70% Of CEOs Say Their Network Is Slowing Business Growth, New NTT Study Finds

NTT’s new 2022 Global Network Report surveyed more than 1,300 enterprise networking professionals globally, uncovering a need for network modernization to enable business growth

• 70% of CEOs globally say their level of network maturity is negatively affecting business delivery
• 72% of top performing businesses already outsource more than half of their network infrastructure
• The top trends driving modernization of the enterprise network are: cybersecurity, cloud-native platforms, and the hybrid workplace
• 94% of business leaders are increasingly looking to partner with a Managed Service Provider or single specialist provider

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NTT Ltd., a leading global IT infrastructure and services company, has today launched its 2022 Global Network Report, which found that 70% of CEOs believe their network maturity level is negatively affecting their business delivery. 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. This has resulted in a new era of network modernization, with the majority of executives relying on it to enable business growth (>90%), and support artificial intelligence (AIOps) (91%).

Keeping hybrid environments secure
With distributed hybrid work models presenting far more attack opportunities for malicious actors, the importance of network security has become a major component of network architecture. This has inspired organizations to move to more centralized, cloud-based security solutions and a managed endpoint security model, as well as increasing their investments in network cybersecurity. Most business leaders believe new threats will drive increased security demands for their enterprise network, requiring a deeper level of access control and inspection (93%).

The transformation to network as a service models
Respondents reported that their highest concerns, above even cost, are security, modernization, and access to a full suite of services from their provider. In terms of managing the network, more than 90% of senior executives prefer the network as a service model, citing the flexibility to scale up and down as a major benefit. Additionally, a complexity in deploying effective AIOps and automation solutions, which simplify ongoing network operations but are complex to configure initially, make the network as a service model more attractive.

“Levels of investment in the network have surged, with the results of this research showing many organizations are leaning towards key partners and managed service solutions to fulfil their requirements. This is primarily to drive security and gain access to skills that can both optimize capability and accelerate innovation-based advances,” said Amit Dhingra, Executive Vice President at NTT Ltd. Network Services.

Dhingra concludes, “We are in the midst of a modernization of network services, however, many of the solutions that are currently in play for a minority will become standard within just two years. Instead, organizations should turn their attention to a network as a service model. Businesses should consider security, skills competency, ability to scale, private 5G, and software defined networking when selecting a network service provider. In the long term, blockchain, further AI and automation, AR and VR, quantum networking, 6G and photonic computing will affect how networks are delivered.”

Chris Barnard, Vice President at International Data Corporation (IDC) comments, “As new ways of working drive transformation, high performing enterprises realize the value of investing in strategic technologies – core enterprise networks, 5G, edge and artificial intelligence. To support the networking requirements of emerging digital services and applications, organizations are modernizing their enterprise networks, allowing for more efficient use and management of the networks that underpin their enterprises. Enterprises that have not invested risk negatively affecting their growth opportunities. As the network plays a fundamental role in digital transformation strategies and distributed working and processing, we can expect to see more enterprise network upgrades as technologies such as AI and security defenses are layered on to mainstream enterprise networking. While it can seem complex, service providers such as NTT can evaluate flexible deployment options that drive business value.”

The report concludes with seven considerations for executives to evolve and future-proof their network. Read the full 2022 Global Network Report here.

NTT Ltd. is a leader in the Gartner^® Magic Quadrant™ for Enterprise Network Services, Global, positioned highest for both its “Completeness of Vision” and “Ability to Execute” among 18 network service providers.

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Methodology

The report is based on research conducted by Jigsaw Research on behalf of NTT Ltd. across 21 countries in five regions in July and August 2022. The research spanned 16 industry sectors including: retail and wholesale, manufacturing and automotive, financial services, technology and health. The research is based on a sample of network decision-makers/influencers in IT and wider business roles.

About NTT Ltd.

As part of NTT DATA, a USD 30 billion IT services provider, NTT Ltd. is a leading IT infrastructure and services company serving 65% of the Fortune Global 500 and more than 75% of the Fortune Global 100. We lay the foundation for organizations’ edge-to-cloud networking ecosystem, simplify the complexity of their workloads across multicloud environments, and innovate at the edge of their IT environments where networks, cloud and applications converge. We offer tailored infrastructure and ensure consistent best practices in design and operations across all of our secure, scalable and customizable data centers. On the journey towards a software-defined future, we support organizations with our platform-delivered infrastructure services. We enable a connected future.

Visit us at services.global.ntt