Here’s what Extreme Networks found:
1. Security is driving IT strategy. The majority of respondents listed security as the number one trend driving their IT strategy (77.4%). BYOD (55.5%) and cloud (44.5%) rounded out the top three. The results clearly demonstrate that in order to compete and fuel growth, businesses are increasingly dependent on pervasive connectivity and continuous engagement – both enabled by the constant increase in the number and variety of connected devices. As this transformation continues and even accelerates, IT departments must strike a balance between protecting the network and offering a flexible infrastructure capable of delivering a high quality of experience across business critical and lower priority applications.
2. On-premise managed networks are the norm, but hybrids are on the rise. The majority (50%) of respondents are currently using on-premise managed networks, while 32% are using either cloud or hybrid solutions. It is also important to call out that Wi-Fi remains top of mind, with 36.7% of the respondents primarily using one of these types of managed services to manage wireless access points.
3. 802.11ac Wave 2 is gaining momentum. With its promise of increased performance, capacity and efficiency, it’s not surprising our survey found that 802.11ac Wave 2 is gaining momentum in the enterprise; but the journey to Wave 2 is still ongoing. The aggregate of those organizations who have deployed a Wave 2 solution and those planning to deploy a Wave 2 solution (about 45%) is roughly the same as those who are not planning to deploy a Wave 2 solution (44%). If you want to learn more about the benefits of the new wireless standard, check our new Wave2 eBook which also explores the 5 key justifications required to build a winning business case for Wave 2.
4. Current cloud solutions fall short. 1/3 of respondents, industry-wide, do not feel their cloud solution supports their BYOD and IoT initiatives. This is concerning because as organizations continue to multiply IoT initiatives to drive greater efficiency and insights into their business, they will need to be able to securely on-board, monitor, control and support IoT devices and applications, if they are to compete as a digital business.
5. Current business operations are not aligned with cloud models. Survey respondents stated that the top reason for NOT investing in the cloud is that their current business operations are not aligned with subscription-based cloud business models. While these organizations engage in a necessary transformation, they indicated that the most favorable subscription services are yearly (34%), followed by monthly (21.7%) and quarterly (13.3%).
