Whenever people ask me about preparing their IT networks for the future, two emerging technologies immediately come to mind: software-defined WAN and 5G mobile broadband connectivity. While 5G is still emerging, many organizations are already taking advantage of the capabilities of SD-WAN. By combining these technologies in the coming years, organizations will be able to achieve exceptional levels of performance, efficiency, security and resiliency.

Here are some of the ways these technologies are set to help organizations meet the networking challenges of the future.

According to Gartner and others that have closely studied the technology, we’re probably around three to five years away from truly scaling practical 5G experiences. Colleges and universities, with their spread-out campuses (not to mention their young, bandwidth-devouring user bases) are likely to be among the first organizations to aggressively adopt the emerging mobile broadband standard.

While we may be a few years away from widespread adoption, a multiyear plan is important when it comes to on-campus technology rollouts, and it’s still important for colleges and universities to begin exploring potential 5G applications as they consider their wireless roadmap. Here are five use cases worth considering.

With IT departments around the world suddenly focused on supporting their remote workforces, administrators are evaluating Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD) to allow users to be productive from home. WVD is quick to roll out, especially if users have already been synchronized to Azure Active Directory. However, there are underlying infrastructure prerequisites that should be understood before setting up the first Host Pool.

I have been helping admins who have been tasked with immediately piloting WVD, and this post aims to document some of infrastructure items that are commonly overlooked in the rush to stand up the solution.

The connected campus can have a number of benefits for colleges and universities, ranging from improved security to enhanced collaboration — and, of course, it can create a competitive edge in student and faculty recruitment. But to enable effective end-user solutions, institutions must first invest in the networking and data center infrastructure necessary to power them.

Colleges and universities looking to provide students and faculty with a robust connected-campus experience should explore the following infrastructure solutions and practices.

Many health risks facing older adults are simple problems with complex solutions. These health risks have only been amplified as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Falls are a great example of this. Every 19 minutes, an older adult dies from a fall. While falls aren’t entirely preventable, senior living and care communities can lower the risk in a number of ways. One way is the adoption of smart home solutions that make it easier for seniors to navigate their environments.

Explore smart home solutions and learn three more ways that a robust IT infrastructure is integral to supporting senior care.

Distributed the laptops? Check. Wireless mice? Check. Warm, snuggly pajamas with your company’s logo? Check. Your organization is ready for work from home. Except… you need to also extend your network to support this workforce. That’s where the real struggle is: where the hard-working IT professionals are having to support a massive influx of remote users, often without having the luxury of scaling out infrastructure or redesigning edge networks.

I want to outline a few suggestions that could help in these kinds of situations.