A primer on hyperscale data centers

Copyright TechTarget - All rights reserved https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html Techtarget Feed Generator en Sat, 13 Jun 2026 19:30:48 GMT https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking editor@techtarget.com <p>A hyperscale data center is a facility that can excessively scale and quickly meet the needs of new, massive growth.</p> <p>These data centers can hold thousands of servers, are built to process more data than enterprise data centers and have a variety of features that make them unique. There are also challenges in designing and maintaining them compared to enterprise or smaller data centers, such as the need for advanced automation and high uptime requirements.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What is a hyperscale data center?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What is a hyperscale data center?</h2> <p>By their nature, data centers are designed to operate at scale and often house dozens, if not hundreds, of physical servers and virtual machines (VMs). A <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/feature/Guide-to-understanding-the-various-types-of-data-centers">hyperscale data center</a> is essentially the next level up -- it can support thousands of servers and millions of VMs.</p> <p>The number of hyperscale data centers is rapidly growing. A <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/hyperscale-data-center-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">market research report</a> from Grand View Research projects that the global hyperscale data center market will grow to $52.54 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of 13.6%.</p> <p><a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/hyperscale-computing">Hyperscale computing</a> takes a stripped-down approach to networking, combining compute, storage and virtualization layers into a single computing environment. The infrastructure networks servers horizontally to maximize the hardware, and a load balancer monitors the amount of data the facility needs to process.<br><br>Hyperscale data center architecture is designed to be exceptionally lean and agile. This enables the ability to share the processing load across the infrastructure and quickly add or remove servers or other resources as needed to meet capacity demands.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Key features of a hyperscale data center"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Key features of a hyperscale data center</h2> <p>The approach to hyperscale architecture may vary from provider to provider, but most hyperscale data centers share a few common features, including the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li><b>Large site locations.</b> Since hyperscale data centers can support thousands of servers, they tend to be much larger than the average data center. To be considered a hyperscale data center, the facility must occupy at least 10,000 square feet, with some of the truly massive facilities reaching hundreds of thousands or even millions of square feet.</li> <li><b>High-density server racks.</b> More square footage isn't the only way to fit more servers into a hyperscale facility. Most <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/feature/Learn-the-major-types-of-server-hardware-and-their-pros-and-cons">use specialized high-density server racks</a>. These server racks are wider and can accommodate more components, like power suppliers and hard drives, with enough space for engineers to swap them out and customize them as needed. Most hyperscalers have at least 5,000 servers.</li> <li><b>Strong energy resources.</b> With so much equipment to support, hyperscale facilities need a massive amount of power. Some facilities consume entire gigawatts of power, which is enough to power a small city. Hyperscalers <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/feature/Data-center-power-infrastructure-essentials-prevent-downtime">invest in the most advanced power</a> suppliers and HVAC systems for more efficient cooling. Hyperscale data centers are also often built in areas with cheap electricity, away from critical power grids.</li> <li><b>Advanced heat control</b>. High-density server racks come with their own set of cooling challenges. More servers, more components, and more complex computations to support AI workloads generate a lot of heat, and as such, many hyperscalers are equipped with state-of-the-art <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/tip/Data-center-heat-reuse-How-to-make-the-most-of-excess-heat">heat management systems</a>. These systems often use a combination of air circulation, liquid cooling and thermal optimization to maintain safe operating temperatures for data center equipment.</li> <li><b>Disaggregation and modularity.</b> The ability to customize and swap out components is key to the flexibility of hyperscale facilities and equipment. This requires a commitment to personalized configuration, which is expensive, but the result is highly improved modularity, making it easier to adjust infrastructure and equipment on short notice.</li> <li><b>Intelligent automation.</b> Given the sheer scale of these data centers, manual monitoring is not feasible. Many hyperscalers heavily rely on <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/tip/Balancing-automation-with-human-oversight-in-AI-data-centers">automation tools</a> to allocate assets, optimize workloads, monitor and repair systems, and more.</li> <li><b>AI workload support</b>. Hyperscalers are uniquely positioned to meet the demand for AI. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-next-big-shifts-in-ai-workloads-and-hyperscaler-strategies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Modular and prefabricated server builds</a> help hyperscalers handle AI workloads. These builds enable hyperscale facilities to scale up and out based on demand. In addition, more hyperscalers are consolidating AI workloads into <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/tip/Data-center-trends-to-watch">data center campuses</a> to more efficiently support the power and cooling needs of high-density server racks.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Benefits of a hyperscale data center"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Benefits of a hyperscale data center</h2> <p>These features translate to a range of practical benefits compared to traditional data centers:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li><b>Flexibility and scalability.</b> The biggest advantage of hyperscalers is the ability to scale out both horizontally and vertically. This enables more balanced workloads and better resource provisioning. As demand increases or decreases, it's easy for hyperscale data centers to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/tip/Best-practices-for-data-center-network-optimization">adjust and match that demand</a>, no matter the scale.</li> <li><b>Reduced downtime.</b> Since hyperscalers have a strong focus on automation and a large number of resources, downtime is reduced. The environments are so controlled that they can automatically recover from various issues. If there's a sudden spike in demand, the hyperscaler can meet those needs. Many redundancies are also in place to maintain uptime at all costs.</li> <li><b>Increased efficiency.</b> From operations to cooling, hyperscale data centers are designed to operate at peak efficiency. And <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/Whats-automations-role-in-network-provisioning-resources">thanks to increased automation</a>, they may not require as much staff to manage.