IT leaders are facing constant pressure to modernize cloud-based network infrastructure. Whether your team is focused on supporting hybrid work, improving campus performance, or simply managing growing networks with fewer hands, the ability to simplify operations while maintaining enterprise-grade control is critical.

Cisco’s recent updates to the Cisco Catalyst 9300 series introduce a meaningful shift that directly addresses this challenge. For years, organizations have chosen for their rock-solid performance and IOS XE capabilities. Now, by integrating the trusted Cisco Catalyst 9300 hardware with the Meraki cloud management platform, Cisco is giving customers a new way to manage campus networks that is both powerful and accessible.

This change is more than a feature update. It reflects a broader evolution in Cisco’s approach to network management. One that prioritizes choice, operational clarity, and long-term investment protection. For IT decision-makers, the Meraki-managed Catalyst switches represent an opportunity to gain cloud control without giving up the foundation they’ve trusted for years.

Let’s unpack what this shift means, why it matters, and how WEI can help you make the right move forward.

Why This Matters: A Strategic Shift for Cisco

Historically, Cisco segmented its campus switching portfolio between two management ecosystems: Meraki and DNA Center (now Catalyst Center). While each platform offered distinct advantages, customers were effectively forced to choose their operational path early and stick to it. Moving between platforms wasn’t practical, and many organizations found themselves locked into a framework that no longer aligned with their needs.

Now Cisco is offering a new level of interoperability. Select Cisco Catalyst 9300 models can be onboarded directly into the Meraki dashboard. Customers can also purchase Cisco Catalyst 9300 hardware preloaded with Meraki software. This allows Meraki-based deployment right out of the box. This dual-management support marks a significant pivot in Cisco’s strategy and presents IT leaders with a practical way to align hardware choices with modern management preferences.

This is particularly important given the widespread preference for cloud-based network management. Meraki’s dashboard provides a single-pane-of-glass interface that simplifies configuration, monitoring, and troubleshooting. For teams under pressure to do more with less, that simplicity is invaluable.

Watch: Inside WEI’s Unique Customer Approach

What’s Changing with Cisco Catalyst 9300

At its core, the Cisco Catalyst 9300 is still the powerhouse of Cisco’s enterprise access switching portfolio. It remains the industry’s leading fixed access switch, known for its performance, security, and investment longevity. What’s different is how customers can now manage it within a cloud-based network environment.

There are two key integration points:

1. Meraki Monitoring for IOS XE Switches
   Customers running IOS XE on Cisco Catalyst 9300 switches can now monitor their devices through the Meraki dashboard. This provides a centralized view of device health and status across both Meraki and Catalyst environments. While configuration must still be done through CLI or Catalyst Center, IT teams gain a unified operational view without needing to overhaul their current deployments.
   
2. Meraki-Managed Catalyst SwitchesFor new deployments, Cisco Catalyst 9300 models can be provisioned to run Meraki software natively. These switches operate fully within the Meraki dashboard, with all the management capabilities users expect from traditional Meraki devices. This includes intuitive policy settings and integrated troubleshooting tools.

This dual-path approach preserves the option to transition at your own pace. Whether you want to gradually introduce Meraki management or go all-in with new Meraki-managed Catalyst switches, the decision is in your hands.

Why Customers Are Noticing

For many enterprise teams, the promise of the cloud isn’t just about offloading workloads, it’s about reducing friction. Meraki’s management model is popular for a reason. It minimizes configuration errors, reduces the learning curve for new staff, and improves responsiveness when issues arise.

With Cisco Catalyst 9300 now part of the Meraki ecosystem, the business case becomes even stronger:

• Unified Management Across EnvironmentsOrganizations with both Meraki and Catalyst hardware can now bring those devices into a common dashboard. This simplifies oversight, accelerates troubleshooting, and reduces the cognitive load on network engineers managing multiple tools.
  
• Reduced Operational OverheadThe Meraki dashboard’s intuitive workflows cut down on the time it takes to deploy and manage campus infrastructure. That means fewer misconfigurations, faster resolution of issues, and less need for highly specialized command-line knowledge.
  
• Preservation of Hardware InvestmentsIf you already own Cisco Catalyst 9300 switches, you don’t have to rip and replace. You can begin by enabling monitoring within Meraki and determining whether full migration makes sense down the line. Cisco is offering flexibility without forcing an all-or-nothing decision.
  
