Ready to improve network performance?
Optimizing networks is essential for streamlining the flow of data in your business.
When your company’s networks are extremely slow and unreliable, other vital business processes such as customer service, marketing and sales, suffer.
Unfortunately, a Kaspersky survey revealed that 40% of businesses experience network issues twice a month. Most of these challenges oscillate around poor performance and connectivity losses.
If you’d like to reduce downtime and get the most out of your business, the network performance monitoring statistics I’ve rounded up can help. They uncover key best practices like network documentation & automation for improving troubleshooting.
You’ll also learn about the common causes of network outages, enabling the formulation of a great network management strategy that improves your company’s success.
In this article, we’ll discuss interesting network performance monitoring statistics & trends to check out to help enhance your network’s speed, security and reliability.
Let’s get started.
1. Network monitoring systems market statistics
So what is network performance monitoring?
It is the process of troubleshooting, optimizing and managing the availability of your network, with the end goal being providing excellent experiences for end users.
In this section, we’ll discuss the state of this market, key players & other crucial insights:
1) $11 billion was the value of the global network management system market in 2023, and it’s set to grow to $21 billion by 2032. Some key growth drivers include advanced cybersecurity threats, increased compliance needs, and the continual expansion of existing network infrastructures to accommodate new technologies. (Source – Statista)
2) 63% of the network management system market goes to on-premise solutions. So it’s clear that on-premise deployment is the most popular approach, probably fueled by benefits such as ease of customization and greater security control. (Source – GMI)
3) 44% of organizations ranked the ability to identify cybersecurity threats quickly as the top benefit of using a proven network performance monitoring solution. When you can quickly discover threats, you can limit the amount of damage they cause. (Source – Cisco)
4) SolarWinds held 11.75% of the global network management software market in 2023. As a result, it was the most dominant company in this industry, probably fueled by the effectiveness of its full stack solutions. (Source – Statista)
5) Companies with 10 or fewer network monitoring solutions detect threats 58% faster on average than those who use more. These network performance monitoring statistics show that having more tools isn’t always better, largely because it can lead to poor visibility. (Source – VIAVI)
6) Large enterprises account for 61% of the network monitoring systems market, with SMEs and government entities claiming the remainder. It’s therefore clear that larger organizations invest more in these solutions, however, your workflow stands to benefit regardless of its size. (Source – GVR)
7) 32% of the network management systems market’s revenue comes from North America. It’s therefore the most dominant if we classify the market according to region, so it should be a high priority area if you’re a vendor of these solutions. (Source – GVR)
8) 45% of the entire global market is claimed by Tier 1 Vendors. This category encompasses huge players with well-established customer bases and they include Nokia, Huawei, IBM Corporation and Cisco Systems. (Source – FMI)
9) 12.1% is the compound annual growth rate of China’s network monitoring systems market, making it the fastest growing region. Other counties that make the top five in this regard include India, Germany, Japan and the United States, respectively. (Source – FMI)
10) The solutions segment accounts for 72% of the global network management system market, with services taking up the rest. Solutions entail software products while the services segment covers consultations about implementation, maintenance and other network aspects. (Source – GMI)
2. Statistics about network management best practices
Optimal network performance is the ultimate goal.
However, that’s hard to achieve if you don’t have a structured methodology with clear techniques to ensure consistency and efficiency with regard to network management.
This is why we’ll be discussing a few important best practices in this section:
11) 69% of business networks are mostly or completely homogenized. This means that software and hardware elements share the same architecture, which is a strategy that lowers your maintenance burden and makes it easier to troubleshoot issues. (Source – Auvik)
12) 90% of network management teams support a remote work model, although half hybrid, half-remote is the most prevalent arrangement. Some of the leading reasons why they are behind it is a flexible work schedule and improved worklife balance. (Source – Auvik)
13) 36% of businesses update their network documentation weekly. It is a prudent strategy, which can improve onboarding when you’re hiring new IT staff, or even help you to troubleshoot recurring issues with greater ease and speed. (Source – Auvik)
14) 39% of IT teams make changes to their networks at least once a week. This is a habit fueled by the addition or removal of new software and hardware components, as well as the need to circumvent newly-found network vulnerabilities. (Source – Auvik)
15) 45% of network experts back up configurations they make to their networks. I recommend doing the same often because it becomes easier to restore your network in case of a disaster like hardware failure, power outage or cyber attack. (Source – Auvik)
16) 80% of WAN managers use more than one Internet as a Service or IaaS provider. By spreading your network across different providers, you can reduce the risk of vendor lock in and unexpected downtime. (Source – TeleGeography)
17) 95% of enterprises use an observability strategy to improve network control and monitoring. An observability strategy involves aggregating comprehensive data from multiple sources to reveal actionable insights about your IT systems & networks. (Source – VIAVI)
18) 88% of companies want to improve their threat management capabilities, rating it among the most important aspects of effective network control. Some tips to help you enhance this aspect include using the right tools for analysis, and visualizing data. (Source – VIAVI)
19) 80% of organizations use a network performance monitoring tool. The right software solutions can help you identify network security threats proactively. In addition, they can also streamline the management of growing networks. (Source – VIAVI)
20) 93% of network management teams are keen to consolidate observability and network monitoring vendor tools. It’s an excellent move that can improve network visibility and also decrease your mean time to respond. (Source – VIAVI)
3. Network performance monitoring challenges statistics
What challenges crop up during network monitoring?
