Performance monitoring that actually works!

We are using ThousandEyes currently for our own Anycast DNS solution. We use it to monitor performance and accessibility. We are intending to roll out SD-WAN globally and want to use ThousandEyes to also monitor our SD-WAN endpoints and internet connections. Certainly with the WAN Insights module, this could benefit us greatly!

Working from home is always a challenge. We intend to deliver a true Digital Workplace Infrastructure, where it does not matter where the end user is. Whether he/she is at home, in the office or at a customer location. The experience should be always the same.
To monitor this, we use ThousandEyes and intend to use it more when we implement SD-WAN (Viptella). We use Meraki Access points for some of our senior execs to extend the wifi networks from the offices to the home-office.

Challenges are more cultural, since we have a global company, we have people all over the world and lots of different cultures. Where in some parts (mostly Scandinavia) the level of trust is really high, and people do not have any issues with working from home, in other parts of the world this level of trust is not that high. Of course the pandemic forced us to work from home and it has opened the eyes of some of our executives.

Instead of meeting face to face, where in some cases lots of traveling was involved, we now meet digitally a lot. We faced issues with performance (especially with video) in some locations, and ThousandEyes could help us troubleshoot and show us where the congestions or bottlenecks in the infrastructure were. Extending the office wifi network by placing Meraki Access Points in some of our executive home offices has also made it easier for them to work from home. On top of that, we are using Cisco Umbrella to secure our DNS infrastructure, making it sure that our end users are safe.

Hybrid work is here to stay. It has shown us that there is no need to be in the office full time. We are working in a hybrid mode since the start of the pandemic and business is still growing. Personally I do feel the need to connect with colleagues in the office, but not so much related to work, more on a social level. Having the chats around the coffee machine, doing the Friday afternoon drinks with colleagues, etcetera. The office has become a place to socialize more.

For monitoring, Wifi and DNS security we have always used Cisco products, and we will continue to do so. Meraki is easy to manage and really helps us bring the office networks into the home offices. The monitoring options that ThousandEyes offers us, will only increase once we implement SD-WAN globally and Cisco Umbrella offers a level of DNS security unparalelled to any of the competitors.