SYNGENTA
“ often the most expensive part of an IT deployment.” Going wireless improves mobility and simplifies office layouts. But what truly excites Kris is“ leveraging the data generated by existing wireless infrastructure” to manage facilities more intelligently and even assist with health and safety requirements. For him, real progress goes beyond basic connectivity.“ We are now exploring how to extract business intelligence from wireless infrastructure for facilities management purposes, moving beyond simply enabling connections to delivering actionable insights that drive operational efficiency and reduce costs.”
The wireless evolution shows a wider industry trend: wireless networks are not just technical bits and pieces but strategic assets that can offer real business benefits.
SASE vs. traditional: juggling security, simplicity and risk Traditional network security involved building a“ perimeter,” with company data centres acting like guarded forts protected by firewalls. The model worked when most people worked on-site and applications and data lived in a local data centre.
However, the IT landscape has transformed. Users now work from diverse locations, applications have moved to cloud environments and data is spread across multiple services, exposing weaknesses in traditional security.
Kris says one reason for the change is the need for“ internet cafe-style connectivity,” where users can connect
“ It really is about who they [ partners ] are and how they respond when the chips are down”
KRIS MANNING, GLOBAL HEAD OF IT NETWORKS, SYNGENTA
to the internet and get everything they need, no matter where they are, with robust security and a consistent experience. The approach makes things convenient for users and simpler to manage while keeping things secure with Zero Trust ideas, traffic monitoring and content filtering. Kris highlights:“ For me, one of the greatest things it provides is security, ease of doing business and reduced network complexity.”
Kris is sceptical about the risks of putting all services with one SSE provider. He worries about major outages, becoming too dependent on one vendor.“ Do I want all my eggs in one basket when these things happen, as inevitably they will?” he asks. Data location rules and the difficulty of audits add to his mindset.
While SSE is clearly where things are heading, Kris is cautious about a quick, total switch:“ Whether we would completely give ourselves over to SSE, it’ s something we talk about a lot.”
72 August 2025