Network Implications

The development of telepresence, and more broadly the use of video for business communications, is likely to have a profound impact on the way that companies architect their networks. Traditionally, the global business would set up a hub-and-spoke model, in which each location of a business would “backhaul” traffic to a small number of Internet access points around the world. With this system, security devices such as firewalls and proxies can be fairly easily inserted at the “head end” or hub, and corporate policy can be enforced.

However, as we contemplate a world in which employees in all aspects of the business are communicating with other people in other businesses, the sheer volume and performance requirements of the traffic profile forces a rethinking of the network architecture.