A new report from Accenture reveals that while enterprises have embraced advanced digital technologies, such as IoT/Edge Computing (77 percent), Big Data/Analytics (83 percent) and Digital Customer Experience (78 percent), only 36 percent are “very satisfied” that their network currently has the capabilities required to support their business needs. That leaves 64 percent that see room for improvement.
Based on a global survey of 300 senior IT and business executives from large enterprises, the report titled “Network Readiness Survey, Is your business ready for a connected future?” shows that less than 40 percent of respondents are “very satisfied” with their overall capability (36 percent) and bandwidth (38 percent). Half or less reported being “very satisfied” with their network performance (43 percent), security (50 percent) and reliability (50 percent). Moreover, these levels remained largely the same when considering their networks’ ability to meet the needs of the business in 18-24 months. Less than half (43 percent) indicated their networks are completely ready to support cloud and digital technologies.
The report points to the “misalignment between IT and business needs” as the main obstacle to keeping networks in line with business demands, identified as a top barrier by 48 percent of respondents. The second and third most commonly cited barriers were “inherent complexities between business requirements and operational needs” (45 percent) and “demands for bandwidth, performance, etc., outpacing the ability to deliver” (45 percent).
