Juniper Networks, Inc. has been around for almost 20 years, and like most technology veterans, the company is moving with the rapid pace of transformation by focusing on the needs of the customer for rapid deployment and expansion.

Rami Rahim, chief executive officer of Juniper Networks, sat down with John Furrier and Stu Miniman, cohosts of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, during NXTWORK 2015 to access the bold moves Juniper Networks is making and the future of networking.

A history of innovation

Rahim began his career at Juniper Networks 19 years ago, and he said that he has always had a deep passion for developing the products that solve customer problems. “The product line has never been better, since the beginning of the company, so it’s a great time to be Juniper right now,” he said.

Acknowledging the great deal of transform happening in the industry, Rahim believes there is a place for a “true pure play” technology innovator in IP networks who is not afraid to move quickly or differently.

Juniper is also transforming the economics of networking in order to keep up with what he calls “the insatiable appetite for network capacity” along with improving automation to deliver value and reduce operational costs.

Bold Move

“Everything we announced everything that aligns with that strategy,” Rahim said. He explained that it is a pretty bold move to disaggregate the company’s operating system Junos from the underlying physical hardware because of customer demand for flexibility.

During his keynote speech earlier in the day, Rahim announced Juniper Networks’ new disaggregated Junos software, which the company said will dramatically expand customer choice and network automation.

Engineering challenges

Addressing the engineering challenges that Juniper is experiencing, Rahim expressed that due to the rapid pace of technology, development cycles that lasted years or quarters are too long and customers do not have time for that type of slow pace of innovation.

Additionally, he pointed to automating his own company and developing the infrastructure that provides opportunity for Juniper to jump on the latest innovation and pumping out products.

Customers as partners

Rahim also believes in a “hands-on” approach to helping customers build their vision. “The most effective transitions in the industry work by rolling up your sleeves to work with a network partner,” he said, elaborating that customers need to think big and start small, and in the end the result will be different because they will learn by doing.

Responding to the question of whether we will achieve a fully disaggregated space, he remarked, “Web-scale companies have already moved there.” Juniper is sending a clear message that there is no lock-in. You can have hardware and software separately. Also, architecture should enable a platform to move easily.

Watch the full video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of Juniper Networks NXTWORK 2015. And join in on the conversation by CrowdChatting with theCUBE hosts.

Photo by SiliconANGLE