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AI and the Future of Business

Machine learning, task automation and robotics are already widely used in business. These and other AI technologies are about to multiply, and we look at how organizations can best take advantage of them.

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Juniper announced a slate of new products and features at its summit on Tuesday, including new 6 GHz access points that leverage Mist AI and a new IoT Assurance service that streamlines and scales the onboarding and securing of IoT devices. 

There will also be a new tool called Juniper Support Insights which useAIto provide "holistic visibility and insights across the entire Junos portfolio."

Jeff Aaron, VP of enterprise marketing at Juniper, said that while it is relatively easy to support new standards like Wi-Fi 6E in hardware and to onboard a small number of IoT devices using pre-shared keys, Juniper is applying the benefits of its Mist AI and the modern microservices cloud to these environments to deliver performance, agility, ease and scale. 

"From Day Zero installation through ongoing monitoring, management and troubleshooting of the network, Juniper continues to stand out for an experience-first approach to networking that delivers the best experiences for operators and end-users from the client to the cloud," Aaron said.

Juniper explained that the two new 6 GHz access points "maximize Wi-Fi performance and capacity while simplifying IT operations." The IoT service similarly streamlines and scales the onboarding and securing of IoT devices "without Network Access Control."

Juniper said it is taking advantage of Wi-Fi 6E's expansive network capacity by announcing two new tri-band access points (APs), managed via the same Mist cloud and AI engine as the rest of the Juniper Mist portfolio.

The two new access points -- AP 45 -2.4 GHz/5 GHz/6 GHz quad-radio, 4x4:4SS, vBLE array and AP 34 -2.4 GHz/5 GHz/6 GHz quad-radio, 2x2:2SS, omni BLE -- complement the existing 2.4- and 5-GHz APs currently in the Juniper Mist portfolio, the company said. 

All of Juniper's APs use virtualized Bluetooth LE or omnidirectional BLE antenna in addition to Wi-Fi.

The IoT solution is built to give IT departments more control over things like policy assignments, segmentation, traffic engineering and key lifecycle management.

Derrell James, EVP of Juniper Global Services, said the support tool "represents a major step forward in how we're transforming services with a focus on personalized, proactive and predictive experience leveraging AI and cloud."

"The use of data and automation are redefining how customer experience is delivered," James said. "With a new level of end-to-end visibility and actionable intelligence, Juniper is making it easier for service providers, enterprises and partners to optimize the operation of their networks." 

The Juniper support system is built to help their customers connect their platforms -- ACX Series, EX Series, MX Series, PTX Series, QFX Series and SRX Series -- to the Juniper cloud. 

"Data can then be quickly collected, correlated with Juniper-specific knowledge (known defects, contract status, End of Life/End of Support (EOL/EOS), product knowledge bases, security vulnerabilities) and then curated into actionable insights," the company explained. 

"Customers have the choice of Device Direct to Cloud (DDC) or Device to Collector to Cloud (DCC) connection, and data collect modes. The latter includes a fully managed Lightweight Collector (LWC) with automated provisioning. Both connection modes feature software-in-place operation that obviates the need to upgrade or install software on either collector or network devices." 

There is also a bevy of security features and device management tools that come with the support platform. Juniper said the dashboard "provides a summary of holistic operational health metrics and insights for the entire network."

The tool is now available to current Juniper Care customers. Companies should contact Juniper for more information about the program. 

Chris Paravate, CIO of Northeast Georgia Health System, said that having access to actionable insights through Juniper's new solution will help streamline the company's network operations, which will allow for increased network visibility, reduced troubleshooting times and stability for all of our users. 

"Seamless patient experience is central to our mission at Northeast Georgia Health System. With support services from Juniper, our IT team will be able to continue working side-by-side with our clinical partners, ensuring that our hospital staff can deliver quality patient care," Paravate said.

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