A look at network complexity, its drivers, needed skillsets, and levels of concern among IT professionals in North America.

1. 1
IT Pros Survey: North America
A look at network complexity, its drivers, needed skillsets,
and levels of concern among IT professionals in North America
Conducted by C White Consulting
May/June 2013

2. 2
Study Overview: areas of discussion
» What are the top drivers impacting network complexity?
» How concerned are IT pros about their ability to be
successful in regard to network complexity given their
existing skillset?
» How should any gaps in an IT pro’s network complexity
skillset be addressed both now and in the future?
For the purposes of this study, “network complexity” is defined as the continuously growing,
increasingly complicated nature of the network due to new technologies (such as SDN, virtualization,
etc.) as well as the ever-increasing responsibilities placed on IT professionals from an IT operations
perspective (by supporting new service offerings such as cloud, mobility, etc.) and business operations
perspective (such as security or compliance)

3. 3
Demographics: breakdown of survey respondents
225 IT practitioners, managers and directors in the U.S. and Canada (86% U.S., 14% Canada) from public- and
private-sector small, mid-size and enterprise companies participated in a May/June 2013 online survey
4%
12%
13%
12%
9%
16%
32%
Company Size
(number of employees)
50-99 FTEs
100-249 FTEs
250-499 FTEs
500-999 FTEs
1000-1499 FTEs
1500-4999 FTEs
5000+ FTEs
44%
30%
21%
4% 2%
IT Pro’s Role
Practitioner
Manager
Director
IT Consultant
Other IT-related
49%
48%
3%
Public/Private Sector Split
Public Sector
Private Sector
It's Complicated

4. 4
Drivers that Impact
Network Complexity

5. 5
3.26
3.18
2.76
2.61
2.47
1 2 3 4 5
Smarter equipment and/or
more complex equipment
Compute virtualization
Software Defined Networks
(SDN)/virtual networks
Video
conferencing/telepresence
Vendor proliferation
Technology Drivers
A1: Please rank which of the following technologies increase network
complexity the most for the networks that you manage with “1” meaning “most
impactful to network complexity” and “5” meaning “least impactful to network
complexity”, using each number only once: [provided “other” fill-in blank
option and “N/A-do not use/manage” option as well]
Top Drivers Impacting Network Complexity
#1
#2
The majority of IT professionals surveyed indicated that smarter equipment and/or more complex equipment
(for example, you used to need 3 pieces of equipment to do what a single piece of equipment can do today)
and compute virtualization are the top two technology drivers increasing network complexity today.

6. 6
4.50
4.41
3.86
3.72
3.66
3.62
3.37
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bring Your Own Device
(BYOD)
Mobility
Voice/Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP)
Distributed workforce and/or
telecommuters/work-from-…
Public cloud or Software as a
Service (SaaS)
Private cloud
Video distribution and/or
video conferencing
Drivers in IT Operations
A2: IT professionals are increasingly asked to take on additional
responsibilities as new IT service offerings emerge. Please rank which of the
following areas increase network complexity the most for the networks that
you manage with “1” meaning “most impactful to network complexity” and “7”
meaning “least impactful to network complexity”, using each number only
once: [provided “other” fill-in blank option and “N/A-do not use/manage”
option as well]
Top Drivers Impacting Network Complexity
#1
#2
IT professionals surveyed indicated that Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and mobility”are the top two areas
within IT Operations impacting network complexity today.

7. 7
2.27
1.75
1.68
1 2 3
Security (for example, denial
of service (DoS)
attacks, Adobe vulnerabilities)
Compliance (for
example, Payment Card
Industry-Data Security
Standard (PCI-…
Auditing (for example, IT
audits due to PCI-DSS, EU
Data Protection
Directive, HIPAA and other…
Drivers in
Business Operations
A3: IT professionals are increasingly asked to take on additional
responsibilities as new business operations requirements emerge. Please rank
which of the following areas increase network complexity the most for the
networks that you manage with “1” meaning “most impactful to network
complexity” and “3” meaning “least impactful to network complexity”, using
each number only once: [provided “other” fill-in blank option and “N/A-do not
use/manage” option as well]
Top Drivers Impacting Network Complexity
#1
The majority of IT professionals surveyed indicated that security (for example, denial of service (DoS)
attacked, Adobe vulnerabilities) is the top Business Operations driver increasing network complexity today.

