Five major network technology trends in 2022

At the end of each year, network analysts make predictions about next year's technology. However, no one can accurately predict COVID-19 and how it will change businesses. When we consider network technology trends in 2022, we can look at the main themes of the past few years to understand the performance of these trends in the face of the global epidemic. In 2020, when the pandemic began in the United States, the key areas of network focus were software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN), 5G cellular, Wi-Fi 6, artificial intelligence support, and network automation. These technologies will continue to be key areas of focus in 2022, mainly because they represent the true technological advantages of enterprises. Let's take a look at these excellent network technology trends and how they shape the industry.

SD-WAN As companies close offices and promote mixed work environments or complete work from home (WFH) strategies, SD-WAN becomes more important. Many companies' WFH has changed from temporary to permanent, redefining the network edge. Virtual private networks are usually point-to-point solutions for remote workers. As the edge of the network extends to employees’ homes, many tasks give way to always-on SD-WAN devices. As enterprises become more dispersed, in order to improve the experience and security of WFH employees, they have accelerated their migration plans to SD-WAN. 5G cellular Due to the epidemic, the migration to 5G cellular has undergone major changes, not just because some strange conspiracy theories indicate that 5G has caused a pandemic. Although operators continue to roll out 5G, many companies that plan to migrate to 5G still insist on using 4G/LTE. Like smart cities, the government's 5G plans are also under pressure, due to the unexpected and increasing cost of healthcare. But the place where 5G has gained a firm foothold is home fixed 5G, which will continue to grow in 2022 and beyond. Many companies working from home are looking for fixed 5G as a solution, separating the work system from the home system, and providing Internet to work-from-home employees who previously did not have broadband access. Wi-Fi 6 For many companies that are starting to plan to migrate in 2020 or 2021, the transition to Wi-Fi 6 has always been problematic. The shift to working from home has a huge impact on companies. Many offices are closed, and those offices that are still running usually have lower staff density. Device density is one of the biggest advantages of Wi-Fi 6, but the demand for it is reduced in the new business environment. The place where Wi-Fi 6 will grow and will continue to grow is in the consumer sector, especially working from home. The need for higher bandwidth for employees who work from home can more easily justify the value of moving to new technologies. AI empowerment The artificial intelligence empowerment of network products has been proceeding as expected. The focus in 2020 is to support applications through AI, especially in the areas of security and analytics. As the workplace splits into a home office and a mixed environment, the security threat landscape has changed dramatically. In addition, managing the productivity of remote workers is more challenging, and artificial intelligence can help strengthen manpower through monitoring and analysis. Although artificial intelligence cannot completely replace humans, as the underlying landscape changes, it has done a very good job in expansion and adaptation. Network automation Finally, in the face of the epidemic, network automation plays an important role. As employees move to work from home, IT is clearly not immune to these changes. Many IT professionals are further away from their systems. In addition, many IT personnel realize that they now manage more physical devices than ever before, and rely more on automation to help compensate for constantly changing work profiles. As we enter 2022, automation will continue to grow because automation technology has proven its value in these difficult times. 2020 and 2021 will bring new vitality to the network field, but not necessarily new ideas. Most companies use their IT budgets to deal with radical, ground-breaking processes rather than radical, ground-breaking products. This is not about new technologies, but more about new ways of doing things. As we enter 2022, the ingenuity of IT will continue to be challenged because many anticipated temporary changes have become the new normal. We should expect that today's changes will have a long-lasting effect on the network for many years.