By Ong Boon Kiat

Video, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and workplace mobility are emerging as key drivers that will shape the next generation of corporate networks.

The enterprise networking industry - worth about US$37 billion a year globally, according to research firm IDC - is also on the cusp of a significant speed bump, with the 10Gbps (gigabit per second) standard expected to soon carve inroads into businesses.

Changes are also afoot in the way the enterprise network is being used. Seen as a closed entity, it is increasingly melding with the Web, as businesses embrace new Web-based applications.

These trends were echoed by IT vendors that BizIT spoke to last week.

They also listed the influx of Web 2.0 applications, unified communications and network security as key trends in this space.

But it is video, SaaS and workplace mobility that are at the top of the list.

Says Brent Angus, product manager, Solutions, Datacraft Asia: 'We see the amount of video traffic on the internal and Internet networks increasing at an accelerated pace as acceptance of VoD (Video-on-Demand) and IPTV (Internet protocol TV) becomes more widespread.

'However we do not see organisations being prepared for the increased bandwidth requirements and this is an issue that should be addressed.'

Mainboard-listed Datacraft is an IT service provider.

Also betting on video is Tom Cheong, managing director of Singapore and Brunei, Cisco.

Drawing comparisons between the growth of video in enterprises and the Web, he notes that by 2012, Internet video traffic alone will be 400 times the traffic carried by the US Internet backbone in 2000.

Says Mr Cheong: 'Video is going to be important for enterprises because video communications offer a richer and more cost-effective way to meet with colleagues, partners or customers in another country.'

He believes video-conferencing is poised for growth because it provides a cost-saving solution to combat the rising cost of corporate travelling.

'Fuel prices have quickly become a much bigger part of corporate budgets, while pollution from travel with both planes and automobiles is a major contributor to climate change,' he points out.

Unlike video, SaaS makes fewer demands on an organisation's network. SaaS is a software usage model where applications - and often the files created by users - reside in the service provider's servers, not on the user's PC.

It harnesses the Web to deliver applications.

Prominent SaaS examples today include Google Apps and Salesforce.com's customer relationship management (CRM) product.

Businesses, especially smaller firms, are increasingly warming up to SaaS because it helps them save money via a pay-per-use pricing model.

Gartner has predicted that about one-third of all new software bought in Asia-Pacific will be delivered via SaaS by 2010.

It predicts that the global SaaS market will grow to US$19.3 billion by 2011, tripling from US$6.3 billion in 2006, while IDC predicts that the SaaS market will be worth US$10.7 billion by 2009.

Brent Angus, Solutions, Product Manager, Datacraft Asia, concurs with the bullish assessment: '(By 2010), SaaS will achieve mainstream adoption and you will be able to run your applications from a virtual desktop on the Internet and people will eventually become de-coupled from their hardware devices.'

Stuart Spiteri, director Asia-Pacific, Akamai Technologies, adds: 'The key concern for organisations in Singapore and Asia when deciding on buying new network equipment is the return on investment, not just in terms of profitability but also scalability to support further business growth.

'SaaS allows businesses to better manage and rationalise their infrastructure, improving scalability and flexibility.'

Mr Spiteri also observes that businesses are especially keen on using the SaaS model to manage their global operations.

Nasdaq-listed Akamai is a Web application acceleration specialist.

A key capital expenditure item for many organisations in the last few years has been their wireless networking infrastructure.

It will continue to be important in future, with two key technologies promising to take employee mobility to new heights.

The standards are 802.11n and WiMAX. Still in draft mode, 802.11n is the latest WiFi standard.

With a bandwidth capacity of 248Mbps (megabits per second), it could be fast enough to replace wired networks. WiMAX, or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a data networking technology akin to WiFi but with a far longer range that covers many kilometres.

Supporting data rates at around 10Mbps over 10km, it is suitable as a public wireless broadband technology. Many telcos, like Sprint Nextel from the US, have already invested in WiMAX networks.

In Singapore, a prominent WiMAX deployment is one by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA), called Wiseport.

This three-month-old project uses mobile WiMAX technology to provide wireless broadband for ships within 15km of Singapore's southern coastline.

'In two, three years' time, 802.11n adoption will become mainstream and WiMax will become publicly available, providing high speed and long range access,' predicts Datacraft's Mr Angus.

Orcun Tezel, technical director, Asia Pacific, 3Com, adds: 'Most enterprises have seen the advantages of a mobile workforce and rolled out notebooks and wireless LANs, but other than Internet access, wireless LANs based on the 802.11b/g standards isn't fast enough for network file access. This is where 802.11n comes in to give users the needed bandwidth as well as MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) antennas to reduce dead zones.'

Mr Tezel further cites upcoming standards that are emerging to make WiFi more versatile.

They include 802.11s, a mesh WiFi networking standard that lets wireless devices create ad-hoc networks, and 802.11i, a security standard.

With new applications and business needs, enterprise networks can be expected to get faster.

Most companies today still use local area networks (LANs) that top out at 100Mbps, but the adoption of one Gbps Ethernet networking is growing, while 10Gbps Ethernet is seeing gradual use.

A one Gbps link is fast enough to support the simultaneous streaming of about 8,000 MP3 songs.

A survey published last year by enterprise network infrastructure solutions provider CommScope showed businesses worldwide are readying for the next speed bump.

About half of the companies polled by CommScope indicated they will adopt one Gbps Ethernet in the office by 2011, from 28 per cent in 2006.

And about 29 per cent will move to 10Gbps Ethernet by 2011, from 4 per cent in 2006.

This article was first published in The Business Times on 23 June 2008.