Network Appliances are Ruining Your Business Model

As a cloud service provider, you know that network appliances like firewalls and load balancers provide valuable functionality. Whether physical or virtual, these appliance can provide many benefits in your business model through value-add features, functionality and services. 

But, today's enterprises are demanding simplified IT with "as a Service" principles, and network appliances have become a chokepoint. 

Even following the introduction of virtualization, network appliances, prevent profitability, increase management overhead and decrease customer lifetime value. 

These appliances introduce three major challenges in the CSP business model: 

1. Cost
   Each appliance requires a separate, expensive network appliance. Overprovisioning and backup requirements lead to significant capital outlays even for simple footprints, though many appliances never reach full capacity. 
2. Overhead
   Engineers spend over 20% of their time making network appliances work. This involves lengthy troubleshooting and debugging, which takes away from engineers spending time propelling the business forward. As a result, managed services don't create the profit they once did, but you feel they are a required offering to keep tenants satisfied.
3. Complexity
   Networks require a multitude of separate, task-specific appliances. This has resulted in significant vendor sprawl, as well as interoperability and orchestration challenges. This rising level of complexity is a what prevents you from delivering simplified IT to your tenants. 

In order to offer profitable network services and increase tenant satisfaction, you need a better way to deliver value-add network services to enterprises with shifting workloads and demands. 

To learn how to rebuild your network services model to drive profits and increase customer lifetime value drop us a line through the button below.