• Simplified Security and Compliance ManagementWith policies and security postures managed from a central interface, maintaining compliance across your access network becomes less complex. For regulated industries, this can significantly reduce risk and reporting burdens.
  

How WEI Helps You Make the Right Move

As with any technology shift, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Some organizations will benefit from Meraki-managed Catalyst switches immediately. Others may prefer to start with Meraki monitoring while maintaining CLI-based control for more complex configurations. The right path depends on your team’s skills, business priorities, compliance requirements, and existing infrastructure.

That’s where WEI comes in.

We help our clients think through not just the technology itself but how it supports their broader operational goals. Our team works closely with your network architects and IT leaders to:

• Evaluate your current switching infrastructure and determine Meraki compatibility
• Plan for staged rollouts that align with project timelines and budget cycles
• Provide side-by-side comparisons of Meraki versus Catalyst Center workflows
• Address any policy, compliance, or security considerations when shifting management models
• Deliver hands-on support during onboarding, policy creation, and team training

In short, we help you make the shift with clarity and confidence. Whether you’re exploring cloud-based management for the first time or ready to standardize on Meraki-managed Catalyst switches for your entire access layer, our team is here to guide the process from strategy through execution.

Considerations for Decision-Makers

Before making the leap, there are a few questions every IT leader should ask:

• What is our current mix of Catalyst and Meraki hardware, and where are we going?
• How does Meraki management align with our operational processes and skill sets?
• Are there upcoming refresh cycles where a shift to Meraki-native Catalyst hardware would make sense?
• What regulatory or internal security requirements must we account for when centralizing management?

These conversations are best had early and with expert guidance. The good news is that you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. WEI can help with your cloud-managed Catalyst switches.

Final Thoughts

Cisco’s integration of Cisco Catalyst 9300 hardware with the Meraki cloud is not a short-term play. It signals a deeper commitment to simplifying enterprise networking while protecting the investments customers have already made.

With this shift, Cisco isn’t asking you to abandon proven infrastructure. It is offering a practical path to modern management. That’s a smart move for teams trying to meet today’s demands without derailing long-term strategy.

At WEI, we believe smart technology choices should serve your business, not complicate it. That’s why we’re excited about what this integration brings to the table.

If you’re curious about what it would look like to introduce Catalyst 9300 Meraki integration into your existing environment or how to plan a transition without disruption, let’s talk. At WEI, we’re here to help you make the most of what’s possible with cloud-managed Catalyst switches and a future-ready cloud-based network. 

Next Steps: As businesses undergo digital transformation, the need for updated corporate networks and IT architectures becomes critical. Cisco ACI aids this shift by providing a network foundation that integrates with cloud environments and adapts to changing business needs.

 below to find out more about this proven solution. 

The post Unlock the Power of Cisco Catalyst 9300 with Meraki Cloud Management Integration appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Staying ahead in IT often feels like a game of chess, planning moves that secure the present and set the stage for future success. For network professionals, the Cisco Catalyst 9300 series switches have long been reliable options, delivering outstanding performance, security, and hardware you trust.

Recently, Cisco introduced a major strategic shift by unifying the straightforward nature of with the power and reputation of the Catalyst 9300 series switches. This integration redefines campus network management by providing a single platform that simplifies operations with minimal disruption.

If you are considering how to elevate your network or ease the migration process, let’s break down how this solution addresses everyday challenges and aligns with your organization’s goals.

Watch: WEI’s Campus Capabilities

Addressing Your Network Challenges Head-On

Your campus network is the backbone of your organization, supporting communication, collaboration, and critical operations. Yet rising data volumes, sophisticated cyber threats, and the demand for always-on connectivity present significant obstacles that can hinder productivity and impact your bottom line. Common challenges include:

• Complex network management: Coordinating operations across multiple locations can strain resources. Relying on disjointed monitoring tools makes it difficult to get a clear, unified view of your network’s health.
• Heightened security risks: Protecting your network from increasingly refined cyber threats requires advanced defenses that remain unobtrusive for users.

• Capacity for future expansion: As your organization grows, upgrading your network efficiently without disrupting operations becomes a top priority.
• Unplanned service interruptions: Unexpected outages directly affect productivity and revenue, demanding a system that facilitates rapid recovery.

Recent research indicates that now prefer cloud-based management systems due to their simplicity and remote control capabilities. This information underscores the necessity for a unified management solution that addresses these challenges while enabling you to act with increased speed and precision.

