Cisco Is Using Predictive Analytics to Preempt Network Outages
Field service organization leaders talk a great deal about predictive maintenance – the use of IoT powered sensors to detect asset faults when they are in their nascent stages so that they can be addressed before they result in large-scale shutdowns. These shutdowns cost time and money to repair, and can cost companies even more in downtime and lost opportunity.
The industry typically speaks of predictive maintenance as it pertains to the service and maintenance of assets you would expect to see in a factory or other business that relies on physical machinery to perform its core function. However, this is most certainly not the upper limit of the potential for predictive service technology and many brands around the world are discovering new ways to limit downtime through advanced analytics.
Cisco
One such brand is multi-national technology conglomerate Cisco, a worldwide leader in IT, networking, and cybersecurity solutions. , As a company with a global reputation for advanced digital technology in the field of communications, Cisco has been exploring options around using predictive analytics to pre-empt network outages.
"For the last 30 years, Cisco has been powering the internet, keeping the world connected to what matters most," said the company in a press release. "Networks have evolved to detect and react to issues to maintain performance and reliability. The next logical step is for networks to predict problems before they happen, something that has been difficult until now."
Cisco has cracked this nut by combining its resources and gathering data from myriad telemetry sources and integrating that information ahead of final analysis. Once integrated, Cisco applies pattern-learning technology to predict user experience and develop models, which make it more agile and able to respond to network disruptions before they affect customers.
Customers have multiple options regarding the extent to which they want to connect the predictive engine throughout their network, which provides the kind of flexibility and scalability modern businesses require.
"The future of connectivity will rely on self-healing networks that can learn, predict and plan," said Cisco Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins. "Our research for predictive networks has been tested and developed with customers, and early adopters are seeing major benefits saving them time and money. The industry has been waiting for secure, proactive networking and only Cisco can do it right."
Cisco clearly has the experience and expertise to solve the problem of predictive network maintenance – something many other brands have tried and failed to do – but what is it about the modern business environment that makes this development necessary right now?
Unprecedented Change
The world of IT is experiencing a particularly challenging time in its history. The shift to remote and hybrid work brought about by the global COVID-19 crisis has put extra strain on the workload of IT teams. Combine this with the ever-increasing challenges of cybersecurity – particularly in the face of elevated tensions with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine – a worldwide skills shortage and many other factors. Because of this increased workload, unplanned network downtime has the potential to be more disruptive than ever before and have a significant negative impact on productivity, customer service and revenue. This is perhaps why 45% of IT leaders surveyed in 2021 stated that responding to unplanned network outages would be their top challenge in the coming year.
"Beyond outages, the experience people get from their network connections has become business critical. People and businesses use and rely on applications for just about everything, and often an app is the critical first impression for customers," said Cisco. "Fifty-seven percent of people say brands have one shot to impress them and that if their digital service does not perform, they won't use them again. To deliver on the full promise of digital business, the industry needs a way to better predict network issues, proactively avoid issues, and ensure the best possible experience."
For these reasons, the latest developments in predictive analytics applied to network outages are sure to be welcomed with open arms by IT teams around the world. The ability to preempt network downtime and implement strategies to prevent them --or at least mitigate their impact -- will significantly impact productivity and user experience across the IT space.
Final Thoughts
"Cisco is bringing together new predictive technologies with its broad portfolio of observability, visibility and intelligence technologies to improve reliability and performance across all operational scenarios," the company said. "Cisco has tuned and tested predictive models with customers across a variety of industry segments, incorporating advanced analytics and machine learning techniques to enable greater precision and ease of use."
You can hear Chris Dexter, VP of CX Centers – TAC Customer Experience for Cisco, speak at Field Service Europe 2022, being held 30 November – 01 December at the Movenpick Hotel, Amsterdam.
Download the agenda today for more information and insights.