One of the biggest ones include poor network visibility, which not only makes it difficult to resolve performance issues but also increases the risk of threats going undetected.
So I’ll take you through prevalent challenges so that you know what you’re up against:
21) 19% of network managers are grappling with high network performance monitoring and management costs at large. I recommend using automation solutions to lower personnel needs and adopting a proactive approach to maintenance to cut down on these expenses. (Source – NetworkComputing)
22) 45% of businesses rated network security as a top priority area that they want to improve. It’s a challenge fueled by the fact that attack technologies are evolving quickly, creating new ways to infiltrate and compromise your systems. (Source – NetworkComputing)
23) 21% of companies face staff training issues with their network management strategy. These issues largely stemmed from poor awareness of best practices and a lack of technical skills, particularly among non-IT staff. (Source – NetworkComputing)
24) 19% of IT experts struggle with balancing between providing an excellent user experience and network performance. Some tips to help you strike the right balance include distributing loads strategically across different services, being proactive about resolving traffic bottlenecks, and optimizing content delivery. (Source – Statista)
25) 11% of network managers struggle to keep in touch with frequent network software patches and updates. Although an inconvenience, these updates are necessary in order to update security features to accommodate emerging network security threats. (Source – Statista)
26) 13% of businesses said scaling their network infrastructure is a complex process. Naturally, as your network environment grows, this can bring more devices and technologies into the mix, which inflates your configuration burden. (Source – Statista)
27) 17% of IT professionals rate constantly troubleshooting connectivity and stability issues as their biggest painpoint. It helps to have the right technologies to automate important aspects of your job such as network monitoring and fault detection. (Source – Statista)
28) 37% of network management teams work with between 4 to 7 different net management tools, while 56% work with more than ten. These network performance monitoring statistics prove that tool sprawl is a huge problem for businesses. (Source – Auvik)
29) 57% of network managers report poor visibility, especially when it comes to aspects such as WLAN, Voice/Video, ACI, and SD-WAN. In order to get around these blind spots, I recommend seeking a software with powerful analytics that offers granular insights about your network. (Source – LiveAction)
30) 54% of IT experts said that configuration and setting up network performance monitoring (NPM) tools can be quite cumbersome. This is why it’s important to consider ease of implementation when choosing an NPM solution for your business. (Source – LiveAction)
4. Statistics about network monitoring trends
The future of network monitoring is changing.
We’re seeing a rise in hybrid network architectures to elevate network performance, while companies are also turning to AI-driven automation to improve productivity.
