Trends such as Big Data and BYOD have made the network more critical than ever. Research shows the pain points IT departments are experiencing with network infrastructure—and the investments they’re making to improve capacity , scalability and flexibility.

1. The Network As Business
Growth Engine
Emerging Technologies Put More
Demand on the Network
IDC predicts that from 2005 to 2020, the digital universe—
the data created, replicated and consumed in a single
year—will grow by a factor of 300, from 130 exabytes to
40,000 exabytes . The rise of Big Data, combined with
enterprise technology trends such as BYOD, virtualization,
business continuity/disaster recovery and cloud services,
continue to put a heavy burden on enterprise networks,
according to new research from IDG Research Services.
More than eight in 10 respondents to the survey say that
new enterprise applications, services or technologies have
caused network-related issues such as insufficient capacity,
slow throughput and an inability to prioritize traffic (slide 12).
Data archiving is the biggest inhibitor to network perfor-
mance, according to respondents, followed by rich media,
image transfers and voice-over-IP services. Increased use of
these types of high-bandwidth applications, combined with
the growing repository of data that businesses are collecting
from myriad devices, will push many corporate networks
to the breaking point. Survey respondents expect signifi-
cant pressure to be put on their networks over the next
12 months, citing increases in data center traffic, BYOD/
mobility initiatives, business continuity/disaster recovery
and virtualization as the primary contributors.
The pace at which new technologies are rolling out is so
Like Rodney Dangerfield, the corporate network generally
gets no respect. People talk about it only when it is down or
performing poorly.
These perceptions, however, are beginning to change.
Enterprise trends such as Bring Your Own Device (BYOD),
mobility, Big Data and cloud computing have made the
network more critical than ever in the eyes of both IT and
business users.
There is little doubt that the increased demand for
bandwidth resulting from these trends is putting a strain on
corporate networks. The vast majority of respondents to an
April, 2013 IDG Research Services survey say their corporate
networks have run up against capacity, throughput and
other issues related to new applications or services. And
there is no sign of a letup: Half expect increases in data
center traffic to put significant pressure on the network
over the next 12 months.
“For many organizations, application demand has gone
beyond what the network can support,” says Eric Wanzer,
director of marketing operations and sales enablement,
Comcast Business.“IT is realizing they can no longer wait to
invest in the network because their business is demanding
changes to the infrastructure.”
As a result, organizations are increasing investments
in emerging network technologies such as Ethernet/fiber
services, which provide the bandwidth and scalability
they require to support increasing traffic and connected
devices. Through these services, the modern IT organiza-
tion can better position the network to deliver on two core
elements of its mission: improving end-user productivity
and unlocking new opportunities for business growth.
Trends such as Big Data and BYOD have made the network more
critical than ever. Research shows the pain points IT departments
are experiencing with network infrastructure—and the investments
they’re making to improve capacity, scalability and flexibility.
Market
Pulse
white paper

2. 2 The Network As business Growth Engine
rapid that IT organizations often have difficulty gauging the
impact until after these technologies are deployed. Nearly
half the survey respondents (47 percent) say they some-
times invest in new applications, services or technology and
later discover that their network does not have adequate
bandwidth to support them. That poses a big challenge for
businesses that increasingly rely on real-time access to
information to fuel their growth engines, serve customers
and stay one step ahead of competitors.
“People want access to information,” Wanzer says. “The
expectation is to have information everywhere. Availability
is no longer nice to have for the end user—it’s a demand.”
Emphasizing Network Performance Drives Investment
Considering what is at stake, it is not surprising that 85
percent of IT decision-makers consider network connec-
tivity to be a critical or very important enabler of strategic
business goals, such as increasing efficiency or improving
productivity. However, the challenge—exacerbated by
the global financial crisis—has been getting the business
to invest in the network upgrades necessary to achieve
these goals.
The purse strings may be loosening a bit. The majority
of survey respondents (61 percent) say their organizations
will make moderate to significant investments in network
Market
Pulse
services or fiber connectivity over the next 12 months,
trailing only applications as an investment priority. Ethernet
over fiber is becoming the WAN connectivity method of
choice for the majority of organizations; 75 percent of
respondents say they are currently using Ethernet/fiber and
62 percent say they plan to invest or increase investment in
the technology over the next 24 months.
For many organizations, Ethernet/fiber connectivity is a
logical next step in their migration from legacy T1 or ATM/
frame relay connectivity services. The ability to manage
private line, Internet and, increasingly, voice traffic over
high-speed Ethernet connections is particularly appealing to
IT teams looking to bring some order to the chaotic network
infrastructures that have sprung up around them.
“The ability to provide bandwidth and capacity through
a dynamic Ethernet topology gives IT a better option for
centralizing infrastructure,” Wanzer says. “Looking across
the entire enterprise, centralization of data centers, voice,
video and Internet can provide huge gains in performance
and efficiency. The beauty is in its simplicity.”
From Managing Costs to Driving Business Value
Investments in Ethernet/fiber and other high-capacity
network connectivity are not simply a play for more band-
width. Organizations are beginning to understand—and
Source: IDG Research Services, May 2013
Current and Planned Investments in Network Services
Ethernet/Fiber
T1
T3
MPLS
HFC or cable
ATM/Frame Relay
75%
62%
49%
35%
34%
27%
19%
8%
12%
6%
18%
17%
Planned investments amoung
those NOT currently using
Ethernet/Fiber:
Base: 62
T3 31%
Ethernet/Fiber 26%
MPLS 24%
T1 15%
HFC or cable 10%
ATM/Frame Relay 5%
Currently in use Plan to invest/increase investment next 12-24 months

