Infoblox : Finding the Right Opportunity to Update...And I Am Not Talking About Apps on Your Mobile Phone

Recently an Infoblox competitor announced the end of life (EOL) of one of its platforms. While that in and of itself is not blog-worthy, it is worth pointing out that this same company recently launched a campaign against other vendors telling prospects that they shouldn't trust anyone who does an EOL announcement. I have to quote an age old adage: People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

What is disturbing is not that a vendor tried to cut other vendors down, but that they have attacked a process that is a fact of life for every hardware and software provider. How many of you are still using a first-generation iPhone or Windows XP workstation? And if you are, is your outmoded device meeting your current needs and expectations? Is it secure? Are you satisfied with its performance? Products reach end of life when the reach end of usefulness to their users-and that's why technology vendors retire them.

The drivers of EOL announcements are understandable-technology is evolving rapidly, and in some cases components used even five years are no longer available. Software development and methodologies have evolved, and the stark improvements in capabilities and performance make older-generation products no longer effective. As a consumer, I don't want to be forced into buying anything-but I'm well aware that the printer I upgraded after 15 years is significantly better than the old one!

The vendor that attacked its competition for issuing EOL announcements knows the importance of them as well as anyone (you can read lots of their EOL announcements here). Denouncing competitors for a practice everyone uses is confusing to customers and does a disservice to the entire industry. It is an age-old tactic called sowing fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD), and it doesn't work in the long term. For one thing, customers see through it-as our customers have told us. They are explicit in stating that they do not appreciate FUD tactics because they disrupt business and interfere with decision making.

So Infoblox would be the last company to criticize other technology vendors for improving what they offer their customers. As a company with 73 patents granted and another 18 pending, we are committed to delivering the benefits of innovation-which requires technology updates and refreshes. Of course we understand that innovations have to deliver significant value if we're going to ask our customers to update and upgrade-so at Infoblox we take great pride in delivering real improvements anytime we launch a new product or update our software and hardware.

We deliver value by providing our customers the solutions they need to transform their networks, create next-generation data centers, secure their data and infrastructure, and provide the insight that helps them solve problems faster. We do this by starting at the core of the network with DNS, DHCP, and IPAM-collectively called DDI. We make the process of transforming and managing networks efficient and cost effective. We allow organizations to scale their networks cost effectively while allowing them to support migration to the cloud or virtualized environments, and we accommodate their adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT). We protect the DNS infrastructure against attacks and secure DNS to prevent the spread of malware and exfiltration of data. We integrate with the existing security infrastructure to improve the effectiveness of what our customers already have in place. Finally, we analyze DNS-based data to deliver insights required to address operational and security issues when they do occur. We deliver these solutions as physical appliances and software, in the form of virtualized appliances that can be installed in private and public clouds, and we deliver capabilities as a service. In short, we offer a comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions that can be delivered in a form factor that best suits our customers' needs.

When needs change so do solutions. Whether you are looking to replace solutions that met yesterdays's needs with solutions that meet todays needs or are getting ready for the next generation of networks we would love to talk to you.