A Trusted Foundation Meets Modern Cloud Management

The Cisco Catalyst 9300 series has powered enterprise networks with dependable throughput, , and advanced security features. With the integration of Meraki’s accessible cloud management, Cisco now offers you a solution that maintains trusted hardware performance while simplifying oversight. You have two primary deployment options:

1. Monitor IOS XE Catalyst Switches via Meraki: Utilize the intuitive Meraki dashboard to manage your existing Catalyst hardware. This approach enables you to benefit from cloud control while preserving the technology you’re familiar with.
2. Deploy Meraki Code Switches on 9300 Hardware: Transition to a cloud-first management model without sacrificing the power and reliability inherent in your Catalyst switches.

This unified approach gives you a consolidated view of your entire network, enabling prompt decision-making and reducing the need to juggle multiple systems.

The Benefits In Action

Blending proven hardware with modern cloud management via the Catalyst 9300 Meraki integration yields tangible advantages that address your most pressing challenges:

• Centralized control: Access a single, unified dashboard that displays live network data from all your sites. This clear view lets you rapidly resolve issues and maintain continuous operations.
• Simplified administration: A consolidated platform reduces the learning curve for your IT team, allowing staff to focus on critical tasks rather than managing disparate systems.
• Continuity and minimal disruptions: Upgrade to a cloud-based system without a complete overhaul of your current hardware. This approach enables a gradual transition that minimizes interruptions while keeping your network running smoothly.
• Proactive issue resolution: Real-time insights allow you to detect and address problems before they escalate, ensuring a consistently available network.
• Cost and time savings: Consolidating your management systems cuts redundant expenses and frees up valuable IT resources. A study indicates that cloud-managed networks can cut troubleshooting time by .
• Enhanced security: Integrated threat detection and segmentation strengthen your defenses while keeping user access simple.

Together, these benefits transform your network from a mere utility into an actionable asset that drives operational success.

A Smooth Transition With Trusted Expertise

Transitioning to a cloud-based management model might feel daunting, but the Catalyst 9300 Meraki integration is designed for a low-risk, smooth upgrade. Begin by assessing your current network, setting clear objectives, whether that means streamlining system monitoring, accelerating issue resolution, or preparing for future expansion, and then implementing changes incrementally. This step-by-step strategy minimizes disruptions and gives your team the time needed to adjust effectively.

Throughout this process, WEI’s expertise will be valuable to your business operations. As a trusted IT solutions provider, our team specializes in modernizing network infrastructure with minimal interruption as we offer:

• Tailored guidance: We work closely with you to understand your unique requirements and develop a migration plan that addresses your specific challenges.
• Technical expertise: With extensive experience in both Cisco Catalyst 9300 hardware and Meraki-managed Catalyst switches, WEI ensures that every phase of your transition runs efficiently.
• Strategic support: WEI stands by your side from planning to execution, offering the strategic insight necessary to avoid pitfalls and secure a smooth, successful upgrade.

By combining best practices with WEI’s expert guidance, you can evolve your network confidently, setting the stage for long-term operational stability.

Real-World Success And Strategic Benefits

Early adopters of the Catalyst 9300 Meraki integration report significant real-world improvements. For instance, one global enterprise streamlined network management across multiple sites and . These outcomes demonstrate that combining trusted hardware with cloud-based control not only modernizes your interface, but also provides a significant strategic advantage.

For forward-thinking leaders, embracing this integrated solution offers a critical opportunity. By deploying Meraki-managed Catalyst switches through the Catalyst 9300 Meraki integration and shifting to Cloud-managed Catalyst switches, you create a responsive environment that addresses today’s challenges while paving the way for future growth. This approach simplifies management, secures your infrastructure, and frees up your IT team to focus on business-critical initiatives.

Final Thoughts

Cisco’s Catalyst 9300 Meraki integration redefines campus network management by combining the trusted performance of the Catalyst 9300 series with the clarity and control of a cloud-based interface. This significant strategic shift simplifies operations and equips you with a management solution that supports both immediate and long-term business goals.

Our team can develop custom strategies and support to help you upgrade your network with minimal disruption and maximum benefit. This will allow you to move your network into a new era of centralized control by taking advantage of this transformative integration. Let’s talk about how your organization can take advantage of Catalyst’s new cloud-first capabilities, with WEI guiding the way.