</li> <li><b>Advanced technology.</b> As larger organizations evolve and iterate on hyperscale architecture, the technology and best practices they pioneer will hopefully trickle down to smaller data centers. This will, in turn, empower all data centers to use their physical space more effectively, provision resources more rapidly and reduce their power usage.</li> <li><b>Complex computational workloads</b>. As AI proliferates, so too does the need for complex computational workloads. To <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/How-to-build-a-machine-learning-model-in-7-steps">train an AI model</a>, specialized hardware architectures are needed to perform intense mathematical calculations millions of times. AI queries and inference workloads also require specialized network designs to support high interconnectivity and speed at scale. Hyperscale data centers can more easily meet these needs than traditional data centers, which aren't built to operate at that level.</li> <li><b>Pay-as-you-go pricing.</b> For hyperscale customers, the services can be more flexible. A hyperscale data center can sustain high service levels and scale as demand increases.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Challenges of hyperscale data centers"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Challenges of hyperscale data centers</h2> <p>Many hyperscaler features also represent the biggest challenges, including space, power usage and advanced technologies.</p> <h3>Land and climate restrictions</h3> <p>Hyperscale data centers require a lot of land in areas with cheap, reliable electricity. A hyperscale data center should also not be anywhere with severe inclement weather <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdisasterrecovery/tip/Underscore-preparation-in-your-natural-disaster-recovery-plan">that could bring the whole place down</a> -- not to mention the need for layered security to prevent cyber attacks and breaches that could do the same.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/pros_and_cons_of_hyperscale_data_centers-f.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/pros_and_cons_of_hyperscale_data_centers-f_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/pros_and_cons_of_hyperscale_data_centers-f_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/pros_and_cons_of_hyperscale_data_centers-f.png 1280w" alt="chart of benefits and challenges of hyperscale data centers" height="358" width="559"> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <h3>Difficulties in configuration</h3> <p>Customization is also a challenge. Hyperscale computing environments are still maturing. They require many aspects to be personalized and configured, which requires significant upfront expertise. Organizations that build hyperscale data centers also need to invest in extensive R&D, in addition to advanced hardware and cabling. While they can remove the need for human expertise over the long term, modern automation tools can be expensive and difficult to implement.</p> <h3>Risk of overbuilding or underbuilding</h3> <p>It is possible to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/How-to-design-and-build-a-data-center">overbuild or underbuild</a> a data center. In the former case, organizations could have idling resources, underused machines or even equipment that was new at the time but outdated by the time it is used. Underbuilding could result in overloaded machines and large-scale system failures.</p> <h3><a name="_heading=h.jdbekaxy9syi"></a>Increased energy and water stress</h3> <p>Traditional data centers have come under scrutiny for both <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/tip/How-much-energy-do-data-centers-consume">energy usage</a> and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/tip/How-to-manage-data-center-water-usage-sustainably">water consumption</a>, and hyperscalers grapple with the same issues, even more so. While hardware advancements and software optimizations can help reduce energy use, and innovative cooling solutions can relieve water stress, hyperscale data centers still require immense amounts of power and water to function. Hyperscalers may need to build and invest in their own power grids and circular water systems to combat energy stress and water scarcity.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Examples of existing hyperscale data centers"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i><a name="_heading=h.7uqb4i22a9rh"></a>Examples of existing hyperscale data centers</h2> <p>According to <a href="https://www.srgresearch.com/articles/hyperscale-data-center-count-hits-1136-average-size-increases-us-accounts-for-54-of-total-capacity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Synergy Research Group</a>, more than half of the world's hyperscale data center capacity is in the U.S., with Europe and China following, each with about a third of the remaining worldwide capacity. The largest facilities belong to cloud providers, including Microsoft, Amazon and Google. Smaller hyperscale operators include Meta, Alibaba, Tencent and Apple, among others.</p> <p>There were at least 1,136 hyperscale data centers at the end of 2024, with Synergy Research Group forecasting an additional 130 to 140 new hyperscale data centers to come online annually over the next few years.</p> <p>The Chinese market is rapidly growing and currently has some of the largest hyperscale data centers. For example, the Inner Mongolia Information Hub facility in Hohhot, China, is 10.7 million square feet and is one of the largest data centers in the world. There's also the Range International Information Hub in Langfang, China, which is 6.6 million square feet.</p> <p>In the wake of the data center and AI boom, a new public-private AI infrastructure initiative, <a href="https://openai.com/index/announcing-the-stargate-project/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Stargate Project</a>, was announced in the U.S. The goal is to meet demand by building a nationwide network of AI hyperscalers and data center campuses, the first of which is being built in Abilene, Texas. OpenAI will oversee operations of this facility, but the initiative has received funding from several organizations, including the U.S. government, SoftBank, Oracle and MGX. Arm, Microsoft and Nvidia have joined the project as key technology partners.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Keep up with developments to prepare for hyperscaling"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Keep up with developments to prepare for hyperscaling</h2> <p>There are considerable challenges to supporting hyperscale computing in data centers, which means only the biggest players in the field will likely be able to afford, build and maintain these facilities. Plus, certain regions and states are <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/fiscal/which-states-are-banning-data-centers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introducing legislation</a> to ban or limit the construction of new hyperscalers to protect local communities from the potential impacts of data centers and improve power grid resiliency.</p> <p>However, data center administrators should stay up to date on the latest advancements and trends in hyperscale computing as the technology and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/tip/Apply-hyperscale-data-center-design-principles-to-IT-storage">best practices</a> trickle down. There may also be opportunities for operators to consolidate data center sites with hyperscale campuses, which consist of multi-facility communities that can replicate data and failover processes to provide more flexible and reliable services.