01732 759725 magazine 21 NETWORKS Gerry O’Hanlon: Historically that’s been true, and that’s precisely why Terra is such a significant release. Yes, on-premises requires dedicated, skilled IT personnel to manage the infrastructure, to perform server maintenance and to handle security, backups and upgrades. But Terra dramatically reduces that burden through intelligent automation, simplified workflows and that AI-assisted operation I mentioned earlier. We’re realistic about the trade-offs. Large enterprises and organisations in highly regulated sectors are our target customers for Terra. They already have the IT teams and infrastructure. What they haven’t had is a modern, intelligent platform that gives them the control they need without sacrificing the advanced features available in cloud solutions. Q: You keep mentioning that Terra and Cirrus share the same features. Why is this important? Gerry O’Hanlon: Terra and Cirrus form a unified network management suite. They’re not different products with different capabilities, but deployment options of the same platform. This means customers get identical features whether they choose cloud or on-premises: the same unified LAN/WLAN management, the same AI-driven analytics, the same security capabilities, the same integration with solutions like Celona Private 5G and Versa SD-WAN. Organisations can even adopt a hybrid approach, using Cirrus for some sites and Terra for others, all managed under a common umbrella with consistent security policies. That flexibility is unprecedented in the market. We’re saying your deployment model should serve your business requirements, not our preferred service delivery method. When vendors eliminate on-premises options, they’re essentially saying to entire market segments like government, defence, critical infrastructure ‘we don’t want your business’ or ‘you’ll have to compromise your requirements to use our product’. We’re taking the opposite approach. We believe IT leaders should have choice. Cloud makes sense for many scenarios: distributed organisations, rapid growth, limited IT resources, preference for operational expenditure over capital expenditure. But on-premises makes sense for others: highly regulated sectors, data sovereignty requirements, ultra-low latency needs, preference for local control and fixed costs. Q: How does Terra integrate with the rest of the networking ecosystem? Gerry O’Hanlon: Integration is fundamental to Terra’s design. It provides unified control over ALE switches, wireless access points, IoT devices, Celona Private 5G solutions and Versa SD-WAN and SASE. Everything connects under that common umbrella with consistent security policies and centralised management. We’ve also built Terra with open APIs, enabling integration into broader ecosystem applications. Organisations can connect it with their existing tools and workflows. This isn’t a walled garden approach; it’s designed to fit into complex, heterogeneous environments. Q: In terms of the business model, how is Terra licensed and what’s included? Gerry O’Hanlon: Terra is available through an upfront subscription model with flexible durations: one, three, five or seven years. We offer three service levels – Base, Business and Premium – bundling different levels of support and maintenance. Base level includes Terra software updates and support access. Business adds Partner Plus support with hardware maintenance and advanced replacement. Premium provides end-customer support access with the same hardware benefits. This tiered approach lets organisations choose the support level that matches their internal capabilities and requirements. Q: Looking at the broader market trend towards cloud-only, where do you see this going? Is on-premises just fighting the inevitable? Gerry O’Hanlon: I’d push back on that premise. Cloud is absolutely the right answer for many, probably most, use cases. But the idea that on-premises is obsolete is a vendor-driven narrative that ignores real-world requirements in critical sectors. There will always be scenarios where local control, data sovereignty, predictable performance and security requirements make on-premises not just preferable but mandatory. What’s changed is that historically on-premises meant accepting inferior technology. That’s no longer true. With Terra, you get cutting-edge AI, automation and unified management on your own infrastructure. The future isn’t ‘cloud versus onpremises’, it’s ‘the right deployment model for the right use case’. That’s what customer-centric means. Q: Final question: What would you say to an IT leader in a regulated industry who’s been told by their current vendor that they need to move to cloud management? Gerry O’Hanlon: I’d say you have options and you shouldn’t compromise on requirements that are fundamental to your organisation’s security, compliance or operational needs. The industry trend towards cloud-only is about vendor economics, not customer value. It’s easier and more profitable for vendors to operate a single cloud platform than to support diverse deployment models. But your job as an IT leader isn’t to make things easier for vendors, it’s to ensure your network infrastructure meets your organisation’s specific needs. If those needs include on-premises deployment, data sovereignty, guaranteed performance or air-gapped security, then OmniVista Terra gives you a path forward without sacrificing modern capabilities. Network management should serve your requirements. Not the other way around. We’re excited about what Terra means for organisations that have felt under-served by the cloud-only trend. Choice matters, and we’re committed to providing it. al-enterprise.com
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