In this section, we’ll discuss the latest network performance monitoring statistics about important trends that can benefit your business and its networks:
31) 65% of network managers increased their spending in 2022, compared to 58% in 2023. With network outages potentially costing your business heavily in terms of work hours and revenue, it’s understandable why many are spending more to bolster this aspect of their workflow. (Source – NetworkComputing)
32) 61% of businesses run hybrid network architectures, which incorporate cloud infrastructure and on-premise environments. Such models are great for helping you overcome the shortages of either option and unlock the best of both worlds. (Source – LiveAction)
33) 33% of IT leaders are planning on investing more in network security tools that are cloud based. The major benefits of these types of NPM solutions include better network visibility, advanced threat detection and improved productivity due to centralized network management. (Source – Cisco)
34) 26% of businesses prioritize the implementation of zero-trust networks. These can help you to not only reduce your attack surface and mitigate the severity of successful attacks but also enhance regulatory compliance. (Source – Cisco)
35) 60% of companies plan to invest more in multicloud network and security management platforms by 2026. By reducing the risk of a single point of failure, this strategy boosts the reliability of your networks and lowers unplanned downtimes. (Source – Cisco)
36) 34% of network managers plan to leverage AI-enabled NPM tools for predictive analytics. These software solutions can help you identify potential network issues before they become a problem, enabling proactive problem resolution. (Source – Cisco)
37) 69% of IT teams want to incorporate biometrics into their network security strategy. Biometric authentication can help get around passwords, which can be a very vulnerable means of securing your network when not completed by other tactics. (Source – Oracle)
38) 27% of businesses aim to improve network control using blockchain technologies. With blockchain, you can distribute control across different points of your network, and this reduces the risk of tampering that’s higher with centralized control strategies. (Source – Oracle)
39) 71% of enterprises view SD-WAN as important to the successful evolution of their networks. While traditional WAN involves a lot of manual configuration and is largely hardware-driven, SD-WAN is software-focused and offers greater cost-effectiveness and scalability. (Source – Oracle)
40) 30% of companies intend to channel more funds into network automation, with 30% of them prioritizing sustainability initiatives. These network performance monitoring statistics round up the top investment areas and priorities for 2025. (Source – Cisco)
5. Statistics about network outages
Why do network outages occur in the first place?
These outages result in costly consequences for your business, but in order to reduce the risk of unexpected downtime, it’s important to understand the root causes.
In this section, we’ll delve into data about network outages, and discuss triggers and their impacts on business, among other insights that can help you prevent such events:
41) 54.1% of network outages that businesses experienced in 2023 resulted from issues with the infrastructure of their cloud service provider. As a result, it’s the leading cause of outages and emphasizes the need to choose cloud partners carefully. (Source – Statista)
42) 53.5% of outages stemmed from configuration issues, with 47.1% of these incidents also arising from human error. Some of the contributing factors include inaccurate, incomplete or outdated network documentation and staff being under-trained as well. (Source – Statista)
43) 31.2% of outage issues result from automation errors, with a similar percentage occurring due to firewalls. While firewalls are an important network security measure, they can also negatively impact your network, especially when they get corrupted or are undersized.(Source – Statista)
44) Cyber attacks are responsible for only 15.3% of all network outages. So while you cannot sweep the threat of advanced attacks under the carpet, it’s quite clear that they are responsible for the least number of outages. In other words, most businesses have their network security strategy spot on.(Source – Statista)
45) Up to 80% of data center operations and network managers reported experiencing at least one incident of an outage in 2022. This represents a significant increase from the past year when only 69% reported experiencing a similar issue. (Source – Uptime)
46) 31% of IT decision makers said that their business lost over $1.2 million to network outages. Most of these losses resulted from businesses having to shut their doors, which caused a lot of missed sales opportunities. (Source – OpenGear)
47) Only 8% of businesses said that the network outages they experienced had little to no impact on their company. In other words, these network performance monitoring statistics show that outages have significant consequences for most businesses. (Source – OpenGear)
48) 41% of companies said that it takes too long to get network engineers on site when a data outage occurs. This is one of the reasons why you’re seeing that outage issues are taking too long to straighten out. (Source – OpenGear)
49) 37% of organizations experience power-related network outages. If you’d like to mitigate the risk of this particular type of outage, I recommend using automatic power backups such as an Uninterrupted Power Supply or UPS unit. (Source – Uptime)
50) 18% of network outages result from software-related problems, while 7% of these incidents are cooling related. So it’s important to ensure that IT software solutions are updated and also implement advanced cooling systems to prevent overheating. (Source – Uptime)
Conclusion
Your network is the driving force of your business.
Its performance can mean the difference between efficiency and chaos.
In fact, when network performance monitoring is poor, you’ll be unable to detect issues proactively, thereby increasing the risk of costly business disruptions.
It’s very alarming to note that companies lose $400 billion annually to network and IT outages at large, according to a study by Splunk. These losses accrue from lost revenue, depreciating stock value and regulatory fines.
If you’d like to limit the risk and severity of downtimes, the network performance monitoring statistics we’ve reviewed today are essential. They unearth crucial trends that can help you boost the stability and reliability of your networks.
For example, you can tap into predictive analytics to detect anomalies before they cause damage.
With other strategies like network automation and leveraging performance monitoring tools, you can also improve network health and safeguard your business from losses.