8. 8
IT Pro’s Level of Concern regarding
Their Network Complexity Skillset

9. 9
A3: Based on the definition of “network complexity” above, how much has
increased network complexity changed your IT role/responsibilities within the
last 3-5 years? [choose one: “it has greatly affected my
role/responsibilities”, “it has somewhat affected …”, “it has not affected …”, “do
not know”]
Level of Concern: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
Over 92% of IT professionals said network complexity has either somewhat affected or greatly affected
their role/responsibilities within the last 3-5 years.
43%
49%
6%
2%
Impact of Network Complexity on IT Role
in Last 3-5 Years
It has greatly affected my
role/responsibilities
It has somewhat affected
my role/responsibilities
It has not affected my
role/responsibilities
Do not know

10. 10
A4(b,c,e): How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following
statements? (please provide the degree to which you agree or disagree with
each statement by selecting from 1 (“do not agree at all”) to 10 (“agree
completely”): [provided “N/A” as well]
Level of Concern: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
The majority of IT professionals responding agree that their existing skillset has fully prepared them to deploy
all the IT network management solution(s) necessary to manage their company’s current complexity
challenges; however, IT pros also agree (moderately so) that they are concerned regarding their ability to
succeed given ever-increasing responsibilities that directly impact network complexity.
5.55
6.04
6.14
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
With my existing skillset, I am concerned about my ability to succeed given
the new technologies (such as smarter equipment) and ever-increasing IT
operations (such as cloud) and business operations (such as compliance)
responsibilities I've been given, a
With my existing skillset, I am fully prepared to deploy all the IT network
management solution(s) necessary to manage our current network
complexity challenges.
IT professionals should have a "generalist" IT skillset (such as network)
rather than a "specialist" IT skillset (such as server/application).
(1 (“do not agree at all”)  10 (“agree completely”))
Do Network Complexity drivers hinder an IT Pro’s success given his/her
existing skillset?

11. 11
A4(a,d): How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following
statements? (please provide the degree to which you agree or disagree with
each statement by selecting from 1 (“do not agree at all”) to 10 (“agree
completely”): [provided “N/A” as well]
Level of Concern: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
Most IT professionals agree (moderately so) that their company is prepared for growing network complexity
challenges, yet slightly less IT pros agree that they have already invested in all of the IT network management
solution(s) necessary to address current network complexity challenges.
5.14
5.86
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
My company has already invested in all of the IT network management
solution(s) necessary to address our current network complexity
challenges.
My company is prepared for our growing network complexity challenges.
(1 (“do not agree at all”)  10 (“agree completely”))
How confident are IT pros that their companies are prepared for
growing network complexity challenges?

12. 12
A9: What else does your company still need to do/obtain in order to be as
prepared as possible for growing network complexity? (please choose all that
apply) [provided “other” fill-in-the-blank response as well]
Level of Concern: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
Over 70% of IT professionals feel that their company still needs to train IT staff in order to be as prepared as
possible for growing network complexity. This percentage remains consistent across small, mid-sized and
enterprise business sizes.
71.9%
55.3%
54.8%
52.2%
47.8%
2.2%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Train IT staff
Better prioritize existing IT resources
Increase IT budget
Add network management tools/SW
Increase IT staff
Other
What else does an IT pro’s company still need to do/obtain in order to
be as prepared as possible for growing network complexity?

13. 13
Addressing Gaps in an IT Pro’s
Network Complexity Skillset

14. 14
A10: What is the single most important skill/skillset needed TODAY by IT
professionals to combat the challenges of network complexity? (please choose
only one) [provided “other” fill-in-the-blank response as well]
Addressing Gaps: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
Over one-fourth of all IT professionals feel that understanding of the business is the single most important
skillset needed today to combat the challenges of network complexity, followed closely by network engineering
and information security. Sliced by company size, one-third of all IT pros in companies with 250-999 employees
felt understanding of the business was the single most important skillset needed today.
26.7%
22.7%
18.7%
9.3%
6.7%
6.2%
4.4%
3.6%
1.8%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Understanding of the business
Network engineering
Information security
Project management
Mobile applications and device management
Compute virtualization
Cloud or SaaS
Other
Server management
The single most important skillset needed today by IT pros
to combat the challenges of network complexity:

15. 15
A5(a): How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following
statements? (please provide the degree to which you agree or disagree with
each statement by selecting from 1 (“do not agree at all”) to 10 (“agree
completely”): [provided “N/A” as well]
Addressing Gaps: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
Most IT professionals agree (moderately so) that their higher education sufficiently prepared them for their
current IT role.
5.35
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
My higher education (university degree(s)
and/or vocational training) sufficiently
prepared me for my current IT role.
(1 (“do not agree at all”)  10 (“agree completely”))
Did higher education sufficiently prepare IT pros
for their current IT roles?

