Network Optimization Workshop
A Network Optimization Workshop is a joint engagement with our global hosting partner, Equinix, where WWT helps organizations understand the business impact of modernizing their network and application connectivity. We document findings specific to current-state network architectures (with respective recurring OPEX costs) and compare that to future-state network architecture recommendations, and the resulting proposed CAPEX investment (and ongoing OPEX) required to modernize.
What to Expect
The Network Optimization Workshop is a services engagement working with our partner Equinix — usually 8-12 weeks in length, but the actual duration will be based on the number of applications in scope.
This project focuses on the cost of modernizing the network infrastructure operations, application performance and maximizing enterprise WAN capabilities and performance.
Before an organization invests in a network optimization effort, however, they really need to understand their current and future state requirements, therefore the following information will be required for the engagement:
- Current connectivity costs across in-scope tiers and sites.
- Connectivity technologies and methodologies that exist.
- Proposed costs/duration of migrating to those technologies and methodologies.
- ROI details of such a modernization effort.
- Key activities are Current and Future State discovery. Both include a combination of inspection, interviews, and workshops.
- Current State discovery activities identify and document the customer-provided current state of core areas, locations, number of users, cost elements, performance, business, and digital capabilities.
- Future State discovery activities will identify the customer's application connectivity optimization, digital vision, and objectives including Equinix connectivity options. WWT will work with stakeholders to document characteristics of the customer's digital challenges, as well as the future state application connectivity optimization objectives.
- Once discovery and analysis activities are complete, the project team will deliver a report comparing Future and Current state findings yielding gaps and predicted ROI including CAPEX and ongoing OPEX costs.
Goals & Objectives
A pragmatic approach and ROI analysis:
Adopting a pragmatic approach to modernizing an organization's core infrastructure is all about placing the appropriate workload in the appropriate location, based not just on the proposed effectiveness and efficiency, but on the initial CAPEX and ongoing OPEX costs as well.
Over the years, as organizations have modernized and have grown both organically and by acquisition, the network connectivity between applications most likely did not share in these modernization efforts simply because the infrastructure is "working OK" so is often overlooked.
There is a very real and ongoing probability that these organizations are paying far too much in OPEX for connectivity options that don't match their business expectations or needs, or ongoing performance and cost requirements.
Ideal workshop candidate:
- Global and enterprise organizations.
- Planning a data center transition to a new or enhanced data center, or to a private or hybrid cloud.
- Looking to understand their current- and future-state models, towards a digital strategy for cloud-connected applications.
- Thinking of an enterprise transformation effort but need an ROI model for decision support.
Benefits
At the conclusion of the engagement, the customer receives a gap analysis report with findings specifically citing current state network architectures — as provided by the customer — with respective recurring OPEX costs, future-state network architecture recommendations and the resulting proposed CAPEX investment required to upgrade.
These findings are presented in a gap-analysis report that compares the two states and provides high-level recommendations for Application Network Optimization and modernization efforts.
These findings will also include a predicted ROI, based upon projected future-state CAPEX requirements and recurring OPEX costs.