Realize a more reliable building network

The less you hear about your building’s network, the better.

Enterprise networks rarely make the news unless the news is bad—and an unplanned outage is about as bad as it gets. In 2017, a tech’s typo at one of the world’s largest cloud services providers took a large swath of servers offline for four agonizing hours. According to one estimate, it cost S&P 500 companies $150 million—and U.S. financial-service companies $160 million—in lost revenue.

Of course, the financial hit is just one aspect of an outage. The true cost also includes lost productivity and damage to your reputation. As our reliance on ITC infrastructure increases, the cost of an unplanned outage will only go up.

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Now go beyond downtime

While unplanned outages are the most costly and visible aspect of network reliability, there are numerous others. In-building wireless communication, stable and dependable connections with internet of things (IoT) devices, and support for the variety of building management systems all require reliable network infrastructure.

A resilient, redundant and intelligent network infrastructure can go a long way toward minimizing your chances of an unplanned outage and maximizing productivity across the entire enterprise. The focus must extend beyond issues of redundancy and automated infrastructure management.

Things to consider to improve reliability:
  • Unifying on a single converged network cabling platform
  • Deploying automated infrastructure management (AIM) to monitor the physical layer and provide real-time information on any changes
  • Ability to migrate to higher speeds with minimal network disruption
  • Robust copper cabling system to support current and future PoE-powered devices
  • Mobile support for Wi-Fi, 3G/LTE/5G and multi-operator networks
Implementation Recommendations

The right connectivity strategy can greatly assist in maximizing network reliability and uptime. The degree of success depends in large part on the design, composition and management of the enterprise network. Here are some areas to look at.

Infrastructure intelligence

Automated infrastructure management (AIM) systems, such as CommScope’s imVision®, can be a key weapon in your effort to maximize reliability and uptime. AIM systems use an intelligent platform to continuously monitor all network connectivity in the physical layer. They can automatically document all changes and can even alert personnel in the event an unscheduled new connection or other potentially disruptive circumstance is detected.

imVision System Manager

Converged infrastructure support

Network convergence is becoming more prominent in the enterprise LAN. In this new paradigm, Category 6A copper cabling is the foundational component. Beyond simplifying the physical network, it enables network managers to easily support the faster speeds and increased bandwidths of emerging technologies. With Category 6A copper as the preferred medium for power over Ethernet, network managers can seamlessly extend the network to the edge, using enhanced PoE to support increasing IoT connectivity and devices requiring higher power. Simply put: A converged enterprise network based on Category 6A copper can improve network reliability and business continuity.

Structured cabling with modular components

Growth, migration and modification in the commercial building network are a given. Network operators must have the ability to easily adapt to these changes with minimum impact on users. This requires a well-planned structured cabling topology that is able to scale up and out on demand using modular components that can be switched out to support new technologies and faster speeds. By integrating concepts such as a Universal Connectivity Grid (UCG), operators can also provide future-ready scalability for advanced in-building wireless systems like CommScope’s Era™.

Partner with CommScope to realize the potential in your enterprise networks

 
As the enterprise network becomes more connected, securing sensitive data becomes more challenging. Staying one step ahead of the potential risks is a full time job. At CommScope, nobody understands your building’s network infrastructure better.

For more than 40 years, CommScope has been the face of security and the driving force of innovation for commercial building networks. Our ongoing involvement in crafting industry standards and developing best practices gives us the vision and experience to help you create a smarter, more productive workspace. You know what you need—we know what’s next. Together we can realize your full potential.

Partner with CommScope

 

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