</p> <p>As the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/Is-the-AI-bubble-about-to-burst-or-is-it-recalibrating">AI boom</a> continues and data demand grows, the world's data center infrastructure must grow in kind. Hyperscale data centers and campuses that can support massive power output on their own electrical grids and land will become necessary. Hyperscalers will also require more advanced cooling techniques and technologies, modular hardware and scalable architecture, and sustainable infrastructure to meet demand over the short and long term.</p> <p>Rapid growth is accelerating the future of hyperscale, and by keeping up with its rapid evolution, all data centers can benefit from the pioneers pushing the field forward.</p> <p><b>Editor's note: </b>This article was updated in 2026 to add up-to-date information about hyperscalers and to improve the reader's experience.</p> <p><em>Jacob Roundy is a freelance writer and editor with more than a decade of experience with specializing in a variety of technology topics, such as data centers, business intelligence, AI/ML, climate change and sustainability. His writing focuses on demystifying tech, tracking trends in the industry, and providing practical guidance to IT leaders and administrators.</em></p> </section> Hyperscale data centers can hold thousands of servers and process much more data than an enterprise facility. However, they can be difficult to build and maintain. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/storage_g1180684429.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/tip/A-primer-on-hyperscale-data-centers Fri, 05 Jun 2026 16:15:00 GMT A primer on hyperscale data centers <p>AI is continuously changing, evolving and upgrading. While these advancements benefit organizations, they put a strain on the networking infrastructure.</p> <p>During a keynote at Cisco Live 2026, Denise Lee, vice president of engineering sustainability at Cisco, evaluated this challenge and presented Cisco's response: Energy Networking Systems. This article discusses the characteristics of this three-pillar <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/How-network-efficiency-advances-ESG-goals">networking approach to conserving energy</a> and costs in the AI era, and explores how Workday tested the architecture in a real enterprise environment.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Rising energy demands in the AI era"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Rising energy demands in the AI era</h2> <p>According to Lee, components such as switchboards, power, cooling and electrical infrastructure, also known as <i>gray space</i>, are becoming increasingly important in data centers in the AI era. For example, data center capacity is projected to increase to 200 gigawatts by 2030, consuming 300% more energy by 2050, according to research from National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s 2025 <a href="https://www.makeitelectric.org/about/our-story/year-in-review/">Year in Review</a>.</p> <p>"Artificial intelligence is rewriting what's possible, and it's clear our energy systems must evolve to keep pace," she said. "Every model, every breakthrough demands more power than the last."</p> <p>The increased power requirements have made it more difficult to build a data center, Lee said. In the past, when operators built data centers, the assumption was that sufficient power was available for deployment. Now, in the age of AI, data center operators must consider physical characteristics -- such as grid capacity, water supply and infrastructure build-out time -- as these constraints can <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatamanagement/feature/Power-constrained-data-architecture-curbing-AI-ambitions">hinder the ability to build a plant</a>.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Cisco's three-pillar framework"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Cisco's three-pillar framework</h2> <p>Energy Networking Systems is Cisco's answer to this power problem. Rather than an architecture platform, Energy Networking Systems is an umbrella term that encompasses the following three main components for managing power-hungry AI-native infrastructure:</p> <ol class="default-list"> <li>Energy visibility.</li> <li>Power distribution.</li> <li>Thermal management.</li> </ol> <h3>Energy visibility</h3> <p>The first layer of Energy Networking Systems is energy visibility, provided through a dashboard in Cisco Cloud Control called Energy Management. It provides <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/tip/How-telemetry-can-transform-storage-strategies">data center operators with the telemetry data</a> necessary for the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Visibility and reporting.</li> <li>Insights and analytics.</li> <li>Control and automation.</li> </ul> <p>The tools within Energy Management enable organizations to understand their energy consumption, mix and costs, while recognizing the carbon intensity and greenhouse gas emissions of their projects.</p> <h3>Power distribution</h3> <p>Cisco is supporting power distribution with modern technology called Fault Managed Power (FMP). This technology, developed by engineers worldwide, including those at Cisco, delivers more electricity over longer distances. Unlike traditional electricity delivery systems that require the data center to convert energy before it reaches the devices, FMP uses transmitters, cables and receivers to send electricity to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/Server-hardware-guide-to-architecture-products-and-management">devices in a data center rack</a>.</p> <p>"It is safe to touch, faster to install, requires less material and the limits on wattage are sort of left up to the imagination because it goes up to 450-volt DC," Lee said.</p> <p>Cisco's focus on power distribution suggests that it is critical to AI data center networking. This improved form of power distribution can not only power AI data centers, but also entire buildings -- including smart buildings -- edge-computing equipment, battery energy storage systems and more.</p> <h3>Thermal management</h3> <p>Cooling is one of the most important parts of this umbrella, because so many resources go toward it. In traditional air-cooled data centers, more than 40% of electricity goes toward cooling. Lee described this as "non-useful power," meaning that a large amount of energy is being directed toward a less significant resource.</p> <p>Many newer cooling methods are available, such as rear-door heat exchangers or direct-to-chip cooling. Lee noted some of Cisco's cooling approaches, including its network switches with direct <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/tip/Explore-liquid-cooling-for-data-centers">liquid cooling</a> -- such as the Cisco Silicon One G300 102.4T switch -- and immersion cooling.</p> <p>"When you look at all these different emerging architectures for power and cooling, specifically with cooling, it's a double knock-on effect because you no longer have to spend as much power [on] cooling," Lee said. "And that cooling may not take as much power to get the output you need."</p> <p>With these different options, Lee said, organizations now have multiple choices for cooling. One data center can have different cooling options. This is especially useful in situations where organizations must retrofit their existing data centers.