2016 State of the Network Study

Technology Adoption Trends & Their Impact on the Network

Purpose and Methodology

Survey Sample
Total Respondents

301

Margin of Error

+/- 5.7%

Audience Base

Network World Online

Survey Goals
To pinpoint where IT executives and professionals are with
initiatives within existing and emerging technologies.
To help technology marketers inform their product development,
marketing, and messaging strategies for 2016.

Survey Method

Collection

Online Questionnaire

Number of Questions

33 (w/demographic questions)

Source: 2016 State of the Network Study, Network World

Network IT Grows More Challengingand More Critical to the Business

Q: Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements. (Strongly Agree/Agree)

Source: 2016 State of the Network Study, Network World

Network IT is Evaluating & Recommending Vendors Across

Multiple Tech Areas
Involvement for Each Stage of the
Purchase Process by Technology Area

Determine
Determine
the Business
Technical
Need
Requirements

Evaluate
Products/
Services

Recommend
& Select
Vendors

Sell
Internally

Authorize/
Approve

Application Development

42%

43% 2

50% 1

41%

28%

42%

Cloud Services (PaaS, IaaS)

51%

50%

59% 1

58% 2

34%

47%

Compliance

47% 2

49% 1

44%

43%

25%

44%

Computing Hardware

51%

57% 1

56% 2

56% 2

24%

40%

Data Center

53% 2

51%

53% 2

56% 1

26%

36%

Data Management/Analytics

51% 1

40%

46%

38%

28%

47% 2

Data Storage

57% 2

57% 2

61% 1

57% 2

30%

43%

Database

52% 1

47%

49% 2

48%

33%

44%

Intranet/Internet

53%

53%

56% 1

54% 2

28%

40%

IT Governance

50% 1

44%

42%

45% 2

32%

42%

IT Operations

52%

54%

53% 2

57% 1

26%

33%

Network Security

49%

56% 2

57% 1

56% 2

25%

38%

Network/Systems Management

53%

53%

56% 2

58% 1

25%

38%

Programming/Sys Analyst/Architect

51% 2

49%

52% 1

46%

30%

46%

Software (Including Software-as-a-Service)

47% 2

43%

52% 1

45%

33%

45%

Systems Engineering

50% 2

49%

56% 1

46%

28%

43%

Telecommunications

54%

55% 2

60% 1

55% 2

29%

43%

BOXES INDICATE TOP 2 RESPONSES.

Q: How are you involved in the purchase process for each of the following technology areas?

Source: 2016 State of the Network Study, Network World

Enterprise IT Balancing Multiple Network Initiatives

43%

SDN/Network Virtualization

7%

37%

Infrastructure as a Service

20%

9%

23%

Storage Virtualization

33%

Tier 1 Application Virtualization

33%

Tools to Gauge Application Performance

33%

9%

27%

32%

12%

22%

Application Migration to SaaS Providers

Data Management/Analytics

30%

Application Centralization

29%

13%

8%

WAN Optimization

27%

9%

Tools to Optimize Application Performance

27%

8%

Network Security Monitoring

25%

Data Center Energy Efficiencies

25%

Server Consolidation

15%

On the Radar/Actively Researching

12%

Source: 2016 State of the Network Study, Network World

20%
19%

12%
32%

30%
6%

27%

37%
26%
30%

Installed/In Production

Q. Which of the following best describes your organizations plans with respect to the following network/data center initiatives? (1,000+
Employees)

16%

8%

39%
Piloting

31%

17%

23%

11%
9%

20%

3%

29%

9%

24%

Desktop Virtualization

24%

11%

32%

12%

18%

8%

31%

10%

25%
12%

28%

12%

25%

6%

25%

9%

28%

Data Center Storage Efficiencies

4%

19%
9%

7%

30%
13%

22%
26%

Upgrading/Refining

11%
No Plans

Cloud Pervasiveness Offers Both Complexity and Opportunity

Cloud will add complexity and difficulty for the networking team (e.g. more
skills to learn)

70%

Cloud will allow the networking team to broaden their technology

knowledge and become more valuable

67%

Cloud will alter the structure of the networking team

60%

<1,000: 55%
1,000+: 66%

Cloud will alter the collaboration patterns between the networking team
and others in the IT organization

60%

<1,000: 57%
1,000+: 66%

Cloud will enable the networking team to play a more strategic role within
the organization

Cloud will free up IT/networking staff

57%

<1,000: 53%
1,000+: 64%

43%

Q: Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements regarding the impact of cloud computing on the networking team at
your organization over the next 12 months. (Strongly Agree/Agree)

Source: 2016 State of the Network Study, Network World; 2015 IDG Enterprise Cloud Computing Survey

Moderate Impact on Network Security Strategy Due to Cloud

40%
30%
25%

25%
20%

15%

13%

13%

12%
8%

Network security strategy will

require a complete overhaul

Network security strategy will

require moderate changes

Network security strategy will

require a few tactical changes
1,000+

Network security strategy will not

change at all

<1,000

Q: How will cloud impact your organizations network security strategy over the next 12 months? AND Q: What are the top security-related
challenges and obstacles that your organization is facing?

Source: 2016 State of the Network Study, Network World

Not Sure

SDN Future Plans Shift from Research to Installation

Q.: Which of the following best describes your organizations plans with respect to Software Defined Networking (SDN) technology today and
12 months from now?

Source: 2016 State of the Network Study, Network World

Continue the Conversation

For more information, please contact: Sue Yanovitch, VP, Marketing
at IDG Enterprise syanovitch@idgenterprise.com
To get results from IDG Enterprise research when it happens,
or any other news, follow us on Twitter: @IDGEnterprise
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