Poll Results are in...Network Intelligence Heading to Edge and Core

By Steve Konish

If you’re an information junkie like I am, informative charts and polls always catch the eye. Polls are great for capturing an instant snapshot of public opinion on a specific topic. By no means are they scientific. However, they do give us some useful data to gauge whether or not other people share the same opinions we do.

We decided to conduct our own poll related to network intelligence. During a recent Wind River webinar, titled Triple Crown of Network Goes to Software, we took a poll of 200 attendees. If you missed the webinar, not to worry, you can view the archived version. The poll asked the audience where they think network intelligence is initially most needed.  The respondents, mostly network equipment providers, gave us these results:

Where do you think Network Intelligence needs to be added in first?
	a) CPE/CLE (Residential and small business )
	7.7%
	b) Access products (Example: Base stations BRAS, DSLAM..)
	7.7%
	c) Edge products (example: Gateways and radio controllers
	30.8%
	d) Core Products (Call Servers, Routers..)
	38.5%
	Other location
	15.4%

For the most part, the results are not surprising - network intelligence and deep packet inspection functionality are needed in edge and core products. This aligns with the initial interest we are seeing for our newly announced Wind River Intelligent Network Platform.The edge and the core is typically where we see data plane and control plane functionality consolidating to create one network element capable of delivery high performance packet processing with software enabled deep packet inspection – two of the most important elements for enabling network intelligence. 

What is curious about the poll results is that zero respondents identified access products as a critical place for network intelligence right off the bat.  And even more surprising is the 25% of respondents thinking CPE and Other are the next most likely places.  If you have an idea of what “Other” might mean….send us an email (steve.konish@windriver.com).  We also want to hear from you if you think these results differ from what you are experiencing in the market today.  

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