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Workday's phased approach to FMP"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Workday's phased approach to FMP</h2> <p>A power distribution technology like FMP was especially useful to Workday, according to Ben Paterson, a technology and smart building leader at the company. Workday faced visibility concerns, unable to recognize how much power the organization was consuming.</p> <p>"A facility needs to be a living and breathing entity," Paterson said. "Everything should provide data [so that] we can track how people are utilizing the space, track flow, or heating and cooling."</p> <p>Paterson and his team decided to deploy FMP in a <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searcherp/feature/Enterprise-platforms-are-evolving-piece-by-piece">phased approach</a>. First, they created a proof-of-concept with Cisco and its partners to see how FMP could benefit them. In the first phase, they installed a temporary setup with FMP in a space within a facility. During this test, FMP powered everything in the room, such as the lights, desk power and monitoring equipment. In a typical electrical distribution system, this would have taken Workday weeks, Paterson said. With FMP, it only took an hour or two.</p> <p>Now in phase two of the deployment, Workday is expanding FMP across its entire office environment and testing how to improve it within the organization. Paterson added that if he were to build a new data center from the ground up, he would consider how much power his networking equipment and servers use. When these consume less power, the organization experiences less power loss.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The future of data center efficiency"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>The future of data center efficiency</h2> <p>Only a minority of power in data centers goes toward useful compute, according to Cisco research. In addition to the 40% of non-useful power that goes toward cooling in data centers, another 25% is lost in power distribution, bringing the total to 65%. The annual energy cost of running one of these data centers averages around $6 million.</p> <p>However, according to the same report, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/feature/Liquid-cooling-vs-air-cooling-in-the-data-center">switching from air cooling to liquid cooling</a> can reduce non-useful power by more than 20%, bringing the total to 43%. Organizations can also see a half reduction in costs, going from $6 million to $3 million.</p> <p>Organizations can see even more savings when combining liquid cooling with FMP. Non-useful energy reduces to less than a quarter at 22%, and the costs of running a data center drop to $2 million. This can result in 76% in energy cost savings and enable more than double the compute with the same energy.</p> <p>With that in mind, however, every setup will be different. Similar to Workday's phased deployment, organizations will need to test Energy Networking Systems technologies to find out how they fit into their existing data center infrastructure.</p> <p>"The actual benefit of efficiency and how you design, wire [and] architect it is up to you because it varies," Lee said. "Every environment is slightly different. We're encouraging people to get into your environments, get a proof-of-concept going [and] get a proof-of-value going."</p> <p><em>Deanna Darah is site editor for TechTarget's Networking site. She began editing and writing at TechTarget after graduating from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 2021.</em></p> </section> AI's growth is pushing data centers to their energy limits. Cisco's Energy Networking Systems is a three-pillar approach to manage power, cooling and costs in AI infrastructure. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/ai_a252657224.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/Energy-driven-networking-trends-emerging-in-the-AI-era Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:30:00 GMT 3 energy-driven networking trends emerging in the AI era <p>Cisco put agentic AI in the spotlight at its 2026 conference, held May 31-June 4 in Las Vegas.</p> <p>Keynotes from Cisco leadership at the event focused on how the tech giant is helping enterprises create, secure and expand their agentic AI infrastructure. Jeetu Patel, Cisco president and chief product officer, also highlighted the importance of enterprises being able to tackle what he called the "AI trust deficit" as use of AI agents expands. </p> <p>At keynote "Deep Dive" sessions, conference-goers had the opportunity to learn more about Cisco's agentic initiatives in areas such as AgenticOps for autonomous network management.</p> <p>Informa TechTarget's editorial team was on site at the event, providing coverage of Cisco's major announcements. Use this guide to catch up on all the news, analysis and insights from the show.</p> Informa TechTarget's updating guide to Cisco Live 2026 covers the latest trends, emerging technologies and product announcements from the tech giant's annual conference. https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/conference/Cisco-Live-conference-coverage-news-and-analysis Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Cisco Live 2026 conference coverage and analysis <p>Many IT organizations are turning to AI as they plan to replace the tools they now use to monitor and troubleshoot their networks.</p> <p>Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) recently surveyed 352 network management professionals for the 2026 edition of its biennial research report, <a href="https://www.enterprisemanagement.com/product/network-management-megatrends-2026-automation-hybrid-and-multi-cloud-networks-and-ai-transformation/">Network Management Megatrends</a>. The research found that 33% of IT organizations are very likely to replace their network observability tools over the next two years. In 2024, only 26% felt that strongly about tool replacement. Another 40% in this year's report said they were somewhat likely to replace a tool.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="NetOps pros consider AI as they seek better tools"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>NetOps pros consider AI as they seek better tools</h2> <p>On the surface, the reason for the increase in tool churn is obvious. Only 32% of networking pros told EMA they were completely satisfied with their current tools. The average research participant said better tools would proactively prevent 53% of network faults and performance issues they now face.</p> <p>EMA asked respondents what would most motivate them to replace a network observability tool. Fifty-four percent pointed to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/AI-driven-network-management-tasks">AI-driven insights</a> and automation. Notably, 55% of respondents also told EMA that AI features are a requirement when they evaluate network management tools in general.</p> <p>"We definitely want something agentic that is actively working on problems," a network tools lead with a multinational bank recently told EMA. "I don't see us changing vendors in the next fiscal year, but it's something we would do in the future."</p> <p><a href="https://www.enterprisemanagement.com/product/ai-driven-netops-how-enterprises-are-embracing-intelligent-network-management-solutions-2/">Previous EMA research</a> found that network pros would most like to apply AI to the following aspects of day-to-day network operations:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li><b>Problem detection</b>. Fifty-eight percent of network teams want AI to help them proactively detect network trouble before it impacts the business. This enables them to reduce downtime and service disruptions, a key measure of NetOps success.