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Tips to Consider When Calculating the ROI of Network Performance Monitoring Tools

Jay Botelho

In today's digital age, enterprises rely heavily on their networks to facilitate communication, collaboration, and operations. However, network performance issues can significantly impact productivity, customer satisfaction, and revenue generation. As a result, many organizations invest in network performance monitoring (NPM) tools to proactively manage network performance and ensure smooth operations. But according to EMA's Network Management Megatrends 2022 report, the percentage of NetOps teams that can successfully monitor their network performance is in steep decline, dropping from 49% in 2016 to just 27% in 2022.

Clearly these teams need to do a better job evaluating the ROI of the tools they're using. To help do that, let's explore the challenges NetOps teams face today, and dive into the quantifiable benefits they should be considering when calculating ROI of NPM tools.

NETOPS CHALLENGES

First, a few of the challenges organizations and their teams face:

Lack of a centralized platform for efficiently managing and monitoring all devices

Many organizations string together network performance monitoring products or end up logging into individual devices looking for data and trying to pinpoint issues. Without a centralized platform to monitor, analyze, and facilitate the remediation of network issues, teams will always struggle to save time, streamline operations, and meet the changing demands of the business.

Inability to monitor and analyze network telemetry efficiently

Legacy and alternative solutions can have issues in retrieving various telemetry and correlating different telemetry types. Without a single NPM (or tightly integrated set of tools) teams often face performance and telemetry storage issues that can impact their ability to efficiently analyze traffic over time to identify trends. This can also make report generation laborious and hinder performance close rates.

The challenge of scale

Networks continue to increase in size and scope. This is driven by a variety of new technologies across cloud, on-prem, and hybrid environments. Teams often struggle to scale while still maintaining visibility. They require tools that eliminate the network insight gap and deliver the best data and insights needed to act quickly and remediate issues.

These are just some of the challenges organizations face. Note that each organization will likely have their own unique network performance hurdles to consider.

BENEFITS OF NPM

Next, let's look at the quantifiable and unquantifiable benefits teams can achieve by adopting a comprehensive NPM solution. These benefits may directly or indirectly address the challenges described above. Nevertheless, consider all of these when evaluating the ROI of an NPM solution.

First the quantifiable benefits:

Reduced equipment (i.e., circuits) and bandwidth costs

By having a NPM solution that can properly identify network issues related to bandwidth usage and patterns, organizations can reduce or avoid the purchase of expensive equipment that doesn't address underlying issues. For example, enterprises can improve network performance by properly identifying chokepoints and redirecting network traffic instead of purchasing new equipment and additional bandwidth.

Increased business productivity from reduced network outages

Network downtime can be greatly reduced by improving troubleshooting productivity. This is enabled by the visibility and analytics that come with NPM solutions. Knowing how a product can reduce downtime can then be qualified into business value.

Streamlined report generation as a result of eliminating manual processes

Time spent by network engineers manually gathering data for report creation and generation can be greatly reduced and, in many cases, eliminated. The ideal NPM solution provides a wealth of standardized reports out-of-the-box. This makes it easy to create customized reports which can be scheduled and sent out automatically, reducing otherwise repetitive manual tasks.

Reduction in mean time to resolution

The reduction in time to resolve complex network issues with increased visibility and analysis results in an increase in the productivity of the network support team. Time to resolve network issues can often be cut in half with the right NPM solution.

Now the unquantified benefits:

Monitor different devices with a single solution

The ability to manage many devices from multiple device manufacturers at dispersed sites — on-premises, remote, SD-WAN, cloud, hybrid — in one place can be a challenge for organizations. Advanced NPM solutions deliver this centralized functionality.

Enhanced visualization

Preferable NPM solutions offer the ability to easily visualize network data, for example showing hop-by-hop network traffic for better situational awareness (and also enable segmentation of issues).

Ability to generate telemetry from parts of the network that have limited or no device telemetry

For example, in certain campus deployments, the switch can limit NetFlow capabilities, but a successful NPM solution can add packet analytics and generate enriched NetFlow to increase visibility. Using enriched NetFlow can deliver network and application performance data where none was previously available.

