Extreme Networks Unveils AI-Infused Platform ONE For A 'Composed' Network Management Experience

Alongside the new platform, Extreme is also simplifying networking and security product licensing for enterprises and channel partners.

Extreme Networks has launched a brand-new platform that takes networking and security management to the next level as the definition of networking expands and more stakeholders are involved in network management and analytics, including SecOps and C-level executives, according to the networking specialist.

The company is also by extension making buying and licensing much simpler by decreasing the amount of applications needed, Extreme said.

"The network has become more and more important for non-core networking things … There's [also] too many apps required to manage this broadened definition of networking [because] it's not just networking, it's network security, it's analytics, and so forth. When you add so many apps, it leads to too many licenses, too much complexity in buying, and then it also leads to loss in productivity," Nabil Bukhari, Extreme's chief technology and product officer, told CRN.

Extreme Platform ONE brings together networking and security tools, including products from third-party networking and security vendors, such as Microsoft, with AI to radically simplify the network management experience by "composing" a workspace unique to the user, with every application they need in one place, Bukhari said.

“We believe in a composable workspace that provides the information that you need in real time," he said. “If you are a networks person, it will show the information from networks, topology, or network status. It will show you your alerts and messages from your networking devices. If you’re a SecOps person, it will show you your security policies. It will show you the integration between security and networking. [And] if you’re a CFO or a procurement person, it will show you all of your subscription licenses and service contracts in one place.”

The typical networking or security professional logs into four to seven different applications, Bukhari said. As networking and security have increasingly become more connected, moving between different applications only ups the risk factor for a security event because there is more room for human error, he added.

At the same time, AI that’s siloed within these applications has limited value. The greater the access to data, the more value that AI has, Bukhari said.

“Our view is that we are bringing in AI as a core competency of the platform so that it is built from the ground up, including all data management, all AI services management, and all guardrails and safety. When we do that, AI is not a chatbot. AI is not a separate product. AI is an inherent capability of the platform that can be applied to any and every workflow,” he said.

It’s an important distinction because in networking so far, AI has been considered more of an AI Ops function to help with troubleshooting or find anomalies easier, Bukhari said.

“Obviously, we have done that before. Some of our competitors have done that as well, but we are taking a completely different look at AI,” he said.

Simplifying Licensing And Value For Enterprises, Partners

C1, a Bloomington, Minn.-based solution provider and Extreme partner is planning on being an early adopter of Platform ONE for its simplified licensing benefits and for the platform's ability to expose a full stack of networking and security capabilities in a very “simplistic” model for customers, said Kyle Wewe, executive vice president, U.S. sales, major accounts for C1.

"Our clients are continually looking for avenues to better leverage the intrinsic values of a platform that aren't always visible to them. We see this as a great Trojan horse for our customers," he said. "Typically, we see a lot of customers only leveraging 10 to 15 percent of the full capabilities, or particular licenses, [but] in selling it as a platform, we're able to expose them to Platform ONE and really get them to leverage more of the capabilities within the solution set across their entire environment."

The consolidation of product licensing is a big win for customers who until now, have been used to a separate console and licensing structure for each IT product or service, said Wendy Munnell, director of Palo Alto and Extreme Networks Alliances for C1.

"That consolidation is just going to make it much more efficient … solutions like this also help with employee morale. If we help make their lives easier at work, [employees] want to come to work. Historically, IT [has been] a very stressful environment," she said.

The amount of applications that many enterprises have today for networking and often point security products makes licensing a very difficult experience, Extreme's Bukhari said.

"I know our customers have told us that sometimes they have two or three people just dedicated to managing their licensing and compliance," he said.

These users are increasingly asking Extreme and channel partners for one platform and a simplified licensing structure. At the same time, the platform will reduce costs and "massively" simplify the buying process for partners, too, he added.

"With Platform ONE, we are simplifying the entire journey … Now we are bringing that simplified license into networking, network security and AI. We are also bringing in a super optimized buying experience from the time that you buy, to the time that you renew," he said.

Partners will be able to more easily build a high value service on top of the platform, rather than build services on top of disparate cloud applications, he said.

Extreme Networks will be making more of the details around its simplified licensing closer to when Platform ONE will become generally available in the second half of 2025, Bukhari said.

In time, end users will migrate from ExtremeCloud IQ to Extreme Platform ONE, Bukhari said.

Extreme Platform ONE can run on public cloud or private cloud environments, according to the company.