Improving IT Resource Management: Key Findings from the 2023 SOTN Report

Over the last 15 years, the State of the Network (SOTN) survey has been carried out on an annual basis, and the latest findings from the 2023 survey highlight the perseverance and resilience of IT teams when faced with difficulties. The survey has pointed out trends that have emerged over the years, such as staffing challenges within the IT industry, a surge in the adoption of cloud-based technologies and services, and the continuous growth of cybersecurity threats.

Despite facing these challenges, IT teams have shown remarkable flexibility and adaptability, supported by improved collaboration and better tools. They have been successful in providing consistent and high-quality services, despite users' expectations increasing significantly. Nowadays, users expect to be able to connect with others at any time and access applications from their smartphones, and IT teams have risen to the occasion to provide them with what they need.

While it is likely that IT teams responsible for maintaining network and application performance will encounter new and ongoing operational challenges in the future, they have demonstrated the necessary fortitude, creativity, and expertise to keep users satisfied and businesses running efficiently. Despite the hurdles they face, IT teams have persevered, remaining flexible and adaptable to changes in the industry, and continuing to deliver high-quality services to their users. Their dedication and hard work ensure that businesses can rely on their networks and applications to function smoothly.

Access the complete report of the 15th Consecutive State of the Network

Top Findings:

1. IT network managers continue to struggle with identifying the source of network issues despite 15 years of effort and extensive investment. The top challenge, "problem domain isolation" or root cause analysis, has been identified by respondents in 14 out of the past 15 years, including 2023. To overcome this, IT professionals polled suggest focusing on measuring and delivering an exceptional end-user experience as the top metric for IT network managers in today's cloud-native, remote-first modern enterprise.
2. The challenge of ensuring reliable communication with VoIP and other real-time services continues to cause problems for IT teams. In the 2007 survey, VoIP service was the main issue. In 2023, nearly half of the respondents spend between 10 and 20 hours troubleshooting unified communications and collaboration platforms, with most of the burden falling on the NetOps team. Given the importance of collaboration and communication in today's fast-paced world, and the heavy workload of troubleshooting, more needs to be done to reduce the burden of UCC problem triaging and resolution.
3. Despite the challenges in visibility caused by cloud and off-premises assets, they are still seen as a solution for modernizing IT systems. In fact, the majority of applications and services are now hosted in the cloud, compared to just a few years ago. Even traditionally conservative NetOps teams are embracing the cloud, with plans to move a significant portion of their services to the cloud in the near future. However, despite this move towards cloud modernization, visibility challenges related to cloud and off-premises assets still exist.
4. The implementation of cloud modernization can be quite expensive, but according to the feedback of 80% of network managers, the savings from cloud modernization have been greater than anticipated. Additionally, 83% of network managers reported that the benefits of cloud modernization outweighed the costs. It seems that despite the initial high investment cost, cloud modernization has proven to be a valuable long-term solution for businesses. Network managers are recognizing the positive impact it has had on their organisations and are willing to invest in cloud modernization for its benefits.
5. The satisfaction of the people using the network is the most important thing to monitor, according to the SOTN survey. 70% of respondents said that understanding the experience of users is "very important." This applies to all aspects of the network, including cloud and data center projects. It's important for monitoring teams to gather information on user experience in order to be more effective.
6. The usage of data over computer networks is growing exponentially and does not seem to be decreasing in the near future. No matter how much bandwidth we add to our networks, it seems that people are always looking for ways to consume more data. The more advanced technology becomes, the more data-intensive it gets, and as we rely more and more on data for communication, entertainment, and work, the need for data grows rapidly. This means that network administrators must constantly adapt and upgrade their infrastructure to meet the demand for faster and more reliable connections.
7. As more organisations adopt the use of TLS encryption to secure their networks, IT teams face a new set of challenges in terms of cybersecurity and application troubleshooting. While TLS encryption provides a much-needed layer of protection against malicious cyber-attacks, it can also make it harder for IT teams to detect and resolve issues. The complexity of TLS encryption protocols means that IT teams may be left "flying blind" without the ability to identify the root cause of issues or to troubleshoot effectively. This can lead to increased downtime, higher costs, and greater risk of data breaches, making it essential for IT teams to stay up-to-date with the latest encryption technologies and to develop new strategies for managing the challenges of encryption in today's complex network environments.

2023 State of the Network Infographic