Next Steps: As businesses undergo digital transformation, the need for updated corporate networks and IT architectures becomes critical. Cisco ACI aids this shift by providing a network foundation that integrates with cloud environments and adapts to changing business needs.

 below to find out more about this proven solution. 

The post Catalyst 9300 Series Switches & The Meraki Cloud: A New Era In Campus Network Management appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

How much data is your enterprise creating and what are you doing about it? For most companies, data is being created, and subsequently stored, at faster and faster rates. However, many enterprises lack the tools to properly utilize and take advantage of their data, especially those that are still struggling with just the part of the equation.

As technology has advanced, we’ve moved from storing information on tapes to disks and now, in modern times, the cloud. By utilizing the cloud for data storage and processing, enterprises gain great benefits, but no solution is without its costs.

The main issue comes when the data stored on the cloud needs to be utilized by services on-prem or in the data center. is helping to solve this problem and liberate enterprises from the confines of data siloes with their new Keep reading to learn how this solution is redefining cloud data storage.

Find Freedom In Data Management

While a vast majority of enterprises are utilizing the cloud for some amount of data storage, few have utilized it for critical file data, often citing difficulties in moving it one way or the other. As a result, the data lives separately than the applications that need it, reducing the effectiveness and utilization of this data. To get around this problem, some IT teams have re-built workflows to use data while it’s in the cloud, but this comes with its own set of problems.

The bottom line is there hasn’t been a simple solution to solve these cloud data storage and utilization issues… Until now.

Qumulo Shift for Amazon S3 allows IT teams to fluidly move data to and from Amazon S3 with just a few clicks, simplifying the cloud storage process and streamlining interactions with other Amazon Web Services as well.

“I like to think of [Qumulo Shift for Amazon S3] as the easiest way for customers to put their file data to work with all the amazing marketplace apps and cloud native services on AWS,” said Qumulo Technical Marketing Manager David Sniderman, with ESG Senior Analyst Scott Sinclair. “Our file system is designed to help users take advantage of the cloud’s scalable infrastructure for high performance data processing and content creation. Shift lets customers take that data, wherever they create it, and use it with AWS Cloud Service.”

With Qumulo Shift for Amazon S3, Qumulo customers, whether cloud native or creating data on prem, can take that valuable file data and use it with Amazon’s full suite of cloud services.

Why Enterprises Choose Qumulo Shift For Amazon S3

In addition to this simplified data management, enterprises will experience a variety of other benefits, including:

• Improved data availability for your users, wherever they might be located. In a time when many businesses are utilizing remote or , this is a benefit that cannot be overestimated.
• Realtime visibility and control over data and users. Potential issues can be found quicker and any decisions that must be made regarding the management of data will benefit from a full and accurate picture of the current data environment.
• Better data reliability and protection. Thanks to Qumulo’s distributed file system, which aggregates and protects cloud storage, enterprises never have to worry about files lost in the cloud. Secondary copies of data are created by native replication, which adds an additional layer of data protection.
• Lowered total cost of ownership (TCO). In comparison to legacy solutions, Qumulo Shift for Amazon S3 costs less and offers a higher percentage of provisioned capacity.
• Flexibility. Qumulo offers a flexible deployment model, allowing enterprises to create the environment that best suits their performance and capacity needs.

At the heart of it, is making it easier for enterprises to keep their data next to their applications, allowing it to be utilized to meet business objectives.

Are You Interested In Qumulo Shift For Amazon S3?

As a leader in data management, Qumulo is trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major film and animation studios, and some of the largest research facilities around the world. From building smart cars, to vital disease research, enterprises around the world are changing the way they store and utilize data thanks to Qumulo. Our team has experience implementing Qumulo for enterprise companies that process and analyze vast amounts of mission-critical data across several industries. today to learn more about how Qumulo can quickly add value to your data storage environment and strategy.

NEXT STEPS: Check out our latest infographic which shares 7 ways Qumulo is making cloud data storage radically simple. PLUS it includes a case study example of how one of our customers found success leveraging Qumulo with AWS. Click below to learn more.

The post How Qumulo Shift For Amazon S3 Can Revolutionize Your Data Storage appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Let’s talk about clusters and clouds. We often associate the word “cluster” with terms such as redundancy, resiliency or workload distribution. IT admins have traditionally turned to clustering bare metal systems such as firewall appliances, web servers, and virtual hosting platforms for years. When we consider the “cloud” we think about characteristics such as limitless scalability, elasticity, and simplicity. Of course, the infrastructure that supports these cloud environments is derived from clustered infrastructures, hidden underneath SaaS and IaaS platforms and are thus inaccessible to customers.

