Study: Hybrid Workforce Experience Hampered by Network Issues

Auvik Networks

The Auvik 2023 Network IT Management Report reveals that the majority of IT teams struggle with network visibility and security issues, especially as remote and hybrid work continues. Only half of the respondents undertake Wi-Fi management or SaaS and Cloud monitoring, two essential functions of the modern workplace network in the hybrid environment of today. 86% of respondents support a remote workforce at least some of the time.

Employees use SaaS and cloud tools (such as Salesforce, Slack, G Suite, Microsoft 365, Zoom, etc.) to complete tasks. These applications and the Wi-Fi that staff members use at home (or in a hotel, coffee shop, etc.) might pose security concerns to the company network, thus IT teams need to be aware of these dangers and have solutions for letting their staff be productive while reducing risk. Within the next 12 months, 30% of survey participants said they expect to invest in Wi-Fi management and/or SaaS and Cloud monitoring solutions in response to this demand and the gaps that are now present.

Alex Hoff, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Auvik
“45% of this year’s respondents said they are measured on the satisfaction of their end user or customer,” said Alex Hoff, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Auvik.

The 2023 edition of Auvik’s annual report details data from a poll of 4,500 IT experts throughout North America, illuminating the current issues that MSPs and in-house IT staff alike are experiencing with regard to network visibility, management, and security.

“A growing trend we at Auvik have observed – and which the findings of our 2023 report reinforce – is that IT teams are increasingly measured on their ability to deliver a seamless experience to end users and keep them productive,” said Alex Hoff, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Auvik. “45% of this year’s respondents said they are measured on the satisfaction of their end user or customer. When an employee experiences slowness on their device, network or in an application they are using, the responsibility to resolve that issue falls to the IT team, who are often working with blind spots and a constantly-changing environment.”

Network Configurations

More than 2 million people in California lost power in January of this year as a result of storms; many of these people subsequently traveled to friends’ or family members’ houses to work, introducing new Wi-Fi connections, maybe new gadgets, and other elements that influence the end user experience, stated Auvik. The ability to monitor, manage, and assist workers’ work experiences from any place, at any time, is a must for IT teams, the company added.

Network settings would present an important visibility and security gap for IT staff. According to the Auvik survey, 21% of IT teams said that people outside of ITOps, maybe in neighboring departments like DevOps, are changing network configurations. 45% of IT teams said that they do not completely understand how their networks are configured. Furthermore, 33% and 20% of respondents, respectively, claimed configuration modifications take place at least monthly and daily, respectively. The security concerns considerably rise when network configuration modifications are often made by unidentified non-IT staff.

Additional key findings from the report include the following:

  • Despite 53% of respondents stating that configuration changes occur daily or weekly, 41.5% of respondents claimed that network documentation is updated monthly or less frequently
  • Lack of time and money, according to 61% of respondents, prevents them from providing better service to their coworkers and clients – the top three issues affecting IT teams are budget/costs, security, and a lack of qualified personnel
  • 73% of those surveyed contract out some of their network-related duties
  • In 42% of the respondents’ organizations, uptime and downtime percentages are monitored

“The network has evolved from assets solely owned by the IT organization to anything that allows the team to connect to their application, which results in greater change and complexity for the end user experience,” added Mr. Hoff. “This means greater chances for a poor end user experience and decreased productivity, security risks, and network downtime, which directly impacts the bottom line. According to the Information Technology Industry Council, a single hour of server downtime costs most small to mid-sized enterprises $300,000, and can cost larger organizations more than $5 million. Visibility is critical to reach what we call The Last Mile of the Office Network and ensure the remote workforce remains safe, connected, and productive.”