Juniper Networks AI-driven enterprise

What is an AI-driven enterprise?

9 min. read
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Juniper Networks

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The amount of data available to organisations continues to proliferate at a staggering volume. But technologies such as analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to help businesses make much better use of these massive volumes of data. Modern technology allows a sophisticated collaboration of people and machines to improve the speed and quality of decision-making.

The growing maturity and availability of artificial intelligence (AI) enables the creation of an AI-driven enterprise. More and more organisations are noticing the benefits of AI and are embedding AI-driven solutions into their business operations, products and services. But what are the main characteristics of an AI-driven enterprise? And how does an AI-driven enterprise benefit employees and customers? Read all about it in this article. We will also show you how Juniper Networks and Nomios integrate many useful AI-centred technologies into one comprehensive solution that allows your organisation to become an AI-driven enterprise.

The rise and evolution of AI

In the past couple of decades, AI has moved from science fiction novels to the front pages of serious news and business media outlets, such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. It no longer resides in the world of fiction but has become an important business imperative.

AI is a wide-ranging concept commonly used to describe the simulation of human intelligence in machines. The technology has rapidly evolved and diversified. This has given rise to a hugely diverse plethora of modern AI applications. A couple of examples:

  • Personalised shopping. Artificial intelligence technology is used to create recommendation engines that allow stores and companies to engage with customers on a highly personal level. Personal shopping and marketing recommendations are made in accordance with the customer’s browsing history, preferences and interests.
  • AI-powered assistants. Virtual assistants and chatbots can answer questions and help resolve customer service issues.
  • Fraud prevention. By analysing behavioural and financial patterns, AI can aid banks, governments and customs workers in detecting fraud and other illegal activities.
  • AI technology allows educators to create smart content and personalised learning environments.
  • AI can make it easier to accurately predict human behaviour and important market trends by analysing real-time and historical data.
  • Artificial intelligence is used in agriculture to identify defects and nutrient deficiencies in the soil. This lays the groundwork for better harvests and more sustainable farming methods.
  • In modern medicine, artificial intelligence can help analyse chronic conditions with medical data to ensure early diagnosis.

The examples mentioned above are just an indication of the virtually unlimited potential of AI. As the technology continues to evolve and expand, the range of available AI services will continue to grow.

What is an AI-driven enterprise?

An AI-driven enterprise is a business that effectively harnesses the power and benefits of modern AI-driven technology. Time-consuming manual tasks are replaced with AI-driven and proactive automation. Today I will focus on AI for networking as a business driver. You can imagine this allows companies to lower networking operational costs and save time and money. And an AI-driven enterprise is also data-driven. Decisions are based on hard (and near) real-time data and predictive analysis instead of gut feelings.

AI has the capability to support three important business needs:

  1. Automating business processes and repetitive tasks: This makes it possible for your employees to fully focus on the core tasks that add value to your business and organisation.
  2. Gaining better insights through data analysis:This gives you the opportunity to actively improve business processes, marketing strategies and customer journeys.
  3. Engaging with customers and employees: AI allows you to improve employee experiences by giving them the right tools and automating tedious and repetitive tasks. Customers profit from a more personalised relationship with your company.

An AI-driven enterprise also uses state-of-the-art technology to increase the value of its wireless networks through personalised location services. Wayfinding, proximity notifications and asset location are some prime examples. An AI-driven enterprise utilises the power and potential of AI to maximise IT productivity, save time and money, add value to the organisation, and deliver the best possible networking experience to any digital user.

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Building blocks for an AI-driven enterprise

But how do you build an AI-driven enterprise? Let’s take a look at the most important building blocks.

Wi-Fi 6

Excellent connectivity is an absolute must-have for an AI-driven enterprise. Enter Wi-Fi 6, the next generation of Wi-Fi technology. Wi-Fi 6 not only has a much higher (theoretical) speed limit than its predecessor (9.6 GBps versus 3.5 GBps for Wi-Fi 5), but it also improves performance when a huge number of devices are connected to your network. Wi-Fi 6 lets routers communicate with more devices at once, allows routers to send data to multiple devices in the same broadcast, and lets Wi-Fi devices schedule check-ins with the router. Together, those features keep connections strong.

If you opt for Juniper Mist, you can reap the benefits of true innovation in the wireless space with the world’s first AI-driven Wireless LAN (WLAN). The Mist Learning WLAN makes Wi-Fi predictable, reliable and measurable with unprecedented visibility into the user experience. Time-consuming manual IT tasks are replaced with proactive, AI-driven automation and self-healing, lowering Wi-Fi operational costs and saving substantial time and money.

