Only 40% of businesses happy with network capabilities, shows data

Almost 70 per cent of CEOs believe their network maturity level is hurting business delivery, NTT’s Global Network Report has found. 

The adoption of hybrid, distributed work environments with multiple connected devices is erupting through enterprises but, despite investments, just two in five businesses say they are very satisfied with their current network capabilities. 

The result is a new era of network modernisation. A majority of executives rely on it to enable business growth (>90%) and support artificial intelligence (AIOps) (91%). 

Key findings:

Network & digital transformation

• 97% of CIOs and CTOs agree networks are vital for enabling outcomes related to business growth
• 70% of CEOs say a lack of network maturity is negatively affecting their business delivery
• 70% increased their IT spend (as % of revenue); nearly two-thirds increased network spend (as % of IT spend)

Business and network strategy

• 94% agree cloud-based workloads demand greater availability, scale and performance from the network
• Almost 50% fully align their business strategy with their technology, security, network and/or managed services strategies
• 70% cite a lack of IT-business function collaboration as key to this disconnect

Trends driving change

• 95% of C-suite executives confirm they will invest in modernising their networks, with 60% already using the latest technologies
• 94% say business demands for increased speed, agility and innovation are driving new operating models

Network management

• Most organisations are not fully satisfied with their current network capability and prefer to outsource
• 86% currently buy in silos or from an incumbent, and cite budget constraints and restrictive vendor practices as the main pain points

Looking ahead

88% say they would prefer to outsource the end-to-end network to a single partner, with a preference for the network-as-a-service model, citing flexibility as their top motivation

Future of the network

• Network dependency is expected to grow and shift to new trends for smarter networks in the coming two years
• 90% require investment in AIOps, automation and improved analytics to optimise network operations
• 95% willing to move to centrally managed network (off- or near-shore), and >90% comfortable with platform-based services
• 80% of top performers already outsource over half of their network infra- structure
• 72% of organisations will outsource each network technology in the next two years