Last time, we cited a recent survey in which we interviewed IT professionals on their company's use of network management in general, and their use of WAN application optimization techniques in particular. This newsletter will focus on what the survey respondents and interviewees had to say about WAN and application optimization. 

The survey respondents were asked to indicate which optimization techniques their company's IT organization had already deployed, and whether or not those techniques had been deployed broadly. Their responses clearly showed that QoS as well as visibility and reporting are hot. In particular, these optimization techniques have the broadest current deployment, as well as the least number of companies with no plans to deploy them in the future. TCP acceleration is also hot. This technique has the largest percentage of companies that have not yet deployed it, but which plan to deploy it. Wide-area file services (WAFS) was not hot. This technique has the narrowest current deployment as well as the highest number of companies with no plans to deploy it.

Part of the conventional wisdom that surrounds WAN and application optimization products is that companies only deploy these products in a narrow and reactive fashion. That conventional wisdom may need to change. When asked about their deployment of WAN and application optimization products, two-thirds of the survey respondents indicated that their company's overall approach was proactive which was defined to mean that their company's deployment of these products was planned in advance as part of an overall strategy.

The next newsletter will discuss the difficulty associated with implementing and managing WAN and application optimization products.

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. Jim Metzler is vice president of Ashton, Metzler & Associates.