By Rod Kay
Knowing what’s happening on the LAN, much less controlling it, is becoming quite complex. We hear concerns about managing access rights and other control issues all the time from our customers, across every industry, and the message is always the same. With the rapid increase in the number and types of users, applications and devices on LANs today, IT managers are losing visibility and control at an alarming rate. To better understand this situation, and to get from anecdote to real data, we commissioned Loudhouse, an independent research consultancy, to interview IT decision makers in both the US and UK on these issues.
Loudhouse asked respondents to consider how their LAN had grown over the last two years and about anticipated growth over the next two years. A key finding is that LANs have grown at fairly consistent rates across a wide range of axes and are expected to maintain this multi-dimensional growth over the next two years. Loudhouse calls this multi-dimensional growth “LAN Sprawl” – the combined effect of more and different types of users, applications, and devices and their inter-dependencies. Cross-functional users, third-parties, more diverse applications, and corporate, personal, and non-user IP devices are all in the mix, contributing to LAN Sprawl.
For IT organizations being asked to do more with less, this sprawl has become quite a problem. The video below provides survey results on the LAN Sprawl issue and some of the concerns IT has in dealing with this situation. If you’re having trouble viewing this video or text, click here for a larger slideshow with the full results.
We’d love to hear from you on this topic – are you feeling the effects of LAN sprawl? What steps are taking to regain control?
The survey, conducted in June 2009, is based on 200 interviews with IT decision makers from mid-size (250+ employees) to large enterprises (1000+ employees) across the US (100) and UK (100) regions.
Key Findings: LAN Sprawl Growth
1. 30% average growth in LAN size from 2007-2011 (average across all areas of growth)
2. The largest areas of growth in the network overall over the last two years are:
*Number of applications (16.8%)
*Smart/mobile devices (16.6%)
*Remote working employees (16.6%)
3. The greatest area of risk for UK respondents: ability to control access in remote locations (50%)
4. The greatest risk for US respondents: inability to enforce appropriate usage policies (40%)
Key Findings: Resources and Growth
Key Findings: Resources and Growth
1. The greatest areas of growth are increases in:
*Approved business applications
*Number of applications supported by the network
*Smart/mobile devices
*Remote working employees
2. Over next two years, 55% of US companies expecting greater growth, and 44% of UK
*The largest growers are also more likely to increase the pace of LAN growth
3. However only 42% of businesses have sufficient investment for IT to support their business goals
*37% say that staffing levels have increased to support LAN growth
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