Information Technology
Nemertes Real Economic Value (REV) Report Finds Alkira Network Infrastructure-as-a-Service Platform Delivers Dramatic Operational Efficiencies and Cost Savings for Enterprises
Customers reported dramatic acceleration in their ability to provision new cloud environments, with an 84% decrease in staff time and a 96% reduction in calendar time, from over one month down to less than one day. This agility empowered them to more quickly expand into new cloud regions and add new cloud platforms, with 25% of participants adding at least one new cloud provider and 58% expanding to new cloud regions since deploying Alkira. In one particular example, a large healthcare provider saw a 300% increase in their number of cloud environments, while reducing the calendar time to add a new cloud environment by 96%.
"We interviewed more than a dozen Alkira customers to do a study of the real economic value they derive from Alkira, and they were happily surprised at how often they found multiple ways to get value and how significant the value delivered was," said John Burke , CTO at Nemertes.
The Nemertes research uncovered some remarkable improvements after customers deployed Alkira's cloud-based, end-to-end networking platform. On average, participants saw a 44% decrease in the number of network devices, including a 73% reduction in the number of firewalls required. They also experienced a 47% decrease in staff hours needed to manage cloud networks, allowing them to avoid an average of 4.8 additional network hires. One financial telecoms company referenced in the report was able to reduce its firewall count by 94%, while reducing full-time employees needed to manage firewalls by 75%.
"The hidden costs of our multi-cloud infrastructure were staggering once we correlated the data across regions, accounts, and platforms," said Steve Savage , Network Architect at Infor. "With Alkira, we've not only reduced our cloud routing and firewall footprint by over 60%, but we've transformed our cloud network integration process from a series of niche one-off exercises into a streamlined, repeatable methodology. This allows us to accelerate time to value while maintaining robust security across our cloud estate."
In addition to faster deployment and reduced staffing requirements, Alkira customers reported significant improvements in partner connectivity and data center operations. On average, the calendar time required to connect a new data center to the hybrid cloud decreased by 93%, while the time needed to add a new partner to their extranet dropped by 91%, from over three months to just over a week. One large manufacturer in particular was able to add new partners to its extranet 99% faster with Alkira.
"This research underscores the tremendous value that Alkira's cloud-native networking model can deliver to enterprises grappling with the complexity of various network environments," said
Amir Khan , CEO at Alkira. "By simplifying network operations and accelerating cloud connectivity, we're helping our customers become more agile, efficient, and secure."
The research also found that Alkira helped customers streamline their security operations. All participants reported decreases in the time required to add new security services, with the average dropping 80% from nearly a full work week to less than a day. Similarly, the calendar time to deploy new security services decreased by 93%, from over 17 days to just over one day on average. For a large software company, it was able to add new security services in cloud environments 99% faster with Alkira.
Moreover, Alkira's as-a-service model made it easier and faster for customers to connect to third-party partners and integrate networks from mergers and acquisitions. Two-thirds of participants saw a 98% decrease in staff time needed to onboard a new partner, while 88% of participants experienced a 91% reduction in the calendar time required. For a large medical manufacturer, it was able to reduce the calendar time for a network merger by 99.8%, while reducing staff time for a network merger by 99%.
The full Nemertes REV report is available for download at: https://success.alkira.com/Nemertes-Alkira-Real-Economic-Value-Report-2024.html
Alkira is the leader in Network Infrastructure on Demand. We unify any environments, sites, and users via an enterprise network built entirely in the cloud. The network is managed using the same controls, policies, and security systems network administrators know, is available as a service, and can instantly scale as needed. There is no new hardware to deploy, software to download, or architecture to learn. Alkira's solution is trusted by Fortune 100 enterprises, leading system integrators, and global managed service providers. Learn more at alkira.com and follow us @alkiranet.