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Gigamon Hawk:

Enhancing Cloud Visibility, Expanding Management Value

Mark Leary

Mark Leary

Research Director, Network Analytics & Automation

Product Type:
IDC: Blink
This paper features: Gigamon

Executive Snapshot

All indications point to cloud service adoption accelerating across most every organization – no matter size, industry, or location. Owing to advantages in simplicity, elasticity, integrity, and affordability, the cloud now and, likely, forever forms an increasingly critical and influential core component of the IT infrastructure and application portfolio. Unfortunately, the cloud complicates network management. Limited visibility into cloud conditions and components creates blind spots in end-to-end management efforts. Limited control over cloud resources and services creates gaps in IT efficiency and effectiveness. Under these conditions, problem resolution can be prolonged; service/security risks heighten, and user experience can be compromised. For organizations to succeed with cloud, detailed network information and insights must be provided and processed by network analytics solutions operating outside and inside of the cloud.

News Item

On March 9, 2021, Gigamon announced the cloud-focused Hawk visibility solution and a closely related partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). (See announcement here.) For the cloud provider and subscriber, Hawk acquires traffic data from key resources (e.g., virtual machines, containers, and network components) using a variety of collection mechanisms. Hawk can then aggregate, filter, and distribute this data in support of evaluation, integration, orchestration, and automation efforts. While Hawk is slated for use with any cloud services, Gigamon also announced joint efforts with AWS to enhance capabilities in such areas as the oversight of shifting EC2 instances and the strengthening of security postures via Amazon Athena integration.

Why this Matters

Gigamon is a long-time supplier of network management solutions and has established a solid base of global operations, industry partnerships, and installed customers. Gigamon sees the developing requirements for improved cloud visibility and control first-hand. Just as network operators – enterprise and service providers – demand comprehensive visibility and complete control over their own private systems, so, too, do these operators require the same for cloud services. They may not own or directly manage the cloud components providing these services, but they certainly pay to use them. And expectations related to use and cost-effectiveness are high with cloud services. Matching management information (e.g., resource status, application performance, network baselines…) and functions (e.g., threshold management, complex correlations, directed automation…) across private systems and public services require contributions from both network operator and cloud provider. After all, the vast majority of network exchanges in today’s Digital Era involve a hybrid environment of private and public networking and computing resources. Here, detailed intelligence and in- depth insights into cloud conditions and components feeds into enterprise management tools and practices. The reverse is also true. Network data and analysis originating from subscribing operators can also heighten the effectiveness of cloud management tools. The more complete the picture presented to and processed by both sides of the hybrid IT environment; the more precise end-to-end management can be. And with more precision comes more performance, protection, and preparedness.

Analyst Audio

Audio Transcript

Hello, this is Mark Leary, Research Director for IDC’s Network Analytics service.

Networks are growing in both complexity and criticality. Network analytics solutions provide much needed visibility into and control over the enterprise network –from core to edge, from LAN to WAN, from wired to wireless and from server to client. As network operators have discovered, comprehensive visibility drives complete control. Enter the cloud. Cloud services adoption continues to grow fast and furiously. For most organizations, cloud services are central to both their IT infrastructure and application portfolio. As such, cloud visibility and control is vital to successful migration, use, and evolution of cloud services within an enterprise. Unfortunately, cloud conditions and components are all too often hidden from view and out of reach of IT management staff and tools. Gigamon’s Hawk announcement of March 9, 2021 certainly gives the industry hope that precise cloud monitoring and management is improving and positioned to drive greater impact on IT systems, services, staff, and user satisfaction.

It would not be hyperbole to say that success of network analytics and specific supplier solutions rests on their ability to offer detailed insights into the cloud now –and direct control over cloud resources and services into the future.