Extend Nutanix Clusters Into The Cloud

But what if you extend your clusters into the cloud? You could have then the best of both worlds. That is what has delivered on, cloud-based clusters that reduce both the cost and complexity of today’s most complicated hybrid networks. Think of their solution as a cluster on steroids. For instance:

• In the same way that you are accustomed to firing up additional virtual machines within your on-premises HCI solution, you can now scale out, not only from a capacity perspective, but a geographical one as well. That’s because you can burst added capacity across multiple clouds in order to meet unforeseen demands from multiple regions of the world.
• What you giveth, you can also take back away. Idle machines cost money in an OPEX cloud model so let you spin down virtual machines and shrink capacities when demand fades in order to save money. Nutanix Clustering does one better than that, however. Not only can you hibernate VMs and their supporting resources, you can even hibernate the bare metal instances that support the cluster itself, saving you bare metal compute costs as well. Then simply resume these instances when they are needed again down the road. In other words, you aren’t just right-sizing your VM capacity, you’re also right-sizing your cluster infrastructure in real time as well. This is especially beneficial for , say for DevOps or seasonal-based businesses.

Watch how to hibernate VMs in this 2-minute demo from Nutanix

• Nutanix cloud-based clusters take redundancy to the next level as well as you can leverage public clouds for high availability and even if your primary workloads reside on-premises. Your disaster ready infrastructure can reside in faraway geographic reasons to ensure ultimate redundancy.

Cloud Like, But Not Cloud Only

The Nutanix HCI stack is available on AWS and Azure bare metal instances, fully extending the power of existing on-premises Nutanix HCI clusters into the cloud. But that doesn’t mean it is a cloud only solution. It also doesn’t mean that you are reliant on any third parties as is the usual case with cloud-based services. Nor are you locked into any particular cloud infrastructure. Using the Prism Central management interface, internal IT remains in complete control of their own environment, calling the shots as they see fit. Admins can now manage any Nutanix node, VM or application within their ecosphere from a single pane of glass. This not only simplifies administration but also allows you to maximize your resources to your mission critical workloads rather than management tasks. All of this allows for seamless integration on a number of levels. Here are three to consider:

1. It redefines the concept of “lift and shift” for applications. While lift and shift migrations might not involve a forklift, it often requires rearchitecting your applications in order to transition them to the cloud. By decoupling applications from their underlying platform, Nutanix gives you the ability to migrate on-premises applications to the cloud with minimal changes, thus saving you time and money.
2. Those applications that must be hosted by your on-premises Nutanix cluster can be modernized in cloud like fashion by allotting them direct access to native cloud services such as AI-based analytics and other advanced digital initiatives.
3. Not only are your applications completely portable now, so are your licenses. Current Nutanix customers can utilize existing Nutanix Capacity Based Licenses (CBL) and apply them to the cloud. Simply reduce or retire your existing on-premises clusters and apply them to the cloud. New customers hosting environments that have consistent workloads may want a commitment-based subscription plan while others may be better off with a pay-as-you-go structure.

A True Hybrid Cloud

There was a time when a network was comprised of a single data center. There was a time when an enterprise utilized a single cloud. Those days are long gone as businesses have evolved with the times, and so has Nutanix. HCI is no longer about on-premises hardware environments. Nutanix clusters are about incorporating all aspects of your hybrid cloud whether it be public or private clouds. Nutanix clusters operate in a borderless vacuum so that you can operate your applications and services in a hybrid estate that is void of confining perimeters. In the same way that the first Nutanix cluster solutions began busting up silos within the traditional data center, they’re now doing the same for multi-cloud environments as well. Nutanix clusters offer you the freedom of the cloud in terms of performance and portability. Exciting, right? Maximize your today by clustering everything into one extended platform.

NEXT STEPS: We’ve helped countless enterprise IT teams transform their business with Nutanix. Leverage our team’s extensive knowledge by with us. Whether you’re consider adopting Nutanix, or if you want to know how to get more value from your Nutanix environment, we’re here to help. .

Where are you in your journey to software defined infrastructure?

