The network is like electricity or water: invisible until it’s turned off. As the industry looks to more datacentre-oriented computing and more mobility, it’s easy to forget about the critical infrastructure that connects them: the network.

Once a hodge-podge of many different technologies with different characteristics, networks are becoming simpler, but no less critical to business. For Greg Mallett, manager of networks and telecommunications at the SABC, the network is critical because he’s in a media business.