</li> <li><b>Alert management</b>. Fifty-three percent of network teams believe AI can streamline and improve the process of configuring alert policies and thresholds, while also <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/How-to-improve-the-SOC-analyst-experience-and-why-it-matters">reducing noise</a> and enriching alerts with actionable information.</li> <li><b>Problem resolution</b>. Fifty-one percent of network teams believe newer agentic capabilities from tool vendors can troubleshoot problems and identify fixes. AI can present this remediation as a suggestion or act automatically without human involvement.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Other drivers of tool replacement"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Other drivers of tool replacement</h2> <p>AI isn't the only reason network teams are looking for new tools. Approximately 54% of survey respondents said better end-to-end visibility across networks, applications, clouds and UX would motivate them to replace network observability software. In fact, NetOps teams that collaborate more frequently with cloud and DevOps teams were more likely to want a new tool.</p> <p>Some 47% of respondents wanted their observability software to offer stronger support of modern architectures such as hybrid and multi-cloud networks and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/Secure-Access-Service-Edge-SASE">secure access service edge</a>. EMA also found that respondents who intended to unify networking across their on-premises and cloud networks were more likely to replace their tools.</p> <p>Finally, EMA research found that a focus on automation motivates tool turnover. For example, 26% of network managers said that automation of <a target="_blank" href="https://octopus.com/blog/difference-between-day-0-1-2-operations" rel="noopener">Day 2</a> network operations -- such as event management, troubleshooting and optimization -- is a high priority for their organizations. These respondents were especially likely to replace a network observability tool. Many of them are discovering that the automation capabilities of incumbent vendors are inadequate.</p> <p>That said, switching monitoring tools isn't necessarily easy. Even though network observability vendors tend to push subscriptions over perpetual licenses today, many enterprises commit to three- or five-year subscriptions, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/definition/vendor-lock-in">which locks them in</a>. In addition, many observability tools are highly customized and deeply integrated into other IT systems and operational procedures, making them sticky. This is especially the case in larger companies.</p> <p>Regardless, the will to change is there, and that drive will ultimately prevail. If an incumbent vendor isn't innovating in this new era of agentic AI, network operations teams will look elsewhere for one that does.</p> <p><em>Shamus McGillicuddy is vice president of research for the network management practice at Enterprise Management Associates (EMA). He has more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry and has written extensively about the network infrastructure market. Prior to joining EMA, McGillicuddy was the news director for TechTarget's networking site.</em></p> </section> Network managers want more from their observability tools and are looking at agentic AI to give them the flexibility and oversight they need. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/toolGearArrow_g473747386.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/post/How-AI-innovation-is-driving-network-observability-tool-churn Thu, 21 May 2026 13:15:00 GMT How AI innovation is driving network observability tool churn <p>No matter the level, most network professionals feel the same way about AI. From networking architects to day-to-day engineers, network professionals experience the same struggles and successes with AI in network operations.</p> <p>As the field of AI evolves rapidly, it's important to understand how network professionals are integrating the technology into operations. Mark Leary, research director of network analytics and automation at IDC, shared some of these insights from an April 2026 IDC report, based on responses from 516 respondents, during a session at ONUG's Spring 2026 AI Networking Summit.</p> <p>This article outlines 10 insights about how network professionals implement AI in network operations in 2026.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="1. Network barriers that impede AI success"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>1. Network barriers that impede AI success</h2> <p>In a previous IDC survey about AI project hindrances conducted around two years ago, Leary said that networking ranked at the very bottom of the list of <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/AI-deployments-gone-wrong-The-fallout-and-lessons-learned">impediments to AI success</a>. At that time, AI projects were less common because the technology had not yet developed to a sufficient level.</p> <p>"Now, as we've seen people moving from pilots to production, all of a sudden the network matters," Leary said.</p> <p>Networking moved up the list in a survey conducted around 18 months ago. In IDC's most recent survey, it ranked fourth. As networking rises on the list, he said, staffing has dropped from the top three to the fifth-place spot. Organizations are less concerned with staffing issues as they continue to hire professionals and AI tools become easier to use.</p> <p>Barriers to AI success specific to the network include the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Network security concerns.</li> <li>Network automation challenges.</li> <li>Staffing shortages.</li> <li>Cloud connectivity limitations.</li> <li>Limited network visibility and control.</li> <li>Unaffordable network upgrades.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="2. Platform vs. best-in-class"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>2. Platform vs. best-in-class</h2> <p>When IDC conducted the same study two years ago, two-thirds of respondents said they preferred platform approaches over best-in-class, Leary said. Top reasons for this preference include the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Strengthened security.</li> <li>Reduced complexity.</li> <li>Lowered costs.</li> <li>Faster deployment.</li> <li>Easier integration.</li> </ul> <p>However, interest in a platform-based approach has declined since that survey. Now that network professionals are more experienced and comfortable with AI, only 45% of respondents said they prefer integrated technologies from a single provider. A best-in-breed approach is now leading, with 55% preferring a mix of technologies from various providers.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="3. Machine vs. human execution"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>3. Machine vs. human execution</h2> <p>Most network professionals prefer an AI-powered approach to network management, but a <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/news/366593543/Humans-in-the-loop-wont-prevent-AI-disasters-experts-say">human-in-the-loop approach</a> is gaining traction. An approximate 87% of respondents said they preferred AI-powered network management tools for remediation and optimization:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>46% of respondents said they want tools that determine and execute actions.