Perseverance and Resilience: Organizations Renew Focus on End-User Experience as UCC Troubleshooting Headaches Escalate

Rhea-AI Summary

VIAVI Solutions (NASDAQ: VIAV) has published its 15th consecutive State of the Network survey, emphasizing that 70% of IT teams prioritize end-user experience. Despite this focus, challenges such as network visibility and problem domain isolation persist, particularly with the growing demand for bandwidth. Key findings indicate that 57% of organizations plan to adopt 800Gb connectivity by 2024, while 49% of IT teams dedicate significant time to troubleshooting Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) issues. Most organizations believe the benefits of cloud modernization outweigh its costs.

Positive

• 70% of organizations prioritize end-user experience as the most important KPI.
• 57% of organizations plan to implement 800Gb connectivity by the end of 2024.
• 83% of organizations see greater productivity from cloud modernization outweighing costs.

Negative

• Less than 1% of organizations are satisfied with network visibility.
• Problem domain isolation remains a significant challenge for IT teams.
• Talent shortages hinder troubleshooting and network performance improvement.

15th Consecutive State of the Network Survey reveals end-user experience is now a top priority for 70% of IT teams, but network visibility and problem domain isolation continue to pose challenges amid rising demand for bandwidth

CHANDLER, Ariz., Dec. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Viavi Solutions Inc. (VIAVI) (NASDAQ: VIAV) today revealed the results of its 15th consecutive State of the Network global study of enterprise networking and IT service delivery challenges. As organizations continue to adapt to a post-pandemic surge in cloud-based productivity, the 2023 report details how end-user awareness remains critical and explores the benefits – and challenges – of cloud and off-premises network modernization initiatives.

One theme carried over from the previous years' studies was the perseverance and resilience IT teams are building as they manage network performance while balancing new technology deployment, security threats and visibility gaps. Both SD-WAN and cloud-based services have reached nearly 100% adoption, with zero-trust network access (ZTNA) deployment on the rise as a cybersecurity priority.

End-user experience is the highest-ranking key performance indicator (KPI) among IT teams, with 7 in 10 considering it more important than other KPIs derived through active monitoring, packets, and flow data.

The report also highlights the inherent monitoring challenges involved in the transition to a remote-first, cloud-native modern enterprise. Around 70% of organizations surveyed say more than half of their applications are hosted in the cloud. However, fewer than 1% of organizations say they are satisfied with network visibility, with 4 in 5 citing visibility of cloud or off-premises assets as a top concern. TLS encryption, vital for enhancing IT cybersecurity, also complicates visibility objectives.

Troubleshooting teams are also under increased pressure. Echoing findings from 14 of the past 15 surveys, problem domain isolation – pinpointing issues across network, server, application, or client domains ­­– remains one of the biggest challenges for IT teams. The inability to adequately monitor bandwidth consumption ranks close behind. IT teams also cited the number of tools needed to resolve specific issues as a primary concern, and sourcing the requisite talent to troubleshoot network performance issues remains a key obstacle.

As organizations continue to adopt Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC), the nature of UCC's near real-time performance demands is becoming more apparent. According to the report, nearly half (49%) of teams spend between 10 and 20 hours per week troubleshooting UCC platforms, with 42% spending up to 10 hours per week.

Despite the increased workload on troubleshooting teams, 83% of organizations said that the benefits of cloud modernization, including savings and increased productivity, outweighed the costs.

"The words 'perseverance' and 'resilience' spring to mind when considering the effort IT teams are putting into ensuring service delivery in the current environment," commented Chris Labac, Vice President and General Manager, Network Performance and Threat Solutions, VIAVI. "Organizations understand the growing demand for bandwidth and the myriad benefits of becoming remote-first, cloud-oriented enterprises and are determined to follow through on their plans. However, visibility over off-premise areas such as SASE devices, cloud-hosted services, and the general experience of remote users, has never been more important'."

He continued, "Organizations can overcome many of these critical challenges with more automated problem identification and domain isolation capabilities. Automation efforts should also mean IT teams spend less time in the war room and more time driving strategic initiatives."

Key Findings

• 70% of organizations surveyed now rank end-user experience as the most important KPI.
  
  
• Bandwidth growth remains strong, with 57% of organizations aiming to introduce 800Gb connectivity to their networks by the end of 2024.
  
  
• 51% of IT teams spend more than half of their time resolving network security issues.
  
  
• 49% of IT teams spend 10-20 hours per week troubleshooting UCC issues.
  
  
• The top 5 areas where additional visibility is needed are all off-premise, including SASE devices, remote users, cloud-hosted applications, and end-user experience.
  
  
• Problem domain isolation and talent shortages remain critical concerns for IT teams.
  
  
• The benefits and cost savings of cloud migration easily offset the downsides.

State of the Network Global Study Methodology

VIAVI (and previously Network Instruments) has conducted its State of the Network global study for 15 consecutive years, drawing insight about network trends and identifying some of the challenges faced by IT teams. Results were compiled from 307 respondents including network, security, and development operations professionals from around the world. In addition to geographic diversity, the study population was distributed by age, industry experience, current level, job function, department, revenue, employee count, and business verticals. The full study is available here: www.stateofthenetwork.com.

About VIAVI

VIAVI (NASDAQ: VIAV) is a global provider of network test, monitoring and assurance solutions for communications service providers, hyperscalers, equipment manufacturers, enterprises, government and avionics. VIAVI is also a leader in light management technologies for 3D sensing, anti-counterfeiting, consumer electronics, industrial, automotive, government and aerospace applications. Together with our customers and partners we are United in Possibility, finding innovative ways to solve real-world problems. Learn more about VIAVI at www.viavisolutions.com. Follow us on VIAVI Perspectives, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

Media Inquiries:

North America Sonus PR Micah Warren viavi@sonuspr.com	EMEA & Asia Pacific/Japan Sonus PR Chevaan Seresinhe viavi@sonuspr.com	Latin America Edelman Significa Monica Czeszak monica.czeszak@edelmansignifica.com
India Voila Communications Manish Sharma manish@voilacomm.in	China Archetype Geff Pan viavichina@archetype.cn

 

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SOURCE VIAVI Solutions

FAQ

What did the latest State of the Network survey by VIAVI reveal?

The survey highlighted that 70% of IT teams rank end-user experience as their top priority, while challenges in network visibility and problem domain isolation remain.

How many organizations are planning to adopt 800Gb connectivity according to VIAVI's survey?

57% of organizations are aiming to implement 800Gb connectivity by the end of 2024.

What percentage of IT teams spend significant time troubleshooting UCC issues?

49% of IT teams spend between 10 and 20 hours per week troubleshooting Unified Communications and Collaboration issues.

What are the key challenges faced by IT teams as per VIAVI's survey?

IT teams face challenges in network visibility, problem domain isolation, and talent shortages for troubleshooting.

Do organizations believe the benefits of cloud modernization outweigh the costs?

Yes, 83% of organizations believe the benefits of cloud modernization outweigh the associated costs.