Networks have never been more critical to the success of IT and the business.  New virtualization and Cloud technologies and services are remaking the face of IT and the way in which infrastructure is architected.  But the common thread throughout is the network, which must be both highly available and high performing.  The tools, technologies, and practices of network monitoring and management address these needs, and are thus essential to the success of every enterprise and governmental organization.

This Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) research report takes a detailed look at the current state of networks and network management, and examines five major areas of change and evolution affecting network management, including Cloud and virtualization, Software Defined Networking (SDN), Big Data, the rise of log data and APIs as management data sources, and the ongoing convergence of network operations teams and tools. The report also examines the context and influence that broader IT and organizational priorities and projects are having on network management priorities, as well as resulting requirements for network management products and solutions. The findings within this report reveal the experiences and objectives that a broad range of organizations have had regarding network management, and thus should serve as a source of requirements and input for strategic network engineering and operations planning.