</li> <li>41% of respondents said they want tools that guide actions, but don't execute them automatically.</li> </ul> <p>Respondents reported using AI-powered automation for tasks such as threat response, configuration management and validation, and network problem diagnosis.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="4. AI network management functions"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>4. AI network management functions</h2> <p>Respondents reported <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/AI-driven-network-management-tasks">using AI for several network management tasks</a>, including the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Network data collection.</li> <li>Threat detection and response.</li> <li>Agentic AI for network engineering and operations.</li> <li>Network automation.</li> <li>Network traffic prioritization and optimization.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="5. AI for task automation by location"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>5. AI for task automation by location</h2> <p>Most network professionals support using AI to automate network engineering and operational tasks. However, the percentage of tasks automated by AI is lower than expected.</p> <p>In 2024, IDC found that the percentage of network tasks automated by network professionals <a target="_blank" href="https://medium.com/@sk9128/university-networking-design-59208a96bf15" rel="noopener">managing campus and branch networks</a>, as well as data center or cloud networks, averaged around 20%. However, this gap began to widen in 2025. While 31% of tasks were automated in campus and branch networks, only 23% of tasks were automated in data center and cloud networks.</p> <p>An approximate 54% of respondents in campus or branch networks said they plan to automate tasks in 2027. By the same timeframe, only 29% on the data center and cloud side said they plan to automate tasks.</p> <p>"[It] should start looking more like our expectations relative to campus and edge," Leary said. "Beware of stagnating in the data center and pushing forward on the campus and branch side of the fence."</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="6. Networking domains for AI innovation"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>6. Networking domains for AI innovation</h2> <p>Networking respondents reported several areas where they believe AI can improve the most. The top areas include the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Cloud connectivity.</li> <li>Network security.</li> <li>Data center networking.</li> <li>Wireless WAN.</li> <li>IoT.</li> <li>Wireless LAN.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="7. Current and future AI networking priorities"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>7. Current and future AI networking priorities</h2> <p>Most networking professionals currently use AI for tool integration, data security, and data collection and analysis. In the future, however, network professionals plan to use AI for the following capabilities:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Improve AI security.</li> <li>Increase the number of autonomous capabilities of an AI system.</li> <li>Reduce cost and complexity.</li> <li>Accelerate innovation.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="8. Agentic AI priorities"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>8. Agentic AI priorities</h2> <p>Respondents reported using <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/Real-world-agentic-AI-examples-and-use-cases">agentic AI to automate several tasks</a>, including the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Network optimization.</li> <li>Security enforcement.</li> <li>Network data visualization.</li> <li>Troubleshooting.</li> <li>Configuration management.</li> <li>Compliance monitoring and management.</li> <li>Hardware and software deployment.</li> <li>Network design.</li> </ul> <p>However, despite interest in agentic AI for networking, many network professionals remain apprehensive about the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/Security-risks-in-agentic-AI-systems-and-how-to-evaluate-threats">potential problems it could create</a>.</p> <p>"We've been very comfortable with the agent approach in networking forever," Leary said. "The difference from long ago is [that] agents were collectors, and they were passive. Today's agents, even in the network, are very active."</p> <p>Top concerns with agentic AI include the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Security.</li> <li>AI agent deployment and management complexities.</li> <li>Integration challenges.</li> <li>Costs.</li> <li>Network data constraints.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="9. AI networking suppliers"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>9. AI networking suppliers</h2> <p>Because AI in networking is so complex and critical for organizations, network professionals have certain expectations for supplier companies that partner with their teams. Examples of expectations include the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Incorporate agentic AI into data systems.</li> <li>Prioritize security across AI deployments.</li> <li>Apply AI across the networking stack.</li> <li>Provide an ecosystem of AI technologies and partnerships.</li> <li>Offer AI training and consulting.</li> <li>Use AI within their own business and IT platforms.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="10. AI in networking benefits"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>10. AI in networking benefits</h2> <p>Despite AI being meant to support staff productivity, development and value, staff is often considered one of the biggest roadblocks to AI adoption, Leary said. Staff often push back on the use of AI within their systems, believing it will save their jobs. However, embracing AI could <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchapparchitecture/tip/How-AI-can-support-developer-productivity">boost performance and productivity</a>.</p> <p>When network professionals embrace AI, it could lead to the following benefits:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Increased productivity and teamwork.</li> <li>Strengthened security posture.</li> <li>Faster problem detection, diagnosis and direction.</li> <li>Increased business agility.</li> <li>Improved digital experience for employees and customers.</li> <li>Shift from reactive network management to proactive network management.</li> </ul> <p>"It is undoubtedly a career-changing moment for the network engineer and network operator to embrace AI as opposed to repel against it," Leary said. "This defines success over the next 10 years for any network engineer or operator."</p> <p><i>Deanna Darah is site editor for Informa TechTarget's SearchNetworking site.</i> </p> </section> A recent survey revealed 10 key insights on AI adoption in networking. Research shows network professionals currently use AI for automation, threat detection and optimization. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/iot_g1226985345.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/insights-on-AI-adoption-in-network-operations Mon, 18 May 2026 16:00:00 GMT 10 insights on AI adoption in network operations <p>Many network professionals are skeptical about AI. However, AI is less of an antagonist and more of an assistant to network professionals, and it works far better when users work alongside AI rather than against it.