Ease of use

The product's ease of use is hard to quantify but key for product adoption, daily use by network engineers, and for reducing the amount of training required. Other ease-of-use capabilities can be integrated, for example, IT service management (ITSM) solutions or SD-WAN systems that automatically gather performance information.

These are just some of the challenges and benefits to consider when evaluating the ROI of an NPM solution. The key is identifying the challenges that exist and then quantifying the benefits that help address those challenges. Many vendors also have ROI studies associated with their products, so don't be afraid to ask.

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Tips to Consider When Calculating the ROI of Network Performance Monitoring Tools

Jay Botelho

In today's digital age, enterprises rely heavily on their networks to facilitate communication, collaboration, and operations. However, network performance issues can significantly impact productivity, customer satisfaction, and revenue generation. As a result, many organizations invest in network performance monitoring (NPM) tools to proactively manage network performance and ensure smooth operations. But according to EMA's Network Management Megatrends 2022 report, the percentage of NetOps teams that can successfully monitor their network performance is in steep decline, dropping from 49% in 2016 to just 27% in 2022.

Clearly these teams need to do a better job evaluating the ROI of the tools they're using. To help do that, let's explore the challenges NetOps teams face today, and dive into the quantifiable benefits they should be considering when calculating ROI of NPM tools.

NETOPS CHALLENGES

First, a few of the challenges organizations and their teams face:

Lack of a centralized platform for efficiently managing and monitoring all devices

Many organizations string together network performance monitoring products or end up logging into individual devices looking for data and trying to pinpoint issues. Without a centralized platform to monitor, analyze, and facilitate the remediation of network issues, teams will always struggle to save time, streamline operations, and meet the changing demands of the business.

Inability to monitor and analyze network telemetry efficiently

Legacy and alternative solutions can have issues in retrieving various telemetry and correlating different telemetry types. Without a single NPM (or tightly integrated set of tools) teams often face performance and telemetry storage issues that can impact their ability to efficiently analyze traffic over time to identify trends. This can also make report generation laborious and hinder performance close rates.

The challenge of scale

Networks continue to increase in size and scope. This is driven by a variety of new technologies across cloud, on-prem, and hybrid environments. Teams often struggle to scale while still maintaining visibility. They require tools that eliminate the network insight gap and deliver the best data and insights needed to act quickly and remediate issues.

These are just some of the challenges organizations face. Note that each organization will likely have their own unique network performance hurdles to consider.

BENEFITS OF NPM

Next, let's look at the quantifiable and unquantifiable benefits teams can achieve by adopting a comprehensive NPM solution. These benefits may directly or indirectly address the challenges described above. Nevertheless, consider all of these when evaluating the ROI of an NPM solution.

First the quantifiable benefits:

Reduced equipment (i.e., circuits) and bandwidth costs

By having a NPM solution that can properly identify network issues related to bandwidth usage and patterns, organizations can reduce or avoid the purchase of expensive equipment that doesn't address underlying issues. For example, enterprises can improve network performance by properly identifying chokepoints and redirecting network traffic instead of purchasing new equipment and additional bandwidth.

Increased business productivity from reduced network outages

Network downtime can be greatly reduced by improving troubleshooting productivity. This is enabled by the visibility and analytics that come with NPM solutions. Knowing how a product can reduce downtime can then be qualified into business value.

Streamlined report generation as a result of eliminating manual processes

Time spent by network engineers manually gathering data for report creation and generation can be greatly reduced and, in many cases, eliminated. The ideal NPM solution provides a wealth of standardized reports out-of-the-box. This makes it easy to create customized reports which can be scheduled and sent out automatically, reducing otherwise repetitive manual tasks.

Reduction in mean time to resolution

The reduction in time to resolve complex network issues with increased visibility and analysis results in an increase in the productivity of the network support team. Time to resolve network issues can often be cut in half with the right NPM solution.

