The evolution of Networking Technology and Digitization proves to continue to help humanity with automation and innovation. These technologies drive the necessary need for faster network speeds and new services. Many of these new technologies will be implemented into the LAN/WAN, while others are more cloud- and service provider-oriented. Here’s a look at the top networking technology trends you should expect to start seeing in 2021 and beyond.

Latest Technology trends

• Network automation. The demand for rapidly deployed networking services is beginning to outpace a network team’s availability to execute on those requests. Fortunately, network automation tools are coming to the rescue. With these tools, you can automate some of the repeatable network configurations, validation testing, duplicate deployments and operational management tasks to focus security and other strategic initiatives.
• Intent-Based Networking is one of these networking tools helping with Network automation. Intent-Based Networking (IBN) is a combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, and Network Orchestration to automate administrative tasks. Intent-Based Networking reduces the complexity to create, manage, and enforce network policies for reducing labour associated with traditional configuration management.

• 5G for branch office connectivity. 5G is going to create a boom in the volume of high-speed traffic that happens at the edge of the network in 2020. This is largely being looked at from a mobile device connectivity perspective. While important, the new wireless technology will also enhance enterprises from a branch office perspective.  Beginning in 2020, look for network vendors to begin integrating 5G into their cellular branch office gateways. This will allow the rapid deployment of remote sites which offer data speeds that rival far more expensive wired broadband alternatives. For businesses that need to be able to quickly spin up an office – or require the ability to move an office at a moment’s notice rapidly, 5G will be a game-changing technology.
• IoT network segmentation and monitoring. Internet of Things (IoT) is coming to your office in 2020 in one way or another. Because of IoT security concerns, the virtual segmentation of IoT devices from the rest of the network will be a major task for the network department. The creation of secure zones – called microsegments – will allow for IoT devices to operate on the same corporate network while also lessening the risk to other parts of the network. Then, once implemented, it’s likely that the monitoring of IoT devices will fall on the network team to implement. Being able to view end-to-end IoT monitoring will not only help with improving performance, but it will also help to ensure that IoT devices haven’t been compromised by identifying when IoT device communication veers from the norm.
• Artificial Intelligence is developing the computer systems to perform tasks which include human intelligence like speech recognition, decision making, visual perception, and translation between languages. This universal network makes decisions based on your activity and location. It will route you to the best system and manage the task without affecting your experience.
• Network analytics. If there’s one thing that IoT has shown the enterprise is that there’s a wealth of valuable data being collected, but if it’s not used to help a business gather insights and better cater to their clients, then it’s a pointless exercise. Big data and advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have progressed to the point where the two can be used to provide unprecedented levels of network performance health information. This data should be available to you and should be drivers for your strategic IT decisions for years to come. 
• Edge computing. This is the concept of taking compute and data much closer to the end-user when compared to traditional cloud computing. This is gaining more traction recently due to the buzz of 5G. Doing so significantly reduces bandwidth costs while also lowering network latency. Network carriers are expected to begin rolling out edge services to customers beginning in 2020. This is already gaining momentum for a number of enterprises as they continue to decentralize their networks. Core business applications can’t afford latency, so processing power must continue to shift to the edge and partners can help enterprises build this next-generation, agile networks.
• Cloud Repatriation. Technology has evolved due to which enterprises have the freedom to locate applications with maximum performance, cost, and security. Cloud repatriation describes a shift away from the cloud and back to on-premise infrastructure. The finality of this shift is debatable, as are the motivations for repatriation. For some, repatriation is strategic – and temporary – as businesses seek to optimize their cloud and on-premise environments.

These Latest Network Technology trends are all equipped to take over the future. They will not only make operations convenient but also save time and energy to perform tasks.