Enterprise networks are becoming more and more complex, but businesses are finding it harder than ever to hire people with the right skills to manage them. So why is network engineering expertise in such short supply, what impact does that have on businesses, and how can enterprises end the struggle to bridge this skills gap?
Enterprise networks have seen huge change over recent years. The adoption of cloud and XaaS, IoT, hybrid working, and AI have transformed the architecture and complexity of business-critical infrastructure – but at the same time, it’s becoming progressively more difficult to recruit staff with network engineering skills.
Networking Has an Image Problem
Older networking staff are increasingly reaching the end of their careers and leaving the workforce. In 2023, 86% of CIOs in the US anticipated that at least a quarter of their network engineers would retire within five years.
These more experienced employees are difficult to replace, as fewer younger people train in network engineering. In fact, networking skills are the second most difficult technology area to recruit for, ahead of data, AI, and automation – 36% of organizations say it’s a key challenge.
For generations that grew up with the internet, it’s easy to take connectivity for granted. Networking is seen as a less attractive proposition among younger generations compared to AI, software engineering, and cybersecurity.
This is reflected in a poorer choice of networking course options at colleges and universities, and limited awareness of it as a career option.
The Lack of Network Skills Leads to Poor Performance and Gaps in Security
According to 81% of global CIOs, the scarcity of engineers affects their ability to effectively manage their networks.
This makes it difficult to keep up to date with updates and upgrades, which has a direct impact on network performance and uptime; it’s no coincidence that 86% of organizations report up to four outages in an average quarter, and nearly four out of five (79%) say their business is struggling to meet user or customer expectations.
Outages have a direct effect on productivity, customer loyalty, brand reputation, and revenue – so they’re extremely costly. Each minute of downtime is estimated to cost large businesses around $9,000.
Poorly maintained networks are also vulnerable networks. A lack of monitoring and oversight, along with vulnerabilities that have been left unpatched, provides opportunities for cybercriminals to find their way inside corporate networks.
The cost of a security breach can be staggering, to say nothing of the damage to reputation, customer loyalty, and revenue. The cyberattack that affected Equifax in 2017, for example, exposed the details of nearly 150 million people, and the company had to pay out more than $700 million in settlements.
Harnessing New Technology Can Relieve Pressure on Overworked Staff
Almost every network professional in the US is having to achieve more with fewer resources. To alleviate the lack of skills, businesses are turning to technology that helps human staff to do their jobs more efficiently, or that introduces automation or intelligence into network management.
For example, smart out-of-band (OOB) technology allows employees to manage networks and tackle problems from any location, even if the main network suffers an outage. This remote access means time-poor engineers don’t have to visit each site in person, giving them more capacity to focus on essential tasks.
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers particular promise when it comes to network management, and 61% of CIOs believe an investment in automation, AI, or other emerging technologies is essential in addressing the skills shortage.
AI Is Increasingly Involved in Network Analysis and Remediation
AI’s capacity to ingest and analyze vast quantities of information allow it to build a comprehensive, real-time view of the network from the wealth of performance and usage data that enterprise infrastructure generates.
This makes it easier to identify and tackle problems before they affect users, to anticipate potential future issues, and to make sure the network is running at the highest levels of efficiency and performance.
Intelligent network automation already allows enterprises to hand over some forms of routine administration and basic troubleshooting to AI, such as remediating configuration errors or rerouting traffic to avoid congestion.
As AI becomes more capable, it will become increasingly autonomous, and we may even see the adoption of zero-touch network devices and self-healing networks that require little or no human intervention.
However, given the skills shortages in both network management and AI, finding staff with a solid understanding of AI and the capabilities to program and train it is likely to be an ongoing challenge.
How Can Managed Service Providers Help Enterprises Struggling to Hire Network Engineers?
Given the difficulties and expense involved in filling networking skills gaps in-house, it’s no surprise that almost half of organizations are planning to increase their use of managed service providers (MSPs) for support.
MSPs, with their economies of scale and teams of qualified specialists, offer the broad range of knowledge and expertise that modern enterprise networks need to keep running at their best.
Enterprises can call on MSPs for different skills at different times across networking, compliance, and cybersecurity, instead of trying to maintain all this know-how in-house. Service providers also have greater capacity than enterprises to invest in the expertise needed to harness AI and automation for proactive, intelligent network management.
This managed services model helps enterprises improve the performance and resilience of their networks, reducing damaging outages, boosting cybersecurity, and protecting against costly regulatory breaches. It also relieves the pressure on in-house staff, allowing them to focus instead on activities that support the core business.
Unlike in-house teams, which are restricted by resource limitations, MSPs can also provide scalable levels of support. This allows them to help with larger projects like digital transformation, tricky technological challenges, and changes in the business, such as expansion into new regions that require local support.
Questions to Ask Before Partnering With an MSP
- Where are the skills gaps in my organization today?
- What skills gaps are likely to appear in the future, such as AI and machine learning (ML) expertise?
- Which gaps can and should be plugged with in-house training, and which can be outsourced to an MSP?
- What outcomes, service levels, and performance metrics do I expect an MSP to provide?
- What internal policies and processes need to be defined, updated, and documented before partnering with an MSP?
- Does my chosen MSP have proven experience in the areas I need? Can it provide evidence such as accreditations, qualifications, references, and case studies?
Maintain Skills to Keep Abreast of Technological Change
As technology development and adoption cycles shorten, it becomes more difficult for enterprises to make sure skillsets are keeping up. Outsourcing networking services to the right service provider lets organizations take advantage of the newest technology without the headache and cost of maintaining cutting-edge expertise in-house, allowing them to focus on taking care of business instead.