In this eBook you will learn about the benefits of software defining your infrastructure, why and how hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) plays a critical role, and compare your journey to SDI against IDC’s 7 essential steps for IT transformation. Click below to download your copy of the FREE eBook today!

The post Exciting Benefits of Nutanix Clusters for Hybrid Cloud, Multicloud appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

has revolutionized the way enterprises do business on every level. For IT, cloud brings some complexity to network operations and infrastructure management.

Whether it’s at the campus, branch, or a remote location, end-users and internet-of-things (IoT) devices are connecting to and accessing the cloud network, creating a complicated interconnected web. As the enterprise grows, the cloud network requires more time and resources to manage.

To combat this complexity and make a cloud-managed network straightforward, developed , a cloud-managed networking solution that features artificial intelligence (AI) powered insights, automation for workflows, and comprehensive security. With this solution, IT teams are able to manage and optimize the entire network environment from a single dashboard, regardless of the location.

Simple network administration

Aruba Central’s foundation is its simple and easy to use interface, which offers everything IT teams need to manage day-to-day operations. This includes direct access to manage network and security infrastructure and configuration, adding or removing devices or licenses, as well as managing integrations with existing IT systems.

This uncomplicated, single-pane-of-glass system saves time and reduces the training that IT teams need to effectively use the solution.

Aruba Central also saves time when it comes to adding network devices, which is an important, but typically complex task. With Zero-Touch Provisioning, an easy setup wizard, and an integrated installer app, onboarding becomes a faster, streamlined process.

Comprehensive management options

When it comes to ongoing management, accurate and timely data is key to ensuring network health. For this reason, Aruba has prioritized visibility and granular control.

From the primary dashboard, IT can access a global or specific site view of all managed devices, as well as a detailed list of device usage, utilization and RF noise, WAN uplink, and tunnel status.

To provide real-time visibility and alerts into the health and status of the network, Aruba Central utilizes advanced AIOps for AI-based insights. Over time, the insights will leverage the growing pool of network data for contextual-based observations.

In the event of a problem, the solution quickly identifies and characterizes the issue, providing context-based information and troubleshooting options. Aruba Central also offers comprehensive reporting options that include device connectivity, , and user activity. IT teams can schedule reports to be run that highlight any area, including device and client inventory, activity auditing, and more.

As a result, Aruba Central provides the consistent, reliable, and timely information IT teams need to support a cloud-managed networ throughout the enterprise.

Aruba Central Cloud Reliability

As with all its products, Aruba prioritized the user experience when designing Aruba Central. The solution offers enterprise users high availability through:

• Web-scale database design, which ensures a responsive performance regardless of the data load.
• Service redundancy, with data centers worldwide available for hosting.
• HTTPS connectivity, with certificate-based authentication.

By utilizing Aruba Central, enterprises can ensure employees have access to the network whenever they need it for whatever task they need to be completed, improving productivity throughout the enterprise and pushing the business forward.

Aruba Central for the Remote Workforce

With today’s distributed workforces, enterprises everywhere need to deliver in-office user experiences to in whatever location they may be in. Aruba Central supports this goal through a number of key features.

These features include over-the-air software and configuration updates and on-demand IT software and services.

Aruba Central’s single-pane-of-glass management system and the scalability offered by the solution pairs with other solutions offered by Aruba, such as , and , to build and support a cloud-managed network for distributed workforces.

Are you interested in Aruba Central for cloud-managed networking?

Regardless of your enterprise’s specific situation, Aruba can deliver the reliable, secure, and simple cloud networking experience your employees and IT team need to be successful. Aruba Central also integrates with the rest of Aruba’s portfolio, allowing enterprises to utilize these integrations to create the cloud environment that works best for them. The Aruba experts at WEI can show you how Aruba Central can work for your business, just today!

Next Steps: Do you want to improve the remote working experience for your employees? Aruba provides every solution you need to keep your employees productive from wherever they work. If you are looking for ways to improve the remote working experience for your employees, you might be interested in our tech brief, “Provide Secure Remote Connectivity with Aruba Remote Access Points.” Click below to start reading.

The post Cloud-Managed Networking Made Easy with Aruba Central appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

The Digital Transformations that the world has undergone has led to an insatiable appetite for applications and built a robust reliance on them. This reliance on apps and infrastructure has been greatly magnified this past year by the absence of physical face to face contact stemming from remote work strategies. Because your business is dependent on applications, the performance of your business is tied to the performance levels of your applications. Now compound this with the great cloud migration, and it becomes challenging to discern what is truly happening out there with your apps and the cloud(s) in which they reside. These are but some of the reasons why your enterprise needs a Cloud and Application Monitoring solution that is built with the future in mind. Below are some of the benefits you can derive from a premier APM solution, such as Dynatrace.