</p> <p>During this week's Spring 2026 AI Networking Summit, presented by ONUG, IBM outbound product management leader Jason Lovelace presented on the importance of this partnership. AI is being used across every sector of work, but how network professionals engage with the technology differs from how other professionals use it, Lovelace said. Even if AI is accurate 80% of the time, that's not sufficient for networking.</p> <p>"To implement AI in the network, you need to think about maintaining or improving on three nines," Lovelace said. "The goal here is the illumination of human judgment through AI as a partner."</p> <p>To achieve this high availability, organizations shouldn’t give AI free rein in the network. Rather, Lovelace suggested network professionals maintain their judgment and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/tip/AI-augmented-teams-Training-for-human-machine-collaboration">work with AI as a partner</a>. He outlined this process through IBM's four-step framework:</p> <ol class="default-list"> <li>See: Gain temporal insights.</li> <li>Use: Apply reasonings and use tools.</li> <li>Prove: Evaluate suggestions and apply guardrails.</li> <li>Act: Execute the changes.</li> </ol> <p>This article outlines how network professionals can follow IBM's model to improve their AI use in networking.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="1. See"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>1. See</h2> <p>This first step of the model concerns how AI observes the network and gathers information from the environment. According to Lovelace, an <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/How-to-build-your-first-agentic-AI-system">agentic AI system</a> needs two critical pieces to collect useful information about the network:</p> <ol class="default-list"> <li>Telemetry.</li> <li>Context.</li> </ol> <h3>Telemetry</h3> <p>Real-time telemetry data is essential for the AI tool to understand what happens in the network as soon as it occurs. Delays of up to a few minutes can become problematic because the system will no longer evaluate the network in real time.</p> <p>Lovelace suggested using <a target="_blank" href="https://medium.com/@learn-simplified/time-series-analysis-what-why-and-how-d01a208d2073" rel="noopener">time-series</a> monitoring -- an approach that collects metrics over time and uses past behavior to understand how a system will perform -- to evaluate telemetry data. Time-series tools can also spot issues within the network that occur before it passes the threshold before an alarm.</p> <p>According to Lovelace, combining agentic AI with time-series monitoring enables the AI to have a comprehensive understanding of the network, the next most essential part of analyzing data.</p> <h3>Context</h3> <p>When an agentic AI model has deep context about the network, teams can use it to analyze anomalies and other issues that occur in the network more thoroughly, Lovelace said.</p> <p>For example, network teams can use this metric data to determine whether an issue is isolated or points to a broader issue, such as distinguishing whether an alert is the issue itself or a symptom of the true problem.</p> <p>"We need both of these things working together to give engineers a clear view of what's happening," he said.</p> <p>However, Lovelace cautioned against an AI agent having too much context, as it could perform less accurately and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/Security-risks-in-agentic-AI-systems-and-how-to-evaluate-threats">lead to more problems</a> than fixes.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="2. Use"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>2. Use</h2> <p>Network professionals next apply AI tools to the network. According to Lovelace, one of the most important things to recognize about this step is that the models are less important than the tools themselves.</p> <p>As models continue to evolve, the type of model used is less important than the ability to create and secure useful tools for network engineers, he said. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/Compare-top-AI-coding-tools">AI tools that generate code</a> can especially help teams build as many tools as needed, giving network engineers a vast array of tools to support operations, he added.</p> <p>"The richness of the tools is critical for thinking about what your network engineers do on a daily basis," Lovelace said.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="3. Prove"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>3. Prove</h2> <p>This step is less about proving that AI works and more about <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searcherp/feature/4-structural-foundations-of-reliable-enterprise-AI">demonstrating AI reliability</a>. Unlike other issues that AI tools might help remediate, network problems are more likely to require more prompts in an AI tool. The more requests submitted to an AI tool, the more complexity it has and the lower its accuracy.</p> <p>"If your context window is filling up, the compounding effect of a hallucination at step four or five then makes steps 17, 18 and 19 not reliable," Lovelace said.</p> <p>Because of the complexity of network operations, engineers must prevent AI tools from relaying inaccurate information down the chain of processes. Additionally, network teams must implement guardrails to prevent compounding errors and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/How-to-ensure-network-performance-and-reliability">ensure the network's overall reliability</a>.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="4. Act"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>4. Act</h2> <p>The final step of the model defines how network engineers put AI into practice. Rather than offering a blanket approach to AI network operations, Lovelace said the ways network engineers use AI depend on their level of seniority.</p> <p>Junior network engineers would benefit from using AI to guide their decision-making. AI can suggest steps, and network engineers would follow and implement them while learning the explanations. A senior network engineer, on the other hand, should consult AI for recommendations and then decide which, if any, of its suggestions to implement.</p> <p>"They want to be able to have the ability to push back on the model and have the model reconsider its actions," Lovelace said.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="AI framework builds trust across engineering teams"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>AI framework builds trust across engineering teams</h2> <p>An AI framework could provide a means for AI use that network engineers and leaders are comfortable with. Additionally, it could help engineers improve their skills both directly within network operations and validate their judgment.</p> <p>For junior network engineers, an AI framework could help them understand the work they're doing in a network when analyzing, validating and using network data. This understanding could help a network engineer advance in network operations, from entry-level to mid-level to senior-level. For senior network engineers, an AI framework can help them build trust in AI models and enhance their judgment and understanding of network behavior.</p> <p>Finally, an AI usage framework can also ensure that leaders know their engineers are using AI safely, in line with <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/Agentic-AI-governance-strategies-A-complete-guide">governance and reliability requirements</a>.