NAC

Network access control (NAC) is a security approach that combines several different security techniques to provide a unified approach to network access, be it wired or wireless. Endpoints, such as corporate laptops and mobiles, are often deployed with anti-virus software. Users undergo an authentication process to access critical resources.

NAC combines these technologies. When a device connects to the network, it can combine user authentication with device verification. This allows you to limit network resources to authorised users but also ensure that the devices that do connect to the network meet the desired safety requirements. Juniper WiteSand is one of the best and most comprehensive AI-powered NAC solutions on the current market.

LBS

Location-based services (LBS) use geographic data to provide information and services to users. They can be used in a variety of contexts (work, personal life, entertainment and many more). Location-based services are critical to an AI-driven enterprise because they pull real insights from data and tie the information to a specific location where activities take place, often indoor locations.

Traditional indoor location services from legacy Wi-Fi, overlay RFID and battery-powered beacons are often associated with the words expensive, complex and inaccurate. Nowadays the digital user expects dynamic real-time presence information, especially when enterprises are still bound to restrictions on the maximum number of people in a building due to Covid-19. With Mist, you are able to get real-time insights with its virtual Bluetooth LE (vBLE). Indoor location services are finally easy to deploy and scale, with accuracy and agility.

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points work in conjunction with Juniper Mist Cloud Services and Mist AI to deliver premier wireless access capabilities. The Juniper Mist Edge extends microservices to the campus to bring agility and scale while enabling new applications at the edge.

LAN

A LAN consists of cables, access points, switches, routers and other components that enable devices to connect to internal servers, web servers and other LANs via wide area networks. LANs enable devices to collectively use the same internet connection and share files with one another. They can even be accessed and controlled by one another.

Juniper’s EX Series switches are cloud-ready, high-performance access and distribution/core-layer devices for enterprise branch, campus, and data centre networks. They provide the LAN functionalities that an AI-driven enterprise needs.

SD-WAN

SD-WAN is a virtual network technology that connects and extends enterprise networks over large geographical distances. The solution makes it easier to manage and direct traffic across a network—for example, by automatically choosing the best available connection to route or reroute traffic. Juniper’s secure SD-WAN solution uses Session Smart Routing to streamline SD-WAN orchestration and operations. Juniper Mist’s WAN Assurance complements Secure Smart Routing by providing insights derived from telemetry data and end-to-end impact analysis. It also automatically detects and corrects anomalies.

NGFW

A next-generation firewall (NFGW) is an essential tool for visibility, control and prevention at the network edge. It delivers complete visibility into who and what is traversing your network and offers instant threat detection. Juniper’s SRX is the most effective NGFW in the business (don’t just take our word for it—ask Gartner, too). It’s a firewall that can be deployed anywhere in any cloud. You can even use it to protect your containers.

AI

The final essential component of an AI-driven enterprise is an AI solution that allows you to optimise user experiences and simplify operations across the wireless access, wired access and SD-WAN domains. Juniper’s AI Mist delivers on this promise and offers a carefully balanced combination of artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science techniques. It combines data from multiple sources to create end-to-end insight into user experiences.

Mist AI is also a powerful catalyst for next-generation customer support. Juniper’s AI-driven enterprise portfolio enables customers to scale and simplify the deployment of the wired and wireless networks on their campus while at the same time bringing greater insight and automation to network operators.

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AI-driven enterprise Juniper Mist

Why an AI-driven enterprise by Juniper is the future

One of the reasons why Juniper stands out from the crowd is the fact that many useful technologies that are essential for building the AI-driven enterprise of the future are integrated into one comprehensive solution that is driven by advanced AI technology. Juniper offers a complete solution for the entire set of networking issues that large organisations face.

According to Gartner®, Juniper is the Magic Quadrant™ Leader in the following categories:

Next to that, they are mentioned as a Visionary in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for WAN Edge Infrastructure and a Challenger for Network Firewalls.

AI-native networking

Juniper has raised the bar again with the introduction of its AI-Native Networking Platform and the Marvis Minis. This move not only represents a leap forward in AIOps and data centre operations for AI workloads. It also marks a transformative approach to proactively solving networking problems. Read more about AI-native networking in this blog.

Get in touch for more information

Would you like to know more about AI-driven enterprises? Are you interested in the solutions presented in this article? Then don’t hesitate to contact us. We would be more than happy to make your acquaintance!

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Since the start of Nomios in 2004, we've been a dedicated Juniper Networks partner. In 2022 Juniper introduced a new top partner level: Elite Plus. As their most dedicated partner in Europe, we immediately qualified for this status. Juniper underpins our unique expertise in networking, routing and the security landscape, and our deep understanding of the Juniper Networks portfolio with this new partner status.

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