As long asI've been in this business, I'm still amazed by today's technology and all of its new and exciting possibilities. There are smartphone apps that enable schools to send reports on your kids' daily progress. There are apps to help you track your physical activity. Netflix dynamically analyzes terabytes of data to give you a customized list of entertainment recommendations. I can store the novel I'm reading or my favorite music "in the cloud," and later on, seamlessly pick up exactly where I left off from any of my personal devices.

As an IT leader, just imagine being able to offer similar capabilities to your internal clients to help them run their businesses-enabling new offerings to attract customers and keep the ones you have-all while beating your competitors to market and fending off disruptors in your industry.

Companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple illustrate the rewards of exploiting the opportunities presented during market and technology transitions. On the flip side, it's been well documented how Blockbuster, Borders Books, Kodak, and many others have failed to make the transition during major market shifts.

There are substantial challenges for any organization attempting to make a successful transformation in this age of digital disruption and emerging new business models, but the rewards are huge: new businesses, new revenue streams, competitive advantages, and much more. Technologies such as mobility, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and digital analytics are ushering in new opportunities and presenting fresh challenges. As you realize the digital value of your business, it's a perfect time to reflect on how you're preparing your network-and business-for the future.

 "Tinkering and Short-Term Fixes Aren't Enough"

First, realize we're in a new game now. Digitization requires IT functions to be thoroughly transformed. As described in the McKinsey Report Reinventing IT to Support Digitization, it requires increasingly sophisticated approaches to scaling to meet new markets, increase reliability, and achieve time to marketas businesses compete on how quickly digital innovations get to consumers.

There's been no shortage of networking solutions to address these growing demands on IT, such as SDN and countless others. Until now, no company has pulled it all together into a total solution.

Why You Need Cisco DNA

Cisco Digital Network Architecture (Cisco DNA) is an open, extensible, software-driven architecture that helps you transform your network into a digital platform. You'll be able to allocate resources dynamically to meet ever-changing network demand for applications while becoming more agile, scalable, and able to move faster for competitive advantage.

That means faster business data for precise decision making and a simplified, more automated network that can quickly meet new business requirements and identify threats. Cisco DNA paves the way for an adaptive network that operates at digital speed.

Your Next Steps Toward Digital Transformation

You may still be wondering: How does all of this come together?  Where do I start?

Cisco Professional Services can help your digital transition with a complete array of tools that use the Cisco DNA platform for full architectural transformation. Cisco helps global clients on their digital transformation by advising, implementing, and managing solutions. We'll help you develop the network platforms you'll need that are highly flexible and work for you, so you can rapidly deploy digital services.

Are you doing all you can to prepare your network for digital transformation to succeed in this new economy? Let Cisco help you.