Now the unquantified benefits:

Monitor different devices with a single solution

The ability to manage many devices from multiple device manufacturers at dispersed sites — on-premises, remote, SD-WAN, cloud, hybrid — in one place can be a challenge for organizations. Advanced NPM solutions deliver this centralized functionality.

Enhanced visualization

Preferable NPM solutions offer the ability to easily visualize network data, for example showing hop-by-hop network traffic for better situational awareness (and also enable segmentation of issues).

Ability to generate telemetry from parts of the network that have limited or no device telemetry

For example, in certain campus deployments, the switch can limit NetFlow capabilities, but a successful NPM solution can add packet analytics and generate enriched NetFlow to increase visibility. Using enriched NetFlow can deliver network and application performance data where none was previously available.

Ease of use

The product's ease of use is hard to quantify but key for product adoption, daily use by network engineers, and for reducing the amount of training required. Other ease-of-use capabilities can be integrated, for example, IT service management (ITSM) solutions or SD-WAN systems that automatically gather performance information.

These are just some of the challenges and benefits to consider when evaluating the ROI of an NPM solution. The key is identifying the challenges that exist and then quantifying the benefits that help address those challenges. Many vendors also have ROI studies associated with their products, so don't be afraid to ask.

Hot Topics

The Latest

According to Auvik's 2025 IT Trends Report, 60% of IT professionals feel at least moderately burned out on the job, with 43% stating that their workload is contributing to work stress. At the same time, many IT professionals are naming AI and machine learning as key areas they'd most like to upskill ...

Businesses that face downtime or outages risk financial and reputational damage, as well as reducing partner, shareholder, and customer trust. One of the major challenges that enterprises face is implementing a robust business continuity plan. What's the solution? The answer may lie in disaster recovery tactics such as truly immutable storage and regular disaster recovery testing ...

IT spending is expected to jump nearly 10% in 2025, and organizations are now facing pressure to manage costs without slowing down critical functions like observability. To meet the challenge, leaders are turning to smarter, more cost effective business strategies. Enter stage right: OpenTelemetry, the missing piece of the puzzle that is no longer just an option but rather a strategic advantage ...

Amidst the threat of cyberhacks and data breaches, companies install several security measures to keep their business safely afloat. These measures aim to protect businesses, employees, and crucial data. Yet, employees perceive them as burdensome. Frustrated with complex logins, slow access, and constant security checks, workers decide to completely bypass all security set-ups ...

Image
Cloudbrink's Personal SASE services provide last-mile acceleration and reduction in latency

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 13, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA discusses hybrid multi-cloud networking strategy ... 

In high-traffic environments, the sheer volume and unpredictable nature of network incidents can quickly overwhelm even the most skilled teams, hindering their ability to react swiftly and effectively, potentially impacting service availability and overall business performance. This is where closed-loop remediation comes into the picture: an IT management concept designed to address the escalating complexity of modern networks ...

In 2025, enterprise workflows are undergoing a seismic shift. Propelled by breakthroughs in generative AI (GenAI), large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP), a new paradigm is emerging — agentic AI. This technology is not just automating tasks; it's reimagining how organizations make decisions, engage customers, and operate at scale ...

In the early days of the cloud revolution, business leaders perceived cloud services as a means of sidelining IT organizations. IT was too slow, too expensive, or incapable of supporting new technologies. With a team of developers, line of business managers could deploy new applications and services in the cloud. IT has been fighting to retake control ever since. Today, IT is back in the driver's seat, according to new research by Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) ...

In today's fast-paced and increasingly complex network environments, Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the backbone of ensuring continuous uptime, smooth service delivery, and rapid issue resolution. However, the challenges faced by NOC teams are only growing. In a recent study, 78% state network complexity has grown significantly over the last few years while 84% regularly learn about network issues from users. It is imperative we adopt a new approach to managing today's network experiences ...

Image
Broadcom

From growing reliance on FinOps teams to the increasing attention on artificial intelligence (AI), and software licensing, the Flexera 2025 State of the Cloud Report digs into how organizations are improving cloud spend efficiency, while tackling the complexities of emerging technologies ...