Six key trends in network management

We live in an era of rapid development of IT technology. Countless new technologies are changing the way networks are built, such as how access is provided, how data is transmitted and stored, and so on. Cloud, IoT, edge computing, and machine learning all provide organizations with the opportunity to change the way they do business in a digital way. Although these technologies are different, they all rely on a properly functioning network, which is also known as "network continuity." The key to achieving network continuity is visibility.

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It’s no secret that emerging technologies are always driving network best practices. With so many business goals and activities now dependent on IT, network performance is literally a matter of life and death for most companies. Therefore, it’s important that we stay on top of the latest industry trends so we can make smart, strategic network management decisions.

To explore these trends, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) recently released the 2018 edition of its biennial Network Management Study. From the broad impact of cloud services and network toolset challenges to the convergence between operations (NetOps) and IT security, the report reveals several noteworthy phenomena that are changing the network management process and its impact on enterprise business.

Here are six key network management trends and why organizations should care:

1. New IT initiatives are affecting the focus of network management

For the past several years, server virtualization has been at the top of the list in networking decisions. In fact, nearly half (49%) of IT professionals ranked it as a top initiative for 2016. But just two years later, that’s not the case at all in the 2018 study.

According to EMA data, software-defined data centers (SDDC), public cloud or infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and private cloud initiatives are currently the most influential drivers in network management decisions. This shift makes sense, as these technologies increase the efficiency and complexity of network management processes, enterprises need solutions that can provide comprehensive and in-depth insights into network performance.

As network complexity increases, so does the complexity of understanding and resolving performance issues. A single transaction can make a round trip through wireless, wired, and virtual networks and back to square one. Only by traversing every part of the network transaction, across the physical network, virtualized environments, and the cloud, can we effectively identify, troubleshoot, and resolve network issues regardless of their source.

2. Cloud services are flooding enterprise networks, creating monitoring challenges

As cloud adoption grows, its impact on the network continues to be a key area of ​​focus for IT decision makers. When asked what types of workloads are most commonly seen on their networks, 60% of EMA survey participants cited external public cloud traffic as the most prevalent, estimating it to account for nearly half (45%) of their total network traffic.

In a world of cloud saturation, network performance monitoring and management can be a challenge, especially without the necessary visibility. In fact, only 15% of network administrators report that they are able to oversee cloud networks using existing solutions alone. Why? Because most network management solutions aren't purpose-built to do the job. Nearly 60% of respondents said they need to acquire some new monitoring and troubleshooting tools for cloud services, while 14% are still searching for the right solution.

The right cloud visibility solution depends largely on the purpose of the cloud. Software as a Service (SaaS) functions may require service levels to be monitored externally, while Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platforms such as AWS and Azure are best monitored in conjunction with the application. The advent of cloud services has increased the need for performance insight in hybrid environments.

3. A patchwork of management solutions plagues NetOps

One of the biggest challenges facing NetOps in 2018 is fragmented management solutions. Nearly one-third of IT teams are using 11 or more active tools to monitor and troubleshoot their networks.

Nearly half (49%) use between four and 10 tools. Naturally, network teams that rely on a multitude of solutions are less likely to detect network issues and more likely to suffer more network service outages each year. Visibility is a major barrier when using a larger toolset for network operations. Network teams that use a multitude of specialized management solutions lack deep network insights and often miss out on using fewer, more feature-rich solutions.

No matter how big the budget is, or what unlimited resources are available, it is impractical for enterprise network operations teams to be trained on and effectively manage a large number of tools. Instead, users are often unaware of their loss of visibility and functionality. Solving the "tool sprawl" problem by consolidating fragmented network solutions is not only more effective, but also more economical.

4. NetOps and IT security functions are converging

For a long time, NetOps and IT security teams have been isolated from each other. Now, collaboration between the two groups is becoming common.

40% of EMA survey respondents said they fully converged IT security, while 35% have even begun to measure network management success by reducing security risks. Most network administrators identified their network performance monitoring and advanced network analytics as top operational items that need to be integrated with security processes.

What's driving the collaboration between NetOps and IT security? Enterprises have realized that combining the capabilities of both is more effective than using them separately. Going forward, the level of teamwork between NetOps and IT security will continue to increase, with the common goal of building security into the network. After all, there's no reason not to consider security operations as one of the most important metrics for measuring network performance.

5. Data sources for network management are constantly changing

The debate over which are the best data sources for network management is becoming increasingly irrelevant. According to EMA, the most popular data sources for ongoing network availability and performance monitoring today include network test traffic, management system APIs, and packet inspection. The most popular data sources for network troubleshooting tasks include management system APIs and packet inspection.

In fact, the future of network management can be achieved by integrating multiple data sources. The first step is to coordinate between different data sources. Higher levels of coordination will produce stronger insights. In fact, NetFlow can point out where problems may occur, deeper traffic analysis can determine the problem area, and network packets can reveal the true root cause.

6. Enterprises are outsourcing network management

According to EMA, 58% of enterprises outsource at least some aspects of network management, a figure that has increased by more than 20% since 2014. This shift represents a large portion of the IT market being supported by managed service providers (MSPs). Today, enterprises are outsourcing everything from WLAN networking and support, 24x7 network health monitoring and data center monitoring, to infrastructure management and configuration.

When faced with further questions such as whether to outsource, what to outsource, and most importantly, how to ensure that the transformation and subsequent operations are successful, it is most important for internal network managers as well as external MSP partners to have access to all in-depth data on network performance trends and anomalies.

in conclusion

So, what is the common thread between these major network management trends in 2018? What ties them together? The answer is actionable visibility. In other words, in all of these changing trends, network continuity depends not only on being able to gain insight into what is happening on the network, but also on being able to act on it quickly and efficiently.

Next year, we will no doubt see some new and different trends. However, what remains constant is the need for all of us in IT to stay up to date on the latest research, trends, and tools, and of course, achieve network continuity through actionable visibility into network performance!