5G, like smart cities, came under pressure from the pandemic's unexpected and mounting healthcare costs.
3. Wi-Fi 6
The transition to Wi-Fi 6 has been problematic for many businesses that began planning the migration for 2020 or 2021. The shift to WFH has had a dramatic effect on commercial real estate. Many offices are shuttered, and those that are still running often see lower employee density.
4. AI enablement
The AI enablement of networking products has been rolling along as expected. 2020 had a concerted focus on the enablement of applications with AI, especially in the security and analytics areas.
5. Network automation
Finally, network automation has had an important role because of the pandemic. As employees moved to WFH, IT was clearly not immune to the changes. Many IT professionals became further removed from their systems.
Additionally, many IT folks realized they were now managing far more physical devices than ever before and relying more on automation to help compensate for the changing work profile. As we roll into 2022, automation will continue to grow as it has proved its value through these trying times.
Great post very useful 👍 👌