Remote work creates extra challenges for network teams

The ongoing shift to hybrid and remote work environments has resulted in key changes to the roles and priorities of network administrators in order to address new connectivity challenges and prioritize and preserve a secure, productive end-user experience.

New research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) and Auvik shows 73 percent of network professionals reported an increase in workloads, either slightly or significantly, following the shift from traditional to hybrid work environments.

The top challenges associated with the remote work experience are poor home Wi-Fi setups, distance from applications, and poor ISP quality. To overcome these obstacles, 72 percent of surveyed organizations have deployed network hardware to the homes of remote workers, including network security devices (62.7 percent) and Wi-Fi access points (54.1 percent). Additionally, 90 percent of organizations with hybrid workers say that they had to upgrade Wi-Fi networks to address increased office mobility requirements.

"These results reinforce that although people are beginning to return to the office, hybrid work is here to stay and is resulting in significant changes for network administrators," says Alex Hoff, co-founder and chief strategy officer for Auvik. "Although IT teams no longer own all the assets utilized daily by employees, they are still responsible for these operations. And despite not being able to directly exert control over employees’ home networks, they can have visibility over these environments with network monitoring tools. Implementing network visibility software helps IT professionals overcome these new obstacles by providing the ability to maintain visibility and control amid changing work circumstances. The data provided in this report reinforces Auvik's place in the market and demonstrates that our recent acquisitions, integrations, and expanded product offerings that were designed to help IT teams adapt to these new norms are well-suited for the challenges that are being identified within the industry."

Among other findings, nearly 49 percent of network operations teams have started working with a new tool vendor to help them manage the network experience of remote workers. Remote desktop access tools (deployed by 81 percent of companies) remain the go-to solution for troubleshooting remote users' problems, but endpoint monitoring tools are becoming increasingly popular (79 percent).

Although 87 percent have allocated funds in their budget to update network operation tools for remote and hybrid user support, only 32 percent of organizations say that they have been successful in doing so.

The full report is available from the Auvik site.

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