Cisco Networking Simplified, Second Edition

Chapter . Virtualizing Network Infrastructure

Leveraging Network Investment

Although businesses have become increasingly reliant on applications for productivity, they have also become reliant on their network infrastructure. The network enables their business models and has become engrained in everything they do.

When a business model needs to change, often so does the network that supports it. For example, if a large bank with several hundred branches acquires another bank, also with a few hundred branches, their applications need to merge, and their network infrastructures need to be connected and merged.

As another example, suppose the Site Services and Security department decides it needs to cut costs by migrating security and video surveillance ...