The Managed DNS Industry

Managed DNS Industry 

The SaaS industry has been going through a major shift in just the last few years, which is redefining how platforms are designed. System and network administrators are demanding all-in-one platforms for a variety of management tasks. The managed DNS industry, for one, has been radically altered by this shift. Both new and existing DNS providers are rolling out integrated platforms, which combine the analytical power of monitoring with advanced query management.

The Internet has been abuzz as the skeptical sys admins question how these integrated platforms can fix issues their predecessors couldn’t. And can you replace your current toolset with an all-in-one platform?

The principal idea behind these platforms is synergy, a mutually dependent relationship between monitoring and management. This technology is made possible by the cloud, which allows information to be shared between the two services in real time. The cloud foundations for all-in-one platforms have also proven to make these subscription services noticeably cheaper.

So what is this synergistic secret sauce that makes these all-in-one services so revolutionary? In the case of DNS management, network monitoring is integral to efficient query routing. What’s the point of making changes to your network configurations if you can’t monitor and analyze the results? This can also be applied the other way around: what’s the point in monitoring your network if you can’t fix the problems that you identify?

dns

Traffic management should never feel like a shot in the dark, rather it should be informed and calculated to provide the best result for each individual end-user. The new integrated platform push is forcing admins to rethink how they manage their organizations’ traffic.

The problem is, too many admins think these tools are only used for anticipating DDoS or resolving attacks and outages. To be frank, outages are rare, but they can be devastating. DNS management has shifted from outage resolution to performance optimization. Next-generation managed DNS solutions will take a look at your entire network and implement changes to improve the experience for all of your end-users—individually optimized for each user’s location, browser, IP connectivity, and more.

Admins aren’t wrong for wanting to use query management for security reasons. That’s because DNS traffic operates at a critical ingress point for managing incoming traffic; as in, you can filter and root out malicious traffic before it even reaches your site. But what most admins seem to forget is these same management tools can be used to eliminate latency and improve network performance.

End-users are demanding faster load times, especially from mobile sites. DNS resolution times are only one portion of load time, but 50% of page load time is taken up by network latency overhead. Admins have to leverage every layer of the stack for optimal performance, or get left behind.

All-in-one management solutions are proving to be invaluable during high traffic periods. You can analyze traffic loads and redirect segments of traffic so that it’s balanced across many different resources or locations. You can also use this technology to minimize resolution times, by ensuring queries are being answered at the nearest possible server, or most optimally performing server (in case the closest one is under strain or underperforming).

These platforms are also incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) to analyze areas causing performance degradation and then make changes to alleviate them before they can cause appreciable affects to end-users. Some AI’s are paired with automated services that are able to recognize performance trends and patterns. They then use the analytics to anticipate and even predict potential attacks or fluctuations.

These all-in-one suites have created a new breed of traffic management, called Internet Traffic Optimization Services (ITOS). This new industry seeks to redefine the way admins manage their networks, by harnessing the power of analytics to make informed proactive changes. DNS is a user’s first and most impactful step when accessing a website, which is why ITOS places a strong emphasis on informed DNS management.

In the end, it all comes down to the cold hard stats. In order to get the most ROI out of a service, you need to look for reliability, cost efficiency, and proven performance improvements. All-in-one and ITOS solutions may still be in their formative years, but these solutions provide admins with all the tools they need in one platform. Now admins can see the performance improvement of their configurations in real time, while still costing less than non-integrated services.

By Steven Job

Ray Meiring
Fueled by extensive demand in IT, healthcare, financial services, and telecommunication—initially spurred by the pandemic-driven frenzy to transition to remote working—managed service providers (MSPs) are busier than ever. As businesses adopt MSP services to upgrade, ...
Ronald van Loon
The increasing adoption of technology and AI in business continues to drive concerns regarding sensitive data and the protection of assets. Organizations must implement tools to protect data while also leveraging that data to identify ...
Gilad David Maayan
What Is Object Storage? Object storage, in the simplest terms, is a data storage architecture that manages data as objects, as opposed to traditional block storage or file storage architectures. These objects include the data, ...
David Cantor
These are monumental topics that command volumes of diligent research, backed by empirical evidence and citations from subject-matter experts. Yet, I’m afraid we don’t have the time for this. In 2022, I had a video ...
Nikolaos Nikou
The Future of Enrollment Systems Enrollment systems play a crucial role in various industries, from higher education institutions to online courses and professional certifications. These systems streamline the enrollment process, manage student data, and contribute ...
Gary Bernstein
AI-powered identity verification Even if you don’t want to admit it, doing business online in today’s environment poses a greater risk. Criminals are constantly on the lookout for vulnerabilities to exploit, including hacking, data breaches, ...

Get Smarter

Whether you're just starting out in the online industry or looking to take your skills to the next level, Get Smarter eLearning platform is the perfect choice for you. Sign up today and start your journey towards online success!

Use code LEARN15 to enjoy 15% off all courses.