Ironically, Accenture’s Enterprise Network Readiness Survey does not find a lot of readiness in today’s enterprise networks. Only 36% of executives surveyed report that their networks are fully ready to support the needs of their business, and just 43% are ready to support their cloud and digital businesses.
Other highlights of the study include:
- Nearly half (48%) of respondents identified misalignment between IT and the business as a top barrier to readiness, but “the inherent complexities between business requirements and operational needs” (45%) and “demands for bandwidth and performance outpacing the ability to deliver” (45%) were cited nearly as often.
- Looking at the relationship between IT and the business, perceptions differ on how collaborative it is. 58% of CIOs and CTOs believe it is “always collaborative,” compared with 45% of business executives and just 28% of their direct reports. This disconnect could be a factor in the misalignment between IT and the business.
- Only 40% of CIOs believe that funding necessary network capability improvements is “easy” in their organizations.
- Only 50% of respondents report being “very satisfied” with their network security.
As networks become more distributed, network performance and security become more interconnected. Security incidents, when they happen, often impact network performance and the business’ ability to get things done. But beyond that, manual security processes can slow down otherwise free-flowing network operations.
These manual processes are normally caused by a disaggregated security architecture, in which different elements are not integrated and centralized visibility and control does not exist. As leaders, the CISO should always endeavor to create value for the business—and that value can come through operational efficiency and optimal network performance because of—not in spite of—effective security controls.