1. Continuously learn your environment

Proper inventory management is imperative for any retail or manufacturing company. If you don’t know what’s in your warehouses, then you don’t know the actual financial status of your business. The key is to put all of your inventory to work. Think of your enterprise network in the same way. Beneath your critical applications is a complete underground of underlying components and dependencies that make up the application stack. Undoubtedly, there is a fair percentage of this undergrowth that your IT team isn’t aware of. Chances are, there are a number of weak links in the application chain in these gray areas. Weak links create weak performance.

A premier cloud and application monitoring solution adds clarity to the full application stack. It can map dependencies between components such as processes, services, and hosts both horizontally and vertically. This allows you and AI-driven intelligence to truly understand the call relationships between these dependencies. This knowledge then allows for an intelligence based APM solution to pinpoint potential problems that can impact performance.

2. A greater reliance on applications

People have been using applications since the dawn of the PC. The reliance that employees and customers have with their involved applications today is unprecedented, however. When there is a disruption in a Zoom, Teams, or Slack session, the meeting stops and frustration builds. When a disruption occurs within your ecommerce application, money transactions stop. When your CRM doesn’t function correctly, the help desk lights up with call. Disruption is a dirty word today when it comes to enterprise applications. That is why observability is so important. A solution such as Dynatrace, provides a that can prevent problems before users see them, thus keeping your revenue generating sessions running as expected.

3. Stop playing detective

So, here’s how the traditional application monitoring process played out. The monitoring system consistently fed your admin support team with droves of log files. That backlog required the laborious task of sifting through all of the noise in order to piece the puzzle together. Let’s face it. Your IT team doesn’t have the time for that anymore, nor does your business have the money to finance it.

While some APM solutions dress up these logs with snazzy charts and dashboards, they still don’t provide answers. That is changing, however. Modern observability solutions created for today’s digital transformation trends, such as the Dynatrace , are designed to deliver answers, not endless logs that no one wants to read. Dynatrace AI uncovers the root of the problem in order to automatically discover and prioritize answers to issues instantly. Your company doesn’t have time for disruption, nor does it have time to solve them. In some cases, problems are remediated by the time your admins are notified. That’s a major improvement from traditional monitoring processes.

4. Automate cloud operations

Why have so many enterprises migrated resources to the cloud in the past decade? One of the chief reasons is scalability. Enterprises today have the ability to match resources with workload demand in real time thanks to the ease at which servers, services and software defined components can be spun up and retired. Shouldn’t your APM solution be able to scale in equal fashion? Cloud monitoring offers you the same levels of scalability and flexibility as any other cloud-based solution within your environments. It can also provide you valuable insight into which clouds are being used for specific applications and data queries.

With Dynatrace you can simplify cloud operations through AI and automation to build and run cloud native apps faster. 

5. Compliance and SLA & SLO confirmation

While there are a great many benefits to cloud computing, there is always a presence of nagging uncertainty. How certain are you that your SLA performance agreements are being delivered? How do you know if your company is meeting its security compliance requirements? APM can help clear up these uncertainties, giving you the insights and information to show you what is truly going on within your on-premises facilities, as well as that murky location we all know as the .

6. Eliminate inefficiencies across your IT environment

A big part of managing a business is maximizing the efficiencies of the involved departments. Maximizing the efficiency of your shipping or manufacturing departments leads to greater profitability. Now think about efficiency in term of your IT environment. Maximizing the efficiencies of your application stacks can significantly enhance the digital user experience. An effective APM goes further by focusing on environment optimization, locating looping code, excess DB calls or those extra network hops that have plagued you for years. It can also eliminate duplicative work efforts for your staff by automating monitoring functions that were once manually driven. By providing granular directives to your support staff, issues can be dealt with in record time, saving you labor hours.

One more thing

We would be remiss not to talk about the power of self-healing. No, this blog is not about to take a turn toward meditation and breathing exercises. What we are talking about here is automating remediation and building reliable solutions. AI is a great tool for identifying and remediating issues, but you need a solution that enables you to use that insight to build resilient systems. Leveraging modern monitoring tools enables you to execute specific remediation actions in a much smarter and efficient way. If you give the ability to embed Dynatrace into their delivery pipeline they can get feedback right away, which enables early optimization.

