Study: Networks Are Aging, RMM Can Help

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Remote monitoring and management (RMM) reduces the time it takes to troubleshoot problems with network devices by 75 percent. This is one of the findings in global services provider Dimension Data’s annual Network Barometer Report, which provides a view of the state of today’s global networks, based on assessments of more than 350 enterprise networks, 70,000 network devices and 175,000 network service incidents logged across 28 countries. The report goes on to say it takes 32 percent less time to repair devices monitored with RMM.

This year’s research also shows a continued strong correlation between the failures caused by devices and their lifecycle stage. For the fifth consecutive year, networks continued to age: 53 percent of the more than 70,000 technology devices analyzed for the study are aging or obsolete. This is a 2 percent increase over last year. The data did reveal a decrease in the percentage of obsolete devices, however — from 11 percent last year to 9 percent this year. The percentage of the current devices is the lowest it’s been in three years.

Andre van Schalkwyk, consulting practice manager for Dimension Data’s Networking Business Unit says in a press release, “The conventional assumption was that an overall technology refresh was imminent, but our data shows that organizations are refreshing mostly obsolete devices, and are clearly willing to sweat their aging devices for longer than expected. Organizations therefore focus their refresh initiatives mostly on technology that has reached critical lifecycle stages when vendor support is no longer available.”

The study revealed, however, organizations are expanding their wireless capabilities, although 64 percent of wireless access points are older models and the majority of devices are not IPv6-capable.

The report also found improvement in network security this year. Devices with at least one vulnerability decreased from 74 to 60 percent. Dimension Data attributes this to company replacing obsolete devices.

Dimension Data also reports the study shows “networks in the Americas are among the most outdated and vulnerable, highlighting the lack of, or delay in, spending on technology refreshes, potentially attributable to widespread budget cuts and a delayed reaction to the global economic crisis. This lack of strategic investment has also resulted in organizations not preparing for the significant impact of mobility, collaboration, and the Internet of Things (IoT) on corporate networks.”

For more information, download findings of the study at http://www.dimensiondata.com/networkbarometer.