Network engineers are at the center of the infrastructure, and as such, they need to continuously expand their skills to best meet future network needs. With technology evolving by the second and networks becoming increasingly complex, it’s quite a necessity for today’s engineers to manually manage IT workflows, troubleshoot, document and handle cybersecurity breaches if and when they occur.
The duties of an engineer are no easy tasks, but it’s time we ensure that our future, and current engineers are aptly prepared. That’s why our LightRiver team of experts have come together to list the top skills that engineers of today can equip themselves with in order to be prepared for the past, present and future networks.
Cybersecurity
Network engineers have always been aware of the importance of network security, but their role has increased from focusing on firewalls to the full, comprehensive support of the end-to-end security solution (and then some!). And with today’s shortage of network security professionals, it’s more important than ever to retain top talent and encourage professional growth, such as through trainings and certification programs.
Internet of Things
Has there been a bigger buzz word in 2017 than IoT? While it’s certainly trendy, IoT can cause a slew of issues. An example of one such issue, would be that the more devices that are available, the more devices that are behind your network’s firewall. This means even more security! Network engineers need to be prepared to size and scale their wired and wireless networks for various IoT sensors. Engineers can also be held responsible for securing the devices once they connect to a network.
Network Automation
Static networks no longer exist. With the push and enactment of automation, engineers should learn how to script APIs in order to automate numerous network processes. Where it was once acceptable to “set it and forget it,” engineers will play a larger role in how networks traffic and more.
SD-WAN
According to Gartner, revenue from SD-WAN vendors is growing annually at 59% and they expect it to become a $1.3 billion market by 2020. How will network engineers be affected? It will be a great skill to be able to point out when SD-WAN will be a good fit or when WAN should be used instead, among other things.
While the list could go on, network engineers have their hands full and the skills necessary to develop in order to keep pace with the future of the network. At LightRiver, we’re proud to that say our engineers set the bar high for all those in the industry. To learn more about our gold standard network services, explore our website beyond the blog at https://lightriver.com/
https://appdevelopermagazine.com/5417/2017/7/31/the-evolving-role-of-the-network-engineer/
