Network architecture for mission-critical environments.
Senior consulting, assessment, and modernization for organizations where the network carries the business. Led directly by Brian Kennedy, with 26+ years of architecture for healthcare, financial services, transportation, and cultural institutions.
Senior engagement, every time
Engagements are led directly by Brian. No offshore delivery layer, no junior consultant pipeline, no handoff to "the team." The person on the kickoff call is the person doing the work.
Architecture-first
Most network problems are presented as equipment problems. Most are actually architecture problems. The work starts with the foundation and works outward, not the other way around.
Built to be carried forward
Every deliverable survives after the engagement. Usable by the next engineer who touches it, the next executive who approves the budget, and the next auditor who evaluates the controls.
Bring the network to the standard the business actually needs.
Most networks I see weren't designed badly. They were designed for a smaller company, a smaller campus, a simpler set of problems, and they got there. Then the business grew underneath them. The work I do is rebuilding the foundation so the network can support what the organization has actually become.
Five engagement types, one practice.
We propel infrastructure decisions forward by doing a focused set of things exceptionally well, organized by the question a client is trying to answer.
Network Assessments
An honest read on the current state of your network: architecture, lifecycle, security posture, and the latent risks. Built for executive and board review.
Learn moreArchitecture & Design
Target-state design: core/distribution/access topology, segmentation strategy, datacenter architecture, wireless design, and the rationale behind each decision.
Learn moreModernization Roadmaps
Multi-year infrastructure plans sequenced by dependency, phased to align with budget cycles, with bills of materials and the operational sequencing that makes them executable.
Learn moreFractional CTO / Senior Advisor
For organizations that need senior architectural counsel without a full-time hire. Monthly retainer providing decision support on infrastructure investment, vendor selection, and strategy.
Learn moreImplementation Oversight
For organizations with an internal team or a separate implementer. Periodic design reviews, issue resolution, and sign-off authority on architectural decisions during delivery.
Learn moreImplementation Delivery
Need someone to actually build it? Kennedy Consulting partners with 4th Octet, our engineering and managed services practice, for end-to-end delivery.
About 4th OctetEngagement runs in four phases.
A typical engagement moves through a predictable arc. We're transparent about what each phase produces and how long it takes.
Discover
Short discovery conversation. Understand what you're trying to decide, what you're working with, and what the success criteria look like. No formal intake.
Assess
Evidence-based read on the current state. Topology, equipment, security posture, latent risks. Findings sequenced by impact and timing.
Architect
Target-state design, modernization roadmap, and the operational sequencing to get there. Built to be defensible in technical, audit, and budget reviews.
Hand Off
Documented deliverables to your team, or a direct handoff to 4th Octet for implementation. Every artifact survives the engagement.
Recent work spans seven sectors.
Engagements over the past decade span healthcare, finance, transportation, education, manufacturing, and cultural institutions, including some of the largest names in each.
Two and a half decades, eight figures of infrastructure.
We work in the platforms you already run.
Architecture and design engagements work across the enterprise networking and security ecosystem. Selected vendor partners and platforms we engineer in:
Let's talk about your next infrastructure decision.
Whether you're sitting on an inherited environment that needs a clean read, or planning a multi-year modernization, the first conversation is the same. Short, candid, and free.
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