Utilizing Adaptive Optical Networks to Enable Digital Innovation and Accelerate Transformation

Part 3 of 3 in series

Faced with an unparalleled shift in business such as working remotely, supply chains breaking, and rising expectations of customers, enterprises are now faced with a difficult decision:

A) Maintain their course and ride out the storm with their legacy technology model or,

B) Decide to shift their network to being more adaptive using optical technologies?

While not an easy choice to make or implement, the decision will certainly have long-term implications for an Enterprise’s viability as a business.

Coinciding with this era of accelerated digital transformation is the rapid expansion and strategic importance of the CTO’s role in the Enterprise. The IT function has expanded to become a competitive weapon for the business, driving exceptional value and business outcomes.  This involves having a CTO migrate from traditional operations and reactionary disciplines to position themselves as the strategic, value-added business pioneers that the business environment requires.

Part of achieving true enterprise agility will rest in an organization’s ability to leverage the value and possibilities associated with adaptive optical networks.  Equally important, will be the Service Lifecycle Applications controlling and providing insights into the network.  The ability to self-design and activate optical services rapidly, create real time visualization of the optical network topology, efficiently run network diagnostics, and receive proactive notification of network events and impairments – all accessed via a Portal or API.

The future is at our doorstep.

What if you could have ultimate control of your network?

Next-generation network capabilities and associated Service Lifecycle Applications puts the customer in control of their experience and enables previously unthought of agility.  Enterprises will be able to leverage self-service features to instantly spin-up capacity, change/augment routing, and adjust on the fly in real time – giving them the ability to shape their connectivity and better align with digital infrastructure   changes, driving better overall performance.

“An Adaptive Optical Network, along with applications such as a Network Topology Viewer and Path Computation Engine, can provide the foundational attributes ensuring a business has the tools to not only be successful today and tomorrow, but also to greatly enhance the Customer Experience – which ultimately drives better outcomes,” says Ed Morche, Lumen President, North American Enterprise and Public Sector.

What if you could accelerate digital innovation – and elevate your business outcomes – without the fear of failure?

Digital innovation requires a strategic roadmap that allows for rapid deployment, room for ‘failing fast’ and iterating quickly.   Many CTOs are hesitant to make a transformative shift, focusing on what could go wrong in the short term, which could overshadow the potential for exponential long-term improvement.

For example, CTOs may fear that putting a new application in production could crash if it uses more network resources than initially estimated. Instead of the application enhancing outcomes and providing value, the CTO worries it will unleash a different set of issues, causing faith in IT leadership to plummet across the entire enterprise.  Today’s adaptive optical wavelength networks can help accelerate the successful implementation of applications bolstering digital innovation, while reducing execution risk.   With Portal/API controls at their fingertips, enterprises can flip between Service Activation and Service Assurance modes of their optical network topology, allowing CTOs to focus more on deploying applications versus spending time on core network related activities.

Digital Innovation equates to Product Innovation, which translates to exceptional customer experience.

What if today’s network service provider matured into tomorrow’s personal digital advisor?

Next-generation optical networks are a breath of fresh air to CTOs wanting unlimited insight into all available options and the decisive power to choose those most aligned to the business’s success drivers – for example, optimizing services and products, digitally enabling dispersed workforces, and providing better digital experiences to customers.

Digital service providers that have the capabilities and willingness to facilitate this transfer can power through self-service via Portals/APIs and combine with intelligent networks.  This will transition from vendor to trusted advisor.  In doing so, Digital Service Providers and customers can finally align mutual goals and partner to drive continuity between what new applications are needed and what responses the network must have to maximize the possibilities for both.

“Organizations that proactively embrace innovation and creative design break down internal and external barriers, blazing new digital trails for technology and partnering,” says Jason Phipps, Ciena’s Senior Vice President, Global Customer Engagement. “At Ciena, we’ve been collaborating and co-innovating with smart organizations for decades. Together, we’ve witnessed immense change and thrived by anticipating paradigm shifts and quickly adapting to them upon arrival.”

Embrace network adaptability to facilitate unconstrained business agility

Adaptability is a decisive indicator between enterprises that thrive through change and those that merely endure it.  To stay competitive, modern businesses need an intelligent optical network capable of fueling their technology stacks.  Equally important, the Service Lifecycle Applications tied to the intelligent optical network, enable software driven functionality which is necessary for the continual evolution required in the digital age.

Whatever “the next big thing” is, adaptive optical networks will help enterprises outpace change and enhancements to your Digital Platform.

Will you sit idly by, or will you make the move to unlimited agility?

This blog is provided for informational purposes only and may require additional research and substantiation by the end user. In addition, the information is provided “as is” without any warranty or condition of any kind, either express or implied.  ©2021 Lumen Technologies. All Rights Reserved.