16. 16
A11: What will be the single most important skill/skillset needed IN FIVE YEARS
by IT professionals to combat the challenges of network complexity? (please
choose only one) [provided “other” fill-in-the-blank response as well]
Addressing Gaps: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
Information security surpasses understanding of the business (today’s single most important skillset) when IT
pros look 5 years into the future to determine what will be the single most important skillset needed to combat
the future challenges of network complexity. And cloud or Software as a Service (SaaS) jumps up on
everyone’s skillset radar as well.
21.3%
19.6%
17.8%
11.6%
10.2%
9.8%
6.7%
2.2%
0.4%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Information security
Understanding of the business
Cloud or SaaS
Mobile applications and device management
Network engineering
Compute virtualization
Project management
Server management
Other
The single most important skillset needed in 5 years by IT pros
to combat the future challenges of network complexity:

17. 17
A7: If you did not already possess the single most important skill needed
TODAY to combat the challenges of network complexity, how would you
realistically go about obtaining it? (please choose all that apply) [provided
“other” fill-in-the-blank response as well]
Addressing Gaps: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
Nearly two-thirds of IT professionals would obtain training in order to gain necessary skills/certifications for
combating network complexity. Over half would increase their experience/expertise organically, and 40% would
participate in peer-to-peer learning such as forums and best practices.
64.0%
54.7%
40.4%
39.6%
35.1%
28.4%
28.0%
13.8%
2.2%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Obtain training
Increase experience/expertise organically
Participate in peer-to-peer learning (such as…
Participate in vendor learning
Obtain certification
Turn to online influencers/resources
Participate in distance learning
Gain an/another university degree (undergraduate…
Other
Resources used for obtaining
any additional skills/certifications needed

18. 18
U4: What (if any) barriers have you encountered while trying to obtain network
management training (please think about the entire process – from gaining
approval to be trained through trying to complete the actual training)? [open-
ended/fill-in-the-blank]
Addressing Gaps: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
Over one-third of IT professionals consider budget constraints a barrier to training, and one-fourth consider
finding the time to train another barrier.
35.1%
23.6%
14.7%
14.7%
4.9%
4.4%
2.7%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Budget
Time to train
Approval process
No barriers
Training content
Other
Travel restriction/ban
Barriers (if any) to network management training
Sampling of Noteworthy Open-Ended Responses
Budget: “lack of budget”, “training first to go in budget
cuts”, “increasing cost of training for certifications is an issue”
Time to Train: “time away from existing workload”, “short-
staffed”
Approval Process: “[lack of] management understanding of the
ROI”, “explaining to management the necessity of
training”, “company [execs] don’t understand the urgency and
complexity of needed training”, “showing need for the training is
complex and time consuming …”
Training Content: “difficulty finding quality programs not
rehashing old ideas”, “finding the proper training that addresses
my needs”, “offsite vendors being prepared to cover and
demonstrate new technologies when you take their courses”
Travel Restriction/Ban: “unable to go to out-of-town
training”, “our company is under a travel ban, all training must
be local or distance learning”, “lack of training institutes in my
area”
Other: “difficult to ramp up quickly on all needed training”

19. 19
A6(a,b,c): How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following
statements? (please provide the degree to which you agree or disagree with
each statement by selecting from 1 (“do not agree at all”) to 10 (“agree
completely”): [provided “N/A” as well]
Addressing Gaps: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
IT professionals show little agreement on how painless a process it is to schedule a time to train on their own or
with a third party; however, they do agree (moderately so) that gaining approval to participate in training is a
relatively painless process, and that most/all of their training for skills/certification takes place during work hours.
5.29
4.98
5.58
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Gaining approval for me to participate in training (ie vendor
learning, distance learning, certifications, onsite training, offsite
training) is a relatively painless process within my company.
Scheduling a time for me to train (ie vendor training, distance
learning, certifications, onsite training, offsite training) on my own
or with a third party is a relatively painless process.
I undertake most/all of my training for needed skills/certification
during work hours.
(1 (“do not agree at all”)  10 (“agree completely”))
The Continuing Education Process

20. 20
A5(b,c,d): How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following
statements? (please provide the degree to which you agree or disagree with
each statement by selecting from 1 (“do not agree at all”) to 10 (“agree
completely”): [provided “N/A” as well]
Addressing Gaps: IT Pro’s Network Complexity Skillset
IT professionals show little agreement on whether today’s higher education is sufficiently preparing the next
generation of IT pros to meet tomorrow’s technology demands; however, they do agree (moderately so) that the
amount of training required for graduates entering the IT workforce sufficiently prepares them for entry-level
positions, and that graduates should have a “generalist” IT skillset rather than a “specialist” IT skillset.
5.06
5.79
6.50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Today's higher education (university degree(s) and/or vocational
training) is sufficiently preparing the next generation of IT
professionals to meet tomorrow's technology demands.
The amount of training required for university graduates and
vocational graduates entering the IT workforce sufficently prepares
them for entry-level positions.
University and vocational graduates should have a "generalist" IT
skillset (such as network) rather than a "specialist" IT skillset (such
as server/application).
(1 (“do not agree at all”)  10 (“agree completely”))
Today’s Educational Standards and Tomorrow’s IT Professionals