Nile yesterday announced a brand new solution architecture for its Nile Access Service. Components of the architecture include Nile Service Blocks, Nile Services Cloud, and two categories of AI applications: Nile Copilot and Nile Autopilot. This new architecture redefines innovation principles for enterprise networks by bringing together integrated security, cloud native service delivery, and AI-powered closed-loop automation to campus and branch IT infrastructures.
With its historically product-centric model, network infrastructure at the enterprise campus and branch locations represents the final frontier for enabling automated operational and service-centric innovation models. Key to this transformation are delivering network connectivity using an as-a-service model, AI for automation and observability, and integrated security. The Nile Access Service delivers on all three counts.
Nile’s new AI-powered solution architecture doesn’t just help identify wired and wireless network issues; it enables real-time observability of the network state, eliminates the potential for any future problems with predictive maintenance, and continuously optimizes the network performance toward coverage, capacity, and availability guarantees. With the power of AI and closed-loop automation, Nile Access Service is the only enterprise network solution providing such guaranteed outcomes to its customers, fully supported by financial penalties if these guarantees are unmet.
With a comprehensive data collection and a wide-ranging set of machine learning and analytics technologies, Nile Access Service goes beyond AI-generated report summaries and completely automates the traditionally manual lifecycle of enterprise networks, from design to implementation to ongoing operations.
Design and activation of the Nile Access Service is fully automated, from site survey to bill-of-material creation to management of installation work orders. The service maintains its best state by proactively identifying and resolving deviations from its baseline performance. It automatically tackles trouble tickets without costly troubleshooting and tech support workflows.
With the Nile Access Service, IT teams virtually eliminate network-related trouble tickets, enable 25x faster resolution for external issues, and maintain continuous security compliance. With Nile, they never have to project manage another software maintenance, capacity planning, or hardware refresh cycle. Traditional headaches and challenges of product-centric enterprise networks are simply eliminated with the AI-powered Nile Access Service.
Three core elements enable these comprehensive capabilities: Nile Service Blocks, Nile Services Cloud, and Nile AI Applications.
Nile Service Blocks are at the foundation of the Nile Access Service. Each block represents a collection of physical Wi-Fi sensors, Wi-Fi access points, access switches, or distribution switches. Different sizes of service blocks for different sites are designed automatically and delivered to enable secure connectivity at campus and branch locations given site survey requirements. Instead of requiring manual configuration and separate software release management for different network elements, service blocks are supported with cloud native delivery principles and a microservices-based architecture. Nile Service Blocks vertically integrate more than ten traditionally separate products and are purpose-built to be delivered as a service.
As part of the Nile Service Blocks, the Nile networking hardware is purpose-built for AI, and the software is deeply instrumented across all layers, utilizing deterministic system design and the continuous collection of 1000+ data points across all aspects of the edge infrastructure. Nile Service Blocks integrates zero-trust networking principles and enforces L3-only isolation for all connected devices on hardened hardware elements.
Powered by an integrated data model, Nile Services Cloud enables real-time observability and continuous optimization of Nile Service Blocks by utilizing both model-centric and data-centric AI technologies. It drives the following unique innovations for AI networking:
- Design Pipeline: Automated day -1/0 operations, including survey, design, and installation.
- Digital Twins: Virtual replica of the service blocks, helping simulate network operations.
- Defense Hub: Edge-to-cloud zero-trust security is built into all service blocks.
- Smart Agents: Real-time data collection from the service blocks at high efficiency.
- Cognitive Decisions: Closed loop automation to maintain the best state for the network.
These categories of applications radically improve how system installers, IT admins, end users, and Nile’s own customer success and production engineering teams gain visibility and control across the tenants of the Nile Access Service.
- Nile Copilot applications offer one-touch installation and intent-based provisioning of Nile Service Blocks and enable IT admins and their end users to monitor service outcomes and securely onboard user and IoT devices.
- Nile Autopilot applications offload traditionally manual network operations center (NOC) functions such as software maintenance and eliminate manual workflows for infrastructure performance monitoring and troubleshooting.
Pankaj Patel, CEO and co-founder, Nile
Nile was created with a vision to change the way enterprise networks are designed, consumed, and operated. Our mission is to give IT leaders a bridge over the growing innovation gap between their goals and the resources required to achieve them. The first step in that journey was building the industry's first service architecture to deliver connectivity with guaranteed performance outcomes. Today, we’re building on that by ushering in a new era powered by AI networking.
John Chambers, founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures, as well as a board member and co-founder of Nile
AI is fundamentally changing every country, citizen, industry, and company, and the enterprise network market is no exception. What Nile understands that the rest of the industry has missed is that AI cannot be an incremental addition to an existing architecture. In order to truly reap the benefits of the biggest technology shift we have ever seen – bigger than the Internet and cloud combined – companies need a new architecture, one built from the ground up to fully leverage AI. Nile saw 300% growth in 2023 in a market that was otherwise flat. That momentum, combined with the team at Nile and their healthy financial resources, puts Nile on a trajectory for massive success and future leadership.
Will Townsend, vice president & Principal Analyst, Networking & Security Practices, Moor Insights & Strategy
AI is rapidly becoming a critical element for any network management and operations capability designed to support enterprise IT infrastructure. The use of AI in these instances is not necessarily new, but the Nile Access Service is rooted in a modern technology stack that can provide massive scale and closed-loop automation to accelerate digital initiatives and lower operational costs, all backed by a service level guarantee.
