These guys are on the frontline of network architecture and working to educate the world about the changing landscape of enterprise network technology. The list includes people from across the spectrum including analysts, researchers, independent consultants and IT pros.
Andrew Lerner (Gartner) (@fast_lerner)
Andrew is a Gartner guru specializing in enterprise networking. He focuses his keen analyst eye on emerging areas of WAN and has recently written about the complexities of network segmentation and how to pick the right technology and approach. Andrew also specializes in the challenges of Open Networking.
Steve Garson (@WANExperts)
Steve is an internationally recognized expert in SD-WAN. He works as a consultant for global organizations through his company SD-WAN Experts. As well as looking at the technology offerings within the space, he also looks at the evolution of the industry and the business side of the technology landscape. He runs an IDG contributor blog which focuses on cutting edge thinking in the SD-WAN space. Garson is not afraid to speak out about core issues in the industry, and in a post correcting a Gartner report into security and SD-WAN he stated that: “It would be too easy to say that there’s one right approach to SD-WAN security. Each architecture has its strengths and weaknesses. The key is aligning those strengths to your needs.”
Ben Hendrick (IBM Security and NTSC board member)
Ben Hendrick is a global executive at IBM security and represents IBM on the National Technology Security Coalition (NTSC). Ben focuses on infrastructure and endpoint security with his team at IBM. As part of his role in NTSC, Ben took part in a CISO invite only conference recently. The NTSC has a major influence on regulations and policy and Ben will be able to add his experience in SD-WAN to the debate.
An interview with Ben Hendrick can be watched here.
John Burke
John Burke is a principal analyst with Nemertes Research with expertise in Cloud architecture, storage visualization, and WAN optimization. As an analyst in these areas he carries out research into solutions and advises enterprises on best practice use models. John gave a recent Brighttalk webinar on “Building the SD-WAN business case” which is worth watching. He stated in a recent article “Expect to see MPLS remain a significant force in the WAN for many years to come”
Andre Kindness (@AndreKindness)
Andre Kindness is a principal analyst at Forrester. He specializes in enterprise network operations and architecture. His industry focus is in retail and hospitality. Andre recently tweeted that: “1st law of security: There isn’t enough money for security until after a breach.” later adding that: “I think we have enough data points to move it from theory to law.”
An interesting recent webinar showcasing Andre’s expertise in retail networking and customer experience can be seen here.
Nolan Greene (@ngreeneIDC)
Nolan is a senior research analyst at IDC. He specializes in network infrastructure for enterprise clients and understands the complexities of go-to-market best practice and delivery. HIs focus is all about the trends in the enterprise as related to customer behavior. Nolan also shines a light on IOT and LP-WAN. Nolan will be speaking at the IT Roadmap Conference And Expo Dallas on the 15th November.
Ivan Pepelnjak (@ioshints)
Ivan Pepelnjak is a prolific writer and advocate in the area of enterprise networks, network function virtualization, and data centers. His experience in network architecture goes back to the early 80s. Ivan will be running a series of online training sessions in 2018 about next generation data centers and network automation. Stay in touch with Ivan’s views and teachings via his blog here.
Mark Bayne
Mark is Director of Sales Engineering at CATO Networks. Mark comes from a background of network security appliances and now focuses this experience on creating secure enterprise networks via CATO Networks. Mark recently gave a talk at IP EXPO Nordic 2017 about using a Firewall as a Service approach to network security.
“Firewall as a Service (FWaaS) is a new type of a next generation firewall. It does not merely hide physical firewall appliances behind a “cloud duct tape”, but truly eliminates the appliance form factor, making firewall services available everywhere.”
Robin Harris (@StorageMojo)
Robin is an independent analyst and consultant for TechnoQWAN LLC in the area of emerging technologies including in the network architecture space. He recently posted on the “Limits of disaggregation” where he looks at how “Composable Infrastructure is hoping to split the difference, with the power to define aggregations in software, rather than hardware.” Robin also writes regularly for ZDNet.
Packet Pushers (@packetpushers)
Packet Pushers is an industry podcast about data networking run by network architects. The weekly shows are packed with everything including general views and comments on the industry to specific technology insights and reviews. Check out this podcast on “The Future of Networking” by Brian Godfrey.
Greg Ferro (@etherealmind)
Greg is one of the founders of the Packet Pushers podcast. He has vast experience in the field of data networking and network architecture. Greg currently works as a freelance architect as well as writing for Ethereal Mind. Famous for being outspoken Greg tweeted recently, “9 out of 10 network engineers think the tenth network engineers is an idiot. 9 out of 10 also think ITIL is a dumbest thing ever.”
Chris Mellor (@Chris_Mellor)
Chris is a storage guy who writes a regular column for The Register. Chris picked up his storage and networking experience at companies like Unisys and DEC. At The Register, Chris gives informed commentaries on a variety of networking technologies and company solutions. In a recent tweet he stated: “Hyperloop is a fantastic idea but I figure pushing the better safety angle is kind of dumb”
Paul Mah (@paulmah)
Paul Mah is a freelance technology writer covering network storage and architecture at Techblogger.io as well as contributing to Computerworld. Paul hosted a recent interview with Jonathan Rault of Amazon around AWS and Cloud security on how to create a more secure Cloud environment.
Lee Badman @wirednot
Lee’s blog Wirednot is laser focused on wireless networks. He writes regularly on the latest developments in the world of WLAN and covers interesting topics on all things WiFi. A regular contributor to Network Computing, his blog is a go-to resource on wireless network administration and wireless security.
Lee Doyle @leedoyle_dc
Lee is the Principal Analyst at Doyle Research, and has published extensively on software-defined networking in major industry publications. In a recent publication in Network World, SD-Branch: What it is and Why You’ll Need it, Lee discusses how the SD-WAN model of network virtualization is being copied by branch offices by deploying a single platform “that supports SD-WAN, routing, integrated security and LAN/Wi-Fi functions that can all be managed centrally.”
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