4 Business Tips for Successful Migration to ASI

Moving the requirements of business applications to the network, the end result of which is an increase in the speed of their deployment and operation, involves a paradigm shift in which network professionals operate.

The security service and business application developers have the opportunity to have a direct impact on the network. So the traditional distribution of areas of responsibility is changing, which is usually accompanied by internal conflicts.

This and other pitfalls hinder the success of migration to ACI.

Together with customers, representatives of the banking sector and retail, Accord Group has gone through this path five times already. The experience gained allowed us to identify and formalize 4 criteria for success.

1. Gradual Migration. Set up the network within the ASI factory, based on the Network Centric Infrastructure (NCI) approach and gradually using it, gradually implement application-oriented approaches. Jumping straight to ASI is a gamble given the complexity of the process and unpredictability over time. While transitioning from traditional infrastructure to NCI typically takes 3 to 6 months, ASI scaling will take 2 years, during which the team will support both new and old infrastructure. This is a very time-consuming process that requires the consolidated work of all departments. Over the long distance, mistakes are inevitable and their cost can be too high.

2. Business Involvement. Top management involvement is a mechanism that can provide the consolidation described earlier. Decisions concerning the redistribution of zones of influence are better given and implemented with political will.

3. Reporting the organizational value of the issue to all stakeholders. It is critical to fully understand the scope of future changes and their impact on people, processes and technology. One of the main reasons for failed projects is unrealized expectations. All participants from stakeholders to administrators and users must understand the organizational cost of the issue.

4. Qualitative audit of the current infrastructure. Any migration project begins with a survey of the data center service architecture, the composition of applications, as well as the nature of their interaction. In addition, it is important to understand the organizational structure and functions of the departments working with them, since the implementation of ACI can change the model of operation of the network infrastructure.

We wish you easy transformations and hope that these practical tips will come in handy.

However, if you need individual consultation on Cisco ACI, please contact info@accord-group.com.