Paul HooperAs you may have noticed over the course of my last several posts, I enjoy building a correlation between a technical or business challenge and the world outside of tech. Some may seem logical, like the tie between a mousetrap and security, while others may only resonate with fans of American football, or explore why the feeling of trust is a universal emotion felt on an individual level.
The truth of the matter is that each example, and the words chosen to describe them, have the power to conjure up vastly different emotions based on an individual’s life experiences.
As our team here at Gigamon set out to update our messaging, it became clear that our goal was really to create a statement of intent and purpose constructed of a combination of words that defined us. Words that would resonate with our prospects, customers and employees, and that would create a basis for what we believe in and the value that we deliver. Many word options were volleyed back and forth, but the first was always set in stone — possibly only to me at the time.
Ultimately we agreed to position ourselves with:
See. Secure. Empower.
As I took a moment to consider why “See” felt so obvious to me, I realized that such a simple word has much wider implications than just “to perceive with the eyes” as dictionary.com defines it. With visions of three blind cartoonish mice dancing around in my head, I dug deeper into the power of “See,” typing it into an online thesaurus. The first three words jumped off the screen at me:
Detect. Examine. Identify.
All three synonyms perfectly describe our customers’ primary needs and provide clarity of the value of our solution.
What’s the value of “See” within the context of technology? “Seeing” provides the ability to detect, examine and identify data in motion that is increasing at unprecedented rates as the mobile and digital lifestyle transforms our lives. The frequency at which we view bank statements online, family photos on Facebook, recipes on YouTube and the ever-present video-streaming services is driving critical changes to network scale and performance.
I mention these real-world examples because they are the challenges that enterprise infrastructure professionals deal with head on, day-in and day-out. They wonder, often aloud in our meetings, “How do I effectively SEE what is happening on my network, so I can SECURE my data and applications and ultimately EMPOWER my critical tools to make my entire architecture more efficient and effective.”
Sitting through countless conversations regarding these topics has led me to believe that the power of sight is the first essential requirement we must confidently address when designing or updating any network architecture.
Don’t just take it from me, the IT Director at BARBRI, Mark Kaplan, who recently deployed Gigamon to Restore Network Visibility After Move to Microsoft Azure Cloud stated, “When diagnosing problems, we tend to drill down quite deep — more than the average company. Without having visibility into the network, we had to do a lot of guessing. Now we don’t have to guess.”
I recently sat down to discuss the importance of “See” when designing or updating your network architecture; watch the video here.
Lastly, check out the full BARBRI case study here.
