At present, the demand for hybrid work continues to increase, but global IT leaders do not fully realize the close relationship between the enterprise network they use and the employee experience. According to the latest research report released by HPE Aruba Networking, although three-quarters of the respondents said that digitalization is very important in assisting employees to do their jobs and attracting and retaining talents, only 55% of the respondents think that the network There are strong associations with these fields.

The study surveyed 2,100 IT leaders in 21 countries and regions around the world. It aimed to study IT leaders' views on the current enterprise network, and assessed their and their enterprises' views on "the network as a driving force for business development." The degree of awareness of the "asset" and the estimated future impact.

The key role played by the network

On the positive side, enterprise IT and business leaders have a growing understanding of the breadth and scope of the network's impact. According to the research, 44% of enterprise IT leaders said that their business leadership has regarded the network as a tool for digital transformation, and 33% of the respondents said that their enterprises believe that the network plays a role in broader business transformation. played an important role. In contrast, only 23 percent of respondents said that their organizations believe the network is only about connecting.

However, the results of this study also pointed out that business leaders still lack awareness of the key role of the network in the digital transformation of enterprises, especially in enhancing employee experience.

Leverage network connectivity to enhance employee experience

Three-quarters of the IT leaders surveyed believe digital is critical in attracting talent and empowering employees to do their jobs. However, in terms of attracting and retaining employees, the network is the lowest of all business-related options, which also confirms that enterprise IT leaders believe that the influence of the network in this area is negligible, or that , the network cannot have any positive impact.

Furthermore, the network's impact is even more pronounced when one considers today's complex office environment. According to the survey, only 43% of IT leaders said their corporate network enables employees to work anywhere, but only 34% of respondents said their corporate network can provide seamless network connectivity. Meanwhile, when it comes to personalizing the digital experience, only 29 percent of respondents indicated that their corporate networks provide employees with BYOD services.

Sylvia Hooks , Chief Marketing Officer, HPE Aruba Networking, said, “Given the popularity of flexible working models and the widespread demand for them in enterprises, there is a danger that business leaders lack awareness of how the network can improve the employee experience. It has long been a consensus before everyone to complete work independently using the network. However, although many companies now realize that the network has become a key business resource to promote their digital transformation, in today's The demand has far exceeded the function of connection, and for enterprises, a more seamless, efficient, intelligent and secure network connection experience is essential."

What returns have companies realized on their investment in the network?

From the perspective of enterprise IT leaders, the correlation between the network and various businesses mainly lies in IT efficiency, operation and maintenance efficiency, and network security, which is also the core of most digital transformation projects.

At the same time, it can also be found from the results of this interview that enterprise IT leaders regard these three elements as areas where the network can have the greatest impact. More importantly, it is the enterprise IT leaders who have increased their investment in network infrastructure in the past two years, enabling enterprises to achieve more fruitful business results in terms of IT efficiency, operation and maintenance efficiency, and network security. In contrast, businesses in the survey that failed to invest in the network experienced an average 21 percent reduction in positive impact across all business areas.

While investment is critical to deepening the returns of the network, it is clear that the network has an untapped potential to drive the rest of the business. Therefore, in order to unleash the true potential of the network for enterprises, enterprises should invest their IT budget in building a new type of network infrastructure to meet the needs of enterprises in modern network operation and maintenance.

Larry Lunetta, Vice President of Product Solution Marketing at HPE Aruba Networking, said, "A modernized network can not only help enterprises improve employee experience, attract more outstanding talents, but also bring positive impact to the business development of enterprises. However, in order to achieve a deeper transformation, IT leaders need to re-plan the network construction of the enterprise, and think from the perspective of business results and technical specifications. Only in this way, enterprise IT leaders will have the opportunity to prove to the enterprise management that investing in the network can The positive impact brought about will help enterprises achieve higher commercial value."