How to get into the Network Winner’s Circle

[#1]

By Elisa Lippincott, WW Marketing, HP Networking

“If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

–Ricky Bobby, Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby

Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend in the U.S., I stumbled onto the 2006 comedy “Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby” on a basic cable channel. The movie follows Ricky Bobby, played by Will Ferrell, from childhood to a NASCAR racing sensation. He has all the things life has to offer but after he hits a speed bump in the form of new challenger Formula One driver Jean Girard, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, we watch Ricky Bobby make adjustments to face his challenger and his own demons to regain his title as racing's top driver.

Although you could characterize the character of Ricky Bobby as insipid from an intellectual standpoint, he did have some redeeming qualities as a driver:

• Optimal: Ricky Bobby’s winning strategy was based on his mantra: “I wanna go fast!” He did it and did it well.
• Scalable: As a pit crew member, Ricky Bobby stepped up to the task and took the wheel when their team’s main driver refused to finish the race.
• Flexible: Ricky Bobby was able to quickly adjust to his changing environment when he collided with another driver by finishing and winning the race driving the car in reverse.
• Efficient: When he ran into trouble during a race, he used his best friend and fellow driver Cal Naughton Jr. (played by John C. Reilly) to execute their “shake and bake” maneuver to thrust him into the lead to win the race.

Now if you’ve read my previous blogs, you know that I like to compare things that I enjoy to what we’re doing here at HP Networking. This time is no exception.

A competitor’s view on racing to the next-generation network

I read a competitor’s blog recently that talked about the need for a next-generation network so that your business can quickly adapt to the increased demands of today’s and tomorrow’s applications. I can agree with that statement, but this competitor is making several claims – one that specifically says that having a multivendor network increases focus on operations and not on business strategy. They say that even attempting to be “cost-effective” when you’re designing your network is wrong.

Look…whatever your business is, you want to be the best – you want to make sure you’re providing the best products and services to your customers. When it comes to your network, you’ll need to design it in a way that meets and adapts to your needs and doesn’t lock you down technologically…all without breaking the bank. So do I agree with the competitor’s claims?

With all due respect…NO.

Just like Ricky Bobby, your network needs to be optimized to reduce complexity and scale as your business grows, especially as you migrate to a virtualized or cloud environment. Our Intelligent Resilient Framework (IRF) flattens your network to provide a common, virtualized fabric spanning data center, core, distribution, and access layers. You can deploy a flexible, high-performing network that is simpler to set up and manage, faster to converge, and easier to scale.

 

From a management standpoint, the HP Intelligent Management Center (IMC) can help you centrally deploy and manage all of your network elements while providing powerful administration control, detailed performance monitoring and centralized reporting. You can “take the checkered flag “with a multivendor network and reduce your network complexity and lower your total cost of ownership.

With HP Networking solutions, you can streamline network operations and accelerate application and service delivery; reduce space, power, cooling and capital requirements; and protect investments while providing a solid foundation for the future. Our solutions provide a blueprint for business innovation AND network efficiency. To read more on HP’s Converged Network Infrastructure, I invite you to download our complimentary white paper “Advanced Data Center Network Infrastructures.”

Yellow flag is now being waved…it’s time to pause.

I know we all “wanna go fast,” but I’d like you to take a pause and see what the HP Networking pit crew can do for you and your network.

And just like Ricky Bobby changed the rules of racing, you can see how we’re changing the rules of networking. See you in the network winner’s circle!

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