Andreas Grabner from Dynatrace goes into greater detail about Site Reliability Engineering and the self-healing capabilities of Dynatrace in his blog article here:

Next Steps: In the time you have read this article, an APM could have already averted a disrupting event within your enterprise. There are a lot more than six benefits that can be derived from an intelligence based APM solution such as Dynatrace. We invite you to reach out to our subject matter experts here at WEI to find out all of the ways that a software intelligence solution driven by automation and AI can benefit your company today.

Continue learning more about automation and continuous delivery in our tech brief below, “How to Accelerate Your Business Transformation with DevOps and Automation.”

The post 6 Reasons Why You Need Cloud Observability appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

When it comes to challenges faced by today’s IT organizations, there are few as universal as data management. In the last two decades, the volume of data that enterprises are expected to utilize, secure, and manage has increased exponentially. The location of that data has also changed, with much of it moving to the cloud or hybrid environments.

Raising the stakes even further, the value of data has increased as well. An enterprise that isn’t making use of the data it has, isn’t securing it properly, or isn’t ensuring users have access to the data they need to be productive will fail.

To stay on top of this constant flow of data, enterprises require a solution that can offer the support for not only the volume of data, but also differing file types, data locations, applications, and workloads.

In this two-part series, we’ll discuss the top 8 reasons should be a part of your cloud strategy. This first article will share our first four reasons. (Read part 2 here.)

1. Qumulo simplifies management of enterprise data

Complexity is a major factor in the amount of time and resources IT must dedicate to data management. When it comes to managing cloud data, which may exist in a combination of private and public clouds, it gets even worse.

With Qumulo, enterprises gain a unified data management experience across on-premises, private, and public environments, offering , regardless of scale.

Several key features, including the ability to migrate applications to the cloud without rewriting/refactoring, the ability to automate DevOps workflows with advanced API, and a quick and easy setup process, all contribute to this simplicity.

Enterprises who make the switch will immediately see and experience the time and cost benefits of Qumulo’s simple management system.

2. Manage the full data lifecycle

To fully take advantage of the data collected by the enterprise, it can’t be inert. Data has its own lifecycle and through Qumulo, enterprises can manage each stage of it.

The cycle, , is as follows:

• Capture – The data is first captured by the enterprise
• Interact – The data begins to be interacted with by users at the enterprise
• Transform – The data is utilized and transformed for use by the enterprise
• Publish – The data is published for consumption by the enterprises target audience
• Archive – After running its initial course, the data is archived for later use or reference

With Qumulo, enterprises can manage data throughout its lifecycle with a single solution, giving IT unparalleled visibility across the enterprise and making it easy to find and catalogue individual pieces of data as necessary.

3. Proven in every industry

Data management is a problem for every enterprise, regardless of scale or industry, and Qumulo can assist with them all.

Whether your enterprise is in healthcare, media and entertainment, manufacturing, or anything in between, Qumulo can provide the cloud data management solution you need to be successful.

4. Qumulo has a broad range of use cases

Just as Qumulo can provide for enterprises in every industry, it also has a broad range of use cases.

Beyond just helping enterprises manage business data, Qumulo has a wide range of use cases from helping customers analyze data to develop new technologies, to providing support for video surveillance systems responsible for student safety, to supporting aerial imaging that is key to disaster response.

More than just data management

As detailed above, . By engaging with Qumulo, you can finally tap into the true potential of the data you collect and utilize it to not only inform your strategic decisions, but completely transform the way you do business.

Stay tuned for part two of this article series where we will discuss the next four reasons Qumulo should be part of your cloud strategy.

Are you interested in Qumulo?

As a leader in , Qumulo is trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major film and animation studios, and some of the largest research facilities around the world. From building smart cars, to vital disease research, enterprises around the world are changing the way they store and utilize data thanks to Qumulo.

This blog post is part 1 of a 2-part series about the benefits of leveraging Qumulo for enterprise data management. Continue on to part 2 here >>

NEXT STEPS: Learn 7 ways Qumulo can meet your data needs as you grow and scale in our tech brief below, “Critical Data Storage for a Distributed Enterprise.”

The post 8 Reasons Qumulo Should Be Part Of Your Cloud Strategy, Part 1 appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.