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What is Advanced Network Analytics? Cutting Through the Hype

Shamus McGillicuddy

Everyone wants to talk about how analytics is the future of network engineering and operations. The phrase "network analytics" is used by vendors of various stripes to imply that a particular technology is smarter and better than the average solution.

But what is it? What does the term network analytics mean to the enterprise network infrastructure professionals?

Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) recently published survey-based research on this topic. We sought out individuals who were actively involved in so-called network analytics initiatives. To find these people, we presented random IT professionals with a broad definition of a network analytics initiative.

"The implementation of technologies and strategies aimed at extracting previously unrealized insight and value from data produced by and collected from network infrastructure and network traffic. Network analytics supports network and IT engineering and operations use cases. It can also benefit the business via business process optimization and other opportunities."

To qualify for our research survey, IT professionals had to work for an organization that was engaged in an initiative that fit the above definition, and survey respondents had to be directly involved in such an initiative.

Our first goal with this research was to let survey respondents tell me what network analytics means to them. And that’s where the following question comes in.

What network analytics technology strategies does your organization currently use or plan to use?

The average respondent selected slightly more than two of the following multiple-choice options, which suggests that network pros are taking multiple paths toward a network analytics future.

1.Analytics features embedded in network infrastructure (58%)

2. Analytics features embedded in network operations software (56%)

3. Packaged solutions from pure-play network analytics vendors (55%)

4. Packaged solutions from pure-play general analytics vendors (34%)

5. Standalone analytics stacks (homegrown or otherwise) applied to a network data store (18%)

We also asked them to select the one option above that was their primary approach to network analytics. Analytics features embedded in network operations software was the top choice (40%), analytics embedded in infrastructure was second (30%), and pure-play network analytics vendors was third (18%).

This data tells us that IT shops are consuming network analytics from some very familiar vendors. In fact, you might already have your network analytics solution.

Network monitoring tools increasingly leverage new analytics and machine learning algorithms to make their tools more intelligent and useful

Network management software vendors and network hardware vendors are delivering analytics technologies within their existing product portfolios. We’ve seen indications of this for a few years now. Network monitoring tools, for instance, increasingly leverage new analytics and machine learning algorithms to make their tools more intelligent and useful.

Network infrastructure vendors are embedding analytics everywhere, particularly in the data center and the WAN. Nearly every enterprise-grade software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) solution leverages analytics in some way, particularly those with sophisticated traffic steering capabilities and extensive network automation capabilities.

Yes, there are clearly specialized network analytics solutions out there for you to buy, and many enterprises are doing so. But you don’t need to add another vendor to your roster to access the benefits of network analytics today. You may not even have to buy a new product. Your existing vendors are enriching the technology you have already deployed.

The network hardware you already have installed may get smarter in the next few years thanks to new analytics features. The network management and monitoring tools that you have also will get smarter. If it hasn’t happened already, you can expect to see your existing solutions enhanced by process analytics, predictive analytics, data mining, trending, and emulation. And you will also see your vendors leverage machine learning to make their products smarter.

As this industry trend unfolds and embedded analytics proliferate in hardware and management software, some network managers may see gaps in their engineering and operations processes that a solution from a pure-play network analytics vendor can fill. More than half of the IT professionals we surveyed have apparently already responded to this issue by engaging with such analytics vendors.

This research tells us that network analytics isn’t some shiny new thing that you need to buy. It’s more about an evolution and enrichment of existing technology. As you navigate your way around the hype machine, keep that in mind.

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What is Advanced Network Analytics? Cutting Through the Hype

Shamus McGillicuddy

Everyone wants to talk about how analytics is the future of network engineering and operations. The phrase "network analytics" is used by vendors of various stripes to imply that a particular technology is smarter and better than the average solution.

But what is it? What does the term network analytics mean to the enterprise network infrastructure professionals?

Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) recently published survey-based research on this topic. We sought out individuals who were actively involved in so-called network analytics initiatives. To find these people, we presented random IT professionals with a broad definition of a network analytics initiative.

"The implementation of technologies and strategies aimed at extracting previously unrealized insight and value from data produced by and collected from network infrastructure and network traffic. Network analytics supports network and IT engineering and operations use cases. It can also benefit the business via business process optimization and other opportunities."

To qualify for our research survey, IT professionals had to work for an organization that was engaged in an initiative that fit the above definition, and survey respondents had to be directly involved in such an initiative.

Our first goal with this research was to let survey respondents tell me what network analytics means to them. And that’s where the following question comes in.

What network analytics technology strategies does your organization currently use or plan to use?

The average respondent selected slightly more than two of the following multiple-choice options, which suggests that network pros are taking multiple paths toward a network analytics future.

1.Analytics features embedded in network infrastructure (58%)

2. Analytics features embedded in network operations software (56%)

3. Packaged solutions from pure-play network analytics vendors (55%)

4. Packaged solutions from pure-play general analytics vendors (34%)

5. Standalone analytics stacks (homegrown or otherwise) applied to a network data store (18%)

We also asked them to select the one option above that was their primary approach to network analytics. Analytics features embedded in network operations software was the top choice (40%), analytics embedded in infrastructure was second (30%), and pure-play network analytics vendors was third (18%).

This data tells us that IT shops are consuming network analytics from some very familiar vendors. In fact, you might already have your network analytics solution.

Network monitoring tools increasingly leverage new analytics and machine learning algorithms to make their tools more intelligent and useful

Network management software vendors and network hardware vendors are delivering analytics technologies within their existing product portfolios. We’ve seen indications of this for a few years now. Network monitoring tools, for instance, increasingly leverage new analytics and machine learning algorithms to make their tools more intelligent and useful.

Network infrastructure vendors are embedding analytics everywhere, particularly in the data center and the WAN. Nearly every enterprise-grade software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) solution leverages analytics in some way, particularly those with sophisticated traffic steering capabilities and extensive network automation capabilities.

Yes, there are clearly specialized network analytics solutions out there for you to buy, and many enterprises are doing so. But you don’t need to add another vendor to your roster to access the benefits of network analytics today. You may not even have to buy a new product. Your existing vendors are enriching the technology you have already deployed.

The network hardware you already have installed may get smarter in the next few years thanks to new analytics features. The network management and monitoring tools that you have also will get smarter. If it hasn’t happened already, you can expect to see your existing solutions enhanced by process analytics, predictive analytics, data mining, trending, and emulation. And you will also see your vendors leverage machine learning to make their products smarter.

As this industry trend unfolds and embedded analytics proliferate in hardware and management software, some network managers may see gaps in their engineering and operations processes that a solution from a pure-play network analytics vendor can fill. More than half of the IT professionals we surveyed have apparently already responded to this issue by engaging with such analytics vendors.

This research tells us that network analytics isn’t some shiny new thing that you need to buy. It’s more about an evolution and enrichment of existing technology. As you navigate your way around the hype machine, keep that in mind.

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 ...

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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 ...

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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 ...