The innovation of digital technologies paves the way for new solutions for businesses. Like cloud networking, the new frontier of enterprise services "in the cloud." Let's find out what it's about.

The cloud is increasingly popular. According to Gartner, the cloud services sector is growing and will continue to do so in the coming years. For 2019, the projection is +17.5 percent, reaching 214.3 billion dollars, up from 182.4 billion the previous year. 

In this context, the possibilities offered by online hosting are growing. Today, cloud networking providers are emerging, a system that remotely offers network resources and services.

Let's find out more.

What is cloud networking 

Cloud networking it is an infrastructure for hosting network resources and services, which can then be used by third parties (companies, in particular). 

In essence, a Networking Managed Service Provider (NMSP), a company that offers cloud networking services, provides its customers with the opportunity to access a whole range of internet services without the need to "host them" within their own corporate IT infrastructures.

Among the most common services we find for example virtual routers, firewalls, network management software and numerous other tools that would require the installation of specific hardware, but are actually offered through the cloud.

Imagine a network of corporate computers or servers, physically connected to each other: cloud networking replicates this type of connection, but all the network is completely integrated in the infrastructure cloud computing created by NMSP.

Cloud networking vs cloud computing

What is the difference between cloud networking and computing?? Essentially, the two concepts are complementary, not exclusive. Cloud computing is the macro-category, we can say, that it includes all computing services distributed via the Network. The provider manages the network resources and infrastructures, sharing them (for a fee) with third parties who may need them.

Cloud networking is a specific type of service offered through the "cloud". It is based on the concept of IT As a Service, that is on the possibility of providing users with access to on-demand services via the Internet rather than on-site. 

With cloud networking, essentially, services are delivered by the provider through the network. The company can therefore use them according to its current needs, allowing for rapid scalability, and paying only for what is actually "consumed".

Providers offer web portals, a sort of "control panel," where businesses can monitor and manage all the network services they use, both cloud-based and those physically present on-site. From here, they can understand what they are actually using and how. Alternatively, services can be delivered via a WAN, Wide Area Networking.

The NMSPs are tasked with analyzing the performance and security of all infrastructures.

Read also: Cloud: everything you need to know about the cloud

Two types of cloud networking

Companies that use cloud networking services, they can decide whether to use cloud resources to manage an in-house network or exclusively utilize cloud resources.

We are therefore talking about two types different types of cloud networking:

1. Networking abilitato al cloud, when the company continues to use its in-house local network but manages it through cloud resources, such as network management software or antivirus solutions to ensure the security of its internal network.
2. Networking basato su cloud, when instead all the resources employed are hosted in the cloud: even the network nodes and all the necessary tools are cloud-based.

3 advantages of cloud networking

The advantages associated with the use of cloud networking are generally similar to those more generally associated with the "cloud." We highlight three of them, without claiming to be exhaustive.

1. Scalability

As we have seen, the use of cloud computing resources allows work to be done without physically installing hardware devices. This does not exclusively translate into a cost reduction (which is still important, as we will see), but above all into the possibility of growing in an almost unlimited manner.

Cloud service providers, in fact, allow users to adjust their computing power needs in a completely independent manner: without installing new servers, racks, or other types of hardware, companies can simply request additional services or power.

The only requirement is to install a wireless network device on site. From here, however, the configuration is based on a cloud interface: the new devices can therefore be managed and maintained remotely.

2. Lower costs

There are two expense items reduced thanks to services like cloud networking: hardware and maintenance. As we have seen, cloud network services allow for the reduction of the need to continuously install and update new devices such as data centers and server racks. Lower costs are also linked to the reduced need for electrical energy: without devices connected 24/7, it is possible to significantly reduce the electricity bill.

Network resources then require constant maintenance and updates, necessary to avoid issues with the systems and to keep up with new technologies. With cloud-based networking, this type of work is entirely entrusted to NMSPs.

3. Security and reliability

Another fundamental aspect of managing a local network is related to security. As we have seen, in 2018 cyber attacks increased by 38 percent in 2018 and the trend is rising. Companies do not always have the necessary resources to ensure high levels of protection against attacks.

Cloud networking can also be the answer to this aspect: the more prudent NMSPs, in fact, have access to expert specialists and significantly higher budgets to ensure system security. We believe only to the SOC (Security Operation Center): rarely can a company afford to establish such a complex unit, yet it is becoming increasingly essential to prevent and detect intrusions (thanks to firewalls, IDS-Intrusion Detection System, IPS-Intrusion Prevention Systems, and so on).

The best cloud service providers, on the other hand, ensure this type of security, further reducing costs and preventing even very serious problems to their network infrastructures.