BT Ireland’s Shay Walsh discusses the importance of having a strategy for an increasingly interconnected world.
With the digital transformation spend continuing to rise for businesses, interconnectivity has become increasingly important.
Interconnectivity is the connection between an organisation and external third parties, compared to traditional connectivity of the past, which centred around connections with private data centres, creating and maintaining an ‘internal’ perimeter.
But with the evolving multi-cloud ecosystem, the way businesses connect digitally is changing – something leaders are acutely aware of.
One example of interconnectivity is enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, which connects core business functions such as HR, finance and operations into a single source of truth and integrates with partners’ supply chain management systems.
In an interview with SiliconRepublic.com, managing director of BT Ireland, Shay Walsh, said traditional networks were not designed to interconnect third-party data centres, SaaS apps and other digital services. “They lack the flexibility, scale and automation needed to match the cloud,” he said.
“Long gone are the days where network providers could operate in isolation; now it’s essential to be part of the cloud edge fabric to support customers in embracing the digital economy.”
BT recently switched on its new international network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform, Global Fabric, and Ireland has been chosen as a key location for the network.
Walsh said: “BT is committed to delivering global connectivity, cloud and security services in Ireland, and with Global Fabric we are working with our partners, including Equinix and Digital Realty, to deliver interconnectivity for our customers.”
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail
Recent research conducted by ISG in collaboration with BT shows that 74pc of those surveyed agree that interconnectivity performance is a critical component in business reliance. However, almost the same percentage (73pc) don’t have a strategy for interconnectivity yet.
Walsh said that without central oversight to provide an interconnectivity strategy, businesses risk making “sub-optimal decisions and leaving money on the table”.
“An interconnectivity strategy could be like a three to five-page high-level business plan that sets out who your strategic partners are, how and where you will connect your sites and data centres to them in a secure way, that’s both resilient and agile enough to cope with the speed of change of your business and ensures your applications perform at the best level for your business,” he said.
“By strategically looking at key aspects of interconnectivity such as location, ease of use, flexibility, trust and cost optimisation, organisations can maximise the benefits of interconnectivity.”
Location, location, location
With digital transformation conversations wrapped up so heavily in the cloud, which is often thought of as a non-physical entity, you’d be forgiven for thinking that location doesn’t play a major role.
In reality, location is a core architectural principle when it comes to interconnectivity. “In our digital world, the laws of physics continue to apply, and the closer enterprises are to the services they consume, the better,” said Walsh.
“Carrier neutral facilities (CNFs) play a key role in linking enterprises to digital services. CNFs allow interconnection between multiple telecommunication carriers, colocation services, hyperscale cloud services and the internet backbone. Built at the doorstep of the public cloud, they offer dense peering with the important players in that region.”
Cost is also a factor when it comes to location. According to Walsh, the CNFs in the most in-demand locations tend to be more expensive to host apps and data in than those in less busy areas.
“Another key consideration for location is data sovereignty,” he said. “Residency and regulations are increasing the need for local infrastructure with secure, global connectivity and capacity to support demanding AI workloads.”
Ireland as a key location
BT’s Global Fabric internet is the first connectivity service delivered via BT’s new NaaS platform.
Walsh said that Ireland will play a crucial role in BT’s global strategy for international business connectivity, ensuring that enterprises can benefit from the digital ecosystem with optimal performance and security.
“A home to many multinational companies and large organisations, Ireland is a key market for FDI and international business,” he said.
“Focused on providing secure multi-cloud connectivity to multinational organisations and government institutions across the world, BT has selected Ireland as a key location for Global Fabric with points-of-presence that will deliver secure and reliable connectivity (and interconnectivity) for these organisations.”
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