Global Cloud Networking Survey

I think the latest Cisco Global Cloud Networking Report has flown under the radar.  I read a few articles on it, but for the most part I think it was ignored with all the InterOp news.  It is a really interesting report and summarizes a lot of what I see and hear in the world of IT.  I have been posting about the frustrations of IT leaders with the state of the network.  Despite what the skeptics have written about SDN, when you talk to IT leaders and then read a report like Cisco’s Global Cloud Survey, one conclusion is possible:  the network is f’ing broken.  Two additional corollaries: (1) all of us in the networking industry have had a hand in creating the mess and (2) the first people to innovate and fix the network will be the winners.  The networking industry is divided into two groups: those perpetuating the mess and those who are trying to fix it.  Here are some choice quotes from the report:

• Almost two in five of those surveyed said they would rather get a root canal, dig a ditch, do their own taxes than address network challenges associated with public or private cloud deployments.
• More than one quarter said they have more knowledge on how to play Angry Birds—or know how to change a spare tire—than the steps needed to migrate their company’s network and applications to the cloud.
• Nearly one quarter of IT decision makers said that over the next six months, they are more likely to see a UFO, a unicorn or a ghost before they see their company’s cloud migration starting and finishing.
• More than half of IT decision makers said they have a better overall application experience at home with their personal networks than they do at work.

Thinking about Unicorns and six months, I spent some time listening to a Lightreading webinar on the Evolving the Data Center for Critical Cloud Success.  On slide 11 the presenters have “A Facts-based Reality Check for Cloud Delivery” which includes the following facts about the “Largest Live Test Bed in The Industry:”

• 6 Months of Planning
• 8 Weeks of On-Site Testing
• 25 Test Suites Across DC, Network and Applications
• $75M Equipment in the Tes
• 80 Engineers Supporting Testing

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Which group are you in?

/wrk