by Ben Kepes

ExtraHop broadens its monitoring further across hybrid environments

News Analysis

May 3, 20162 mins

Because if there's one thing we agree on, it's that the future will be across many different types of infrastructure

Credit: Shutterstock

ExtraHop is a vendor that offers real-time stream analytics for data in motion. That’s a fancy-schmancy way of saying ExtraHop analyzes communication across the network to give visibility into application performance, availability and security. ExtraHop is an agent-less, appliance-based offering that promises cross-tier visibility.

Given this message of visibility across geographically distributed operations, and across multiple infrastructure providers, it is perhaps unsurprising to see ExtraHop today announce the availability of extended public cloud monitoring functionality to now include Microsoft Azure (alongside the existing Amazon Web Services). On top of the Azure extension, ExtraHop is extending its offering to support branch offices to benefit geographically dispersed organizations.

ExtraHop suggests that this data center, cloud and remote site coverage triumvirate covers the visibility needs “everywhere that IT assets reside in the modern enterprise.” More on that contention later.

ExtraHop rightly points out that as data underpins more businesses across every industry, the places where it is created are spreading. Retail stores, manufacturing assembly lines and branch offices all produce volumes that require analytics previously available only in large data centers.

“Branch operations are rapidly becoming miniature IT hubs with their own set of complex integrated systems, SaaS applications and a growing amount of users who rely on these systems to do their jobs,” said ExtraHop CEO Jesse Rothstein. “The cost and complexity of staffing these locations with dedicated IT teams is infeasible, but the lack of visibility threatens to undermine core business activities. With the EDA 1100, we are extending visibility into these operations, providing a cost-effective, scalable way for central IT teams to offer robust support to remote sites.”

My POV

There is a risk here for ExtraHop. By strongly articulating the fact that organizations are growing increasingly dispersed, they also highlight the fact that they don’t yet cover the full potential number of locations that data may exist. AWS and Azure are only a couple of the potential places in the public cloud, and for every organization using those two vendors, there is one using a combination that includes other options—IBM SoftLayer, Google Cloud Platform and others.

Of course, it’s always good to do more. And the Azure addition, alongside the covering of branch offices, is a good move. But while it is a step in the right direction, the journey seems to have just begun.

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by Ben Kepes

Ben Kepes is a technology evangelist, an investor, a commentator and a business adviser. His business interests include a diverse range of industries from manufacturing to property to technology. As a technology commentator he has a broad presence both in the traditional media and extensively online. Ben covers the convergence of technology, mobile, ubiquity and agility, all enabled by the cloud. His areas of interest extend to aviation technology, enterprise software, software integration, financial/accounting software, platforms and infrastructure as well as articulating technology simply for everyday users.

He is a globally recognized subject matter expert with an extensive following across multiple channels. His commentary has been published on Forbes, ReadWriteWeb, GigaOm, The Guardian and a wide variety of publications – both print and online. Often included in lists of the most influential technology thinkers globally, Ben is also an active member of the Clouderati, a global group of cloud thought leaders and is in demand as a speaker at conferences and events all around the world.

As organizations react to the demands for more flexible working environments, the impacts of the economic downturn and the existence of multiple form-factor devices and ubiquitous connectivity, Cloud computing stands alone as the technology paradigm that enables the convergence of those trends -- Ben’s insight into these factors has helped organizations large and small, buy-side and sell-side, to navigate a challenging path from the old paradigm to the new one.

Ben is passionate about technology as an enabler and enjoys exploring that theme in various settings.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of Ben Kepes and do not necessarily represent those of IDG Communications, Inc., its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies.