Business runs on data. In the modern world, that data has to move, and move fast. If the right people don’t have access to the right data at the right time, a company’s tech infrastructure is just expensive junk. Networking is the key to moving data, and as the information needs of business have grown, so too must the networks. Wide-area networks provide new ways for a company to access its data.

To learn more about access to the cloud through wide-area networks, Stu Miniman (@stu), co-host of theCUBE*, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, visited the AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, NV. There, he joined Ramesh Prabagaran, VP of product management and marketing at Viptela, and Keith Schafer, network architect at a Fortune 500 national food distributor.

Making the network flexible

The discussion started with Schafer describing some of the benefits of Viptela’s software-defined networking technology. He mentioned how it provides new functionality, adds value and increases the role of the network in the company. In particular, it helps the company create an environment to scale, be agile and be flexible enough to go where the market is.

The topic then shifted to how Viptela fits into the market. Prabagaran explained that over the past year, the company has seen a shift among its customers. Cloud has become the center of the conversation. He pointed out that a lot of customers are moving in that direction, so the issue of bringing their wireless networks to the cloud becomes a real question. Viptela is one answer.

The network and the cloud

Schafer spent a moment to cover why his company went to Viptela. He stated it was a combination of things, such as bandwidth issues, scaling issues and a desire to get out of the data center and into the cloud. The company needed a solution on the networking side that would solve all these problems at once. The company chose Viptela for security and ease of deployment.

For a larger company, the issue of security is a real concern. Viptela helps with that, and removes a number of networking headaches. Schafer expressed that with Viptela, the network has ceased to be a painpoint for the company.

“That piece has now been taken care of,” he said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of AWS re:Invent. (*Disclosure: AWS and other companies sponsor some AWS re:Invent segments on SiliconANGLE Media’s theCUBE. Neither AWS nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo by SiliconANGLE