Data Center POST interview with Melissa Stanislaw, Director of Marketing Strategy and Sales Enablement, ZenFi Networks

By Contributing Editor Anne Whealdon

Melissa Stanislaw is Director of Marketing Strategy and Sales Enablement for ZenFi Networks, an innovative, wholly-owned and operated communications infrastructure company enabling fiber-optic network, edge data centers and wireless siting solutions in the New York and New Jersey metro region. As a thoroughly experienced marketing strategy professional, Melissa leverages more than ten years of dedicated work driving market engagement, developing go-to-market campaigns, crafting brand strategies and beyond. At ZenFi Networks, she maintains and promotes corporate brand and image and develops and drives targeted go-to-market efforts, leading to increased monthly recurring revenue across the ZenFi Networks portfolio.

Melissa is a member of the Pacific Telecommunications Council’s (PTC) Advisory and Marketing Committees, and serves as an Innovation Awards judge and Call for Participation reviewer for their annual conference. She is also a member of the CBRS Alliance Marketing Committee, the Wireless Industry Association’s Women’s Leadership Forum, Women in Subsea and the Women’s Tech Council.

Data Center POST sat down with Melissa to talk industry trends, opportunities and more.

Data Center POST, Anne Whealdon (DCP-AW) Question: What trends are you seeing in the data center space?

ZenFi Networks, Melissa Stanislaw (ZN-MS) Answer: Hyperscaling and edge computing are two trends that will continue to gain traction as wireless applications, data expansion and 5G use cases evolve. The convergence of the core and the edge will be a trend we will see more of as network architecture evolves to be faster and more robust. Colocation with cable landing station (subsea) access is also a trend that will continue globally as the industry continues to connect the world — especially in remote or underserved markets.

DCP-AW Q: What trends are you seeing in the networking space?

ZN-MS A: Cloud connectivity, capacity and access to content will be enduring trends in the networking space. Cyber security software and capabilities will also be a growing trend as we continue to connect globally. Traditional disaster recovery and offsite storage will never go away, but the ability to transmit data consistently and reliably closer to the end user will be at the forefront.

DCP-AW Q: What opportunities do you see available in the market for the development and enablement of global communications infrastructure?

ZN-MS A: Data centers will need to continue to develop hybrid options for enterprise customers. As such, connectivity is key – to cloud providers, other data centers or key core facilities and central offices that may house on-prem servers and access – both domestically and globally. Network infrastructure that enables both core and edge applications and use cases will be key to evolving the connectivity ecosystem.

DCP-AW Q: In your opinion, what is the most important consideration buyers should have when choosing a service provider, and why?

ZN-MS A: Suitability for modern cloud applications that can be run off-site is one factor. Workload management — especially in hybrid environments — will only grow in importance to enterprise businesses, so mitigating risk and cost concerns and improving service performance are all important. Interconnectivity could also be a consideration for those who need to move traffic between multiple locations. Agility, scalability, security and global reach should all be considerations.

DCP-AW Q: How does ZenFi Networks adapt to the changes in the communications infrastructure industry?

ZN-MS A: Since inception, ZenFi Networks has always been at the forefront of wireline and wireless convergence. Our goal is to enable wireless operators, carriers, data center partners and enterprises with underlying network infrastructure that is built to solve for the massive capacity and accessibility demands that mobile applications and 5G use cases will bring. Our dense network supports both core and edge colocation, and we will continue to look for opportunities to enable a connected future.

DCP-AW Q: What new initiatives should our readers be on the look out for from ZenFi Networks?

ZN-MS A: We will continue to expand our innovative fronthaul network architecture throughout NY and NJ and facilitate growth into the outer boroughs, such as Queens and Brooklyn, as well as into urban areas in NJ. Edge colocation is something that we continue to foster through our existing capabilities, and we will continue to stay on the pulse of that as it evolves.

DCP-AW Q: If companies want to work with you, what are the ways to do so?

ZN-MS A: Send an email directly to sales@zenfi.com, request a meeting with us at any of the events we attend, or fill out a contact form at https://zenfi.com/contact/.

DCP-AW Q: Thanks so much for your time, Melissa. To learn more about ZenFi Networks, please visit www.zenfi.com.