3. 3 The Network As Business Growth Engine
build a case around—the business benefits of a high-perfor-
mance network. Better application performance, enabled
by highly reliable, high-speed connections, can have a direct
impact on areas such as end-user productivity, customer
satisfaction and security.
“More organizations are seeing the benefits of managing
one homogeneous network rather than a collection of
point-to-point connections to remote offices,” Wanzer
says. “If I can extend my Ethernet cable from the data
center out to remote sites, I can start moving to a single
solution that limits points of entry to improve security as
well as performance.”
There is still room for improvement. While most
respondents are pleased with current network
performance in critical areas such as reliability, security,
throughput and bandwidth availability, a gap remains
between the perceived importance of those areas and
the network’s ability to deliver. For example, 92 percent
rated network reliability as very important or critical, but
just 78 percent say reliability was very good or excellent—
a 14 percent difference in expectations
versus performance.
Those who are investing exclusively in
Ethernet/fiber, however, are more likely
to rate their existing network services
highly, especially in the areas of reli-
ability and performance. Additionally,
this segment is less likely to encounter
network-related issues in supporting
new enterprise applications, services
or technologies (30 percent versus 47
percent).
Making a Business Case for
Network Investment
CIOs and their IT teams understand that
building a business case for network
investment does not begin with a discus-
sion about technology. Increasingly, IT
organizations are working with other business stakeholders
to determine the business need, and then identifying solu-
tions to address the need.
“The applications are the story that enables IT to
rethink the network,” Wanzer says. “Before you talk about
the technology, talk about what you want to accomplish as
a business over the next three to five years.”
With those overarching goals in mind, CIOs should
consider three key elements of any pitch for network
investment:
Business benefits: Focus the conversation on tangible
benefits that a higher-capacity, reliable, low-latency and
highly secure network can provide to employees, partners
and customers. Faster access to information can improve
end-user productivity, increase supply-chain efficiencies,
enable faster decision-making and improve customer-facing
channels such as call centers, websites and point-of-sale
operations. The ability to scale capacity quickly during peak
times means the network will perform when the business
needs it most.
Cost management: Integrating multiple data, voice
and video services into a single high-capacity network,
along with centralizing private line and Internet connec-
tions to remote offices, can drive down fixed costs as well
as ongoing maintenance. Centralization can also help IT
teams better manage the costs of services such as disaster
recovery/business continuity.
Resource reallocation: IT teams have been asked to
do more with less for years. The efficiencies gained by
integrating voice and data services across multiple sites via
“Looking across the entire enterprise, centraliza-
tion of data centers, voice, video and Internet can
provide huge gains in performance and efficiency.
The beauty is in its simplicity.”
Source: IDG Research Services, May 2013
Primary Network Issues Encountered in Supporting
New Enterprise Applications, Services or Technologies
Not enough capacity
Slow throughput
Inability to prioritize
traffic
Inability to scale
Unreliable service
40%
33%
30%
24%
19%

4. a high-capacity network can free up critical IT resources
to focus on growth initiatives instead of just maintenance.
“Because of the economy, a lot of businesses have been
operating in a way that has burned out IT personnel,”
Wanzer says. “Ultimately, the business suffers from that.
A high-bandwidth solution that provides scale and flexibility
can give the IT organization some relief to focus on the 30
other projects they have.”
Summary
The enterprise network, once the Rodney Dangerfield of IT,
has emerged as a key enabler of business agility. Organiza-
To learn more, visit us at
www.Business.comcast.com/Ethernet
4 The Network As business Growth Engine
“If I can extend my Ethernet cable from the data
center out to remote sites, I can start moving to
a single solution that limits points of entry to
improve security as well as performance.”
tions that want to remain competitive in today’s fast-
moving climate are paying more respect to the network
and investing in technologies and services that enable
better efficiency, productivity and performance across
the entire business.
As the results of our IDG Research Services survey
indicate, IT decision-makers are placing a higher value
on network connectivity as a means to achieving business
goals. In a dynamic environment in which employees and
customers alike expect instant access to information, from
any location and with any computing device, continued
investment in network services that provide both scale
and flexibility will be critical to a business’s ability to
respond to real-time demands and create a foundation
for sustainable growth. ■
Source: IDG Research Services, May 2013
Performance Ratings on Key Aspects of Network Services
Reliability
Security
Performance/throughput
Bandwidth availability
Cost efficiency/price
Bandwidth efficiency (the ability to efficiently
leverage existing bandwidth)
Operational impacts (incredmental CPE
(customer provided equipment) impacts, staff
knowledge requirements, maintenance costs)
92%
78%
87%
83%
82%
72%
78%
65%
76%
57%
65%
58%
71%
76%
Critical/Very Important Excellent/Very Good Performance