Prepare your infrastructure to capitalize on voracious consumption by decentralizing and slicing — while keeping security and reliability at the forefront.
Service providers have been served a stew of challenges: automation, convergence, the distributed edge, OTT, monetization demands, cyberthreats, AI, IoT, 5G, and Gen Z … oh my!
Addressing these challenges requires rethinking old network paradigms. Centralized, proprietary network-as-plumbing architectures built for peak utilization won’t suffice – and don’t make financial sense — for today’s explosive bandwidth consumption demands stemming from 5G, IoT and cloud. Instead, service providers must take a more open and agile approach – decentralizing, slicing, securing and, where possible, automating network functions. (But keep the carrier-grade reliability!)
Scale out and embrace the edge. Structured builds networks silencing the clamor from the percussive more – more subscribers, more devices, more applications, more competition – to let you fulfill your purpose to provide secure, low latency, and financially sustainable service.
Discussing Digital Disruption for Service Providers
Enable a growing ecosystem of over-the-top (OTT) services, devices, applications and technologies without becoming a commodity. Structured offers professional services and industry-leading infrastructure that fosters service model innovation, operational agility and adaptability.
Architecture for a New Era
Consumers increasingly need more low and ultra-low latency bandwidth for their applications and activities so backhauling this traffic through a centralized data center ceases to function. Instead, service providers are creating an architecture for a new era by placing more compute and storage resources at the edge.
At the same time, in order to compete with nimble cloud-native brethren, traditional service providers are running toward cloud-grade networking, building upon their carrier-grade reliability and reach but virtualizing hardware, automating operational processes, and segmenting (slicing) the network to deliver quality of service at the needed speed.
Monetization
People won’t pay more for faster bandwidth. That’s a non-starter. Service providers seeking to increase, or at least maintain, profitability need to become more than conduit and converge with other type of providers – such as companies that generate content or offer an internet-delivered service. Adopting a “just-in-time” model – not overbuilding for peak utilization – also helps established service providers that are competing with cloud-native companies.
Build your infrastructure to attract cooperation, not competition. Work with Structured to create infrastructure designs that break down impediments to progress and let your team release new services to grow revenue per user (RPU).
Security & Reliability
The greater the number of attack vectors, the greater the risk. And endpoint proliferation in the form of IoT devices like sensors, gaming consoles, and smart appliances does introduce significant risk.
Integrating security from the network center to the edge is imperative in this age of motivated, well-funded and organized threat actors. Service providers need a partner that understands the fundamentals of security as well it understands the fundamentals of network architecture.
Structured is that partner. Rely on us to guide you through the process of policy creation and solution implementation to ward off next-generation threats like zero-day attacks, ransomware that allows data exfiltration, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS). Build a secure and sustainable architecture for the new age.
Compliance
Structured has a full complement of compliance services for the service provider industry, including vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, control validation, and regulatory gap analysis/compliance audits.
Consider working with us to meet regulatory requirements for:
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (NIST CSF)
A subset of security controls from NIST 800-53 that typically apply to critical infrastructure such as telecommunications, utilities, transportation, and other important services.
Center for Internet Security (CIS) Controls
Originally formed in late 2000 as a response to growing cyber threats, the Center for Internet Security began to crowdsource a prioritized set of actions to protect organizations and data from known cyber attack vectors. The organizing principle was to provide clarity into the lifecycle of attacks and then offer a concrete plan of 20 counteractions, or controls, that realistically could be implemented by organizations of all sizes. Today, the CIS Controls provide global standards for internet security and best practices for securing IT systems and data against attacks.
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS)
Sets requirements for any organizations “that store, process or transmit cardholder data.”
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
Regulates any entity that handles the sensitive information of California residents in the execution of business and marketing. Security requirements are included and substantial breach fines apply to loss of data control.
Bridge the Gap
Experience, People, Processes and Technologies since 1992
Discover what’s possible. The digital age is creating enormous opportunities for organizations to innovate, automate, and grow — and technology is the springboard. Embrace the digital age and transform your business with Structured.