In the ever-evolving world of loss prevention and physical security, the debate between familiarity and what’s genuinely right concerning Power over Ethernet (PoE) networks to support IP endpoints is as crucial as ever. Albert Einstein wisely said, “Don’t let your education get in the way of your learning.” This advice carries significant weight in the context of modernizing your network strategy to support IP-based solutions. Are you sticking with what’s familiar or ready to explore what’s genuinely right for your next digital transformation project?
The Comfort of Familiarity
It’s human nature to rely on past experiences and established processes. However, what if those processes are holding you back from embracing innovations that could revolutionize your outcomes? Think about when fax machines were the norm and email was the newcomer on the block. The fax machine salesperson didn’t want the customer to learn about email’s capabilities because it threatened the status quo. In the realm of PoE networks, are you stuck in a similar pattern of doing what’s familiar rather than what’s right?
The Right Approach
Defining what’s right should involve achieving optimal outcomes for your digital transformation project. I think you would agree that the right approach involves several key elements:
- Establish a secure and robust local area network (LAN) to support IP endpoints.
- Reduce or eliminate the risk and disruption associated with LAN readiness requirements.
- Enable a graceful migration within your terms and budget.
- Identify opportunities to reduce infrastructure costs and invest more of the budget towards superior IP endpoints and applications, which drive higher ROI.
- Accelerate the deployment if needed.
- Ensure network uptime during power outages or other events.
- Offer flexibility for a separate or converged network strategy.
- Simplify ongoing network management, software updates, and troubleshooting for IT teams.
The Familiar Trap
Now, let’s dissect what’s considered familiar but may not be right. The conventional belief is that establishing a PoE network for new physical security devices requires ripping and replacing existing network infrastructure. But what does this mean for the end-user?
- Higher network readiness costs will decrease the available budget for new IP endpoints and applications, negatively impacting the project’s ROI.
- Pulling new cabling results in disruption, rising costs, potential surprises behind walls, and environmental concerns.
- Layering new IP devices on the core production network raises security concerns, complexity, and compromises to the core business network.
- Insufficient backup power for the core business network requires significant investments in a new backup power strategy.
- Day two management involves solving network issues unrelated to your solution, resulting in costs without revenue.
A Forward-Thinking Approach
Traditional network design methodology was established over thirty years ago and has proven to be challenging to support today’s network requirements. Frost & Sullivan issued a whitepaper highlighting Modern LAN principles that are proven to deliver more of what is right for the end user. The foundational principles include changes in LAN design thinking and adopting PoE network innovations like the ones offered by NVT Phybridge. These LAN design principles and PoE innovations are proven to create superior outcomes for everyone involved.
Bottom Line
In the ever-evolving landscape of physical security, the choice between familiarity and what’s genuinely right for your PoE network strategy is clear. Learn more about the innovative network design strategies behind Modern LAN principles and view the latest award-winning PoE innovations from NVT Phybridge.
