Netscout Identifies I.T. Challenges Faced in Keeping Remote-work Employees Connected During Pandemic

NETSCOUT SYSTEMS, INC., (NASDAQ: NTCT), a leading provider of service assurance, security, and business analytics, today announced findings from a survey it commissioned to understand the network infrastructure challenges associated with keeping employees connected in remote-work environments. The findings confirm that the use of unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) solutions has increased since the start of the pandemic, and that this increased use has created challenges for I.T. teams.

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“UC&C and Network Analytics: A Critical Coupling”

According to Gallup’s annual Work and Education Poll, one in four U.S. workers now work entirely from home with the number of remote-work telecommuting days doubling since last year. This dramatic increase places an added burden on I.T. departments to address complex UC&C solutions and manage the rise in I.T. helpdesk calls and tickets, especially given the added complexity of having multiple solutions without the visibility to identify issues.

Respondents to the NETSCOUT-commissioned survey fielded between Sept. 17 and Oct. 15, 2020, included 300 I.T. decision-makers from large enterprises with $1 billion or more in annual revenue. The findings found:

• 97% of respondents stated that collaboration platforms, applications, and tools have become much more critical in the current work environment;
• In response to the increased use of UC&C platforms, 85% stated they were upgrading their solutions to provide a better workforce experience;
• Respondents stated that UC&C platforms have become much more critical to their business with 85% of those surveyed indicating usage has either increased or significantly increased;
• More than 73% stated that increased usage has been problematic, citing cybersecurity, privacy concerns, response time, network visibility, bandwidth issues, and ensuring users have the proper equipment as leading factors;
• Problematic UC&C platforms place an incremental burden on I.T. departments, with respondents citing an increase in calls to I.T. (63%), open tickets (59%), user frustration (55%) resulting from issues associated with UC&C platforms;
• When asked how many collaboration platforms and tools they supported, 29% stated 3-4, 34% said 5-9, 12% stated 10-15, while 10% stated 16 or more.

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“With so many people working from home, there has been an inevitable increase in the reliance on real-time services like UC&C,” stated Paul Barrett, CTO, Enterprise, NETSCOUT. “However, such services are highly sensitive to network problems such as packet loss and latency, and as a result, IT departments need to quickly understand the root cause of issues such as a saturated VPN concentrator or a problem that resides with a software-as-a-service provider. Hence the need for comprehensive monitoring solutions that give them the visibility they need to ensure a better remote-work experience.”

NETSCOUT also sponsored an IDC Technology Spotlight entitled, “UC&C and Network Analytics: A Critical Coupling,” which articulates why an enterprise’s skilled management of virtual communication and collaboration between workers, partners, and directly with customers is critical to its success. It cites IDC research that U.S. enterprises have invested 5% more for both UC&C and network management solutions compared to the start of the pandemic.

“UC&C solutions and network infrastructure combine to serve up the best possible end-user experience,” stated Richard Costello, Senior Research Analyst, IDC. “But, that’s no easy feat. Complete network visibility and control enabled by network analytics solutions facilitate the reliable real-time delivery of enhanced communications and collaboration in the onrushing digital era.”