</p> <p>"If the AI technologies change, the framework allows organizations to reap the benefits of agentic NetOps and consume those changes while the standards of good governance and clean execution don't change," Lovelace said.</p> <p><i>Deanna Darah is site editor for Informa TechTarget's SearchNetworking site.</i></p> </section> Many network pros are skeptical about AI, but it's most effective as an assistant to human judgment. A framework helps engineers improve skills and build confidence. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/ai_a252657224.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Why-AI-in-network-operations-requires-human-judgment Mon, 18 May 2026 16:00:00 GMT Why AI in network operations requires human judgment <p>Despite concerns, AI is heavily embedded in network operations. However, this doesn't mean network professionals are losing control over their networks.</p> <p>Autonomous networking doesn't mean relinquishing full control of the network. Instead, it refers to the automated interpretation of network state without human intervention. Network engineers aren't being replaced -- they're <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/Networking-pros-face-strong-job-market-greater-demands">taking on a new role</a>.</p> <p>Modern AIOps systems are intelligent and continuously process telemetry data, logs, flows, metrics and events to detect patterns and surface actionable insights. This article discusses which processes AIOps systems can effectively automate in networking and how that <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/post/How-network-engineers-can-prepare-for-the-future-with-AI">affects network management</a>.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The evolution of AI in network management"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>The evolution of AI in network management</h2> <p>The evolution of network management can be outlined in the following three stages:</p> <p>1.<b> Manual operations. </b><a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Network-tasks-administrators-can-do-quicker-from-the-CLI">CLI-based troubleshooting</a>, reactive responses and error-prone processes. <b><br></b>2. <b>Automation. </b>Error-prone CLI troubleshooting became possible through automation. Network teams went from implementing manual processes to running scripted workflows and policy-based configuration.<br>3. <b>AIOps. </b>Machine learning (ML) with telemetry and decision support. In multivendor environments, vendors continuously analyze network behavior in real time.</p> <p>In the modern AIOps era, vendors use the following features for network management:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>ML for anomaly detection.</li> <li>Correlation engine for incident grouping.</li> <li>Stream telemetry processing.</li> <li><a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/What-are-predictive-networks-and-how-do-they-work">Predictive modeling</a> for performance trends.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="10 network tasks AIOps can automate"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>10 network tasks AIOps can automate</h2> <p>AIOps environments already have several functions operating. These tasks are autonomous, meaning they execute continuously without human intervention once configured<b>.</b></p> <ol class="default-list"> <li><b>Anomaly detection. </b>AI is an intelligent layer. It continuously learns normal network behavior and flags deviations, such as latency spikes, device instability and traffic surges. It relies on ML models rather than fixed rules.</li> <li><b>E</b><b>vent c</b><b>orrelation and</b><b> n</b><b>oise r</b><b>eduction.</b> Many events happen on a network. AI groups thousands of raw alerts into a single meaningful incident by identifying relationships between events across devices, services and applications.</li> <li><b>Fault detection. </b>The system can automatically detect failures in links, routers, switches or services by <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/End-to-end-network-observability-for-AI-workloads">using telemetry signals</a> such as packet loss and interface status.</li> <li><b>Telemetry processing and analysis. </b>AI handles and processes massive streams of logs, metrics and network flows in real time. It can identify patterns and operational signals that humans can't analyze manually at scale.</li> <li><b>Network inventory discovery.</b> As an intelligent layer, AI can automatically detect devices connected to the network, map topology changes and maintain a current inventory without manual intervention.</li> <li><b>Application performance monitoring. </b>AI can learn normal network behavior and can predict potential issues before users report them. It <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterprisedesktop/definition/Application-monitoring-app-monitoring">tracks application behavior</a> by analyzing latency, jitter and throughput.</li> <li><b>Security anomaly detection. </b>AI can identify unusual network traffic behavior, such as <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/How-AI-threat-detection-is-transforming-enterprise-cybersecurity">unauthorized access</a>, abnormal traffic flows and excessive server requests.</li> <li><b>Incident ticket automation. </b>AI is an assistant to network teams, not a competitor. When issues are detected, it can automatically create and update tickets in <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/definition/ITSM">IT service management</a> systems with relevant context, logs and severity classification without manual input from security teams.</li> <li><b>Dynamic baseline generation. </b>Instead of fixed limits, AI continuously updates what it considers normal for each device, app or network based on how traffic changes over time.</li> <li><b>Alert prioritization. </b>AI ranks incidents by severity and potential business consequences, surfacing critical issues first without manual triage.</li> </ol> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="AIOps implications for network teams"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>AIOps implications for network teams</h2> <p>AI is shifting the networking operating model. With network functions being increasingly automated, engineers spend less time on manual troubleshooting. This means network teams can focus on other areas of network management, such as system design and governance.</p> <p>Networking professionals have shifted focus to the following new responsibilities:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Automation policy definitions.</li> <li>Observability architecture design.</li> <li>AI-generated insight validation.</li> <li>AI system data quality management.</li> </ul> <p>This shift is real, but gradual. In some companies, legacy operations remain in place and take time to phase out. However, regardless of the type of intelligence AI brings into networking, a trust-but-verify mindset remains crucial, as AI can hallucinate and lead to erroneous decisions.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Best practices for autonomous network operations"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Best practices for autonomous network operations</h2> <p>Organizations can adopt the following best practices to implement AIOps successfully within network operations:</p> <ol class="default-list"> <li><b>Build telemetry-first architectures. </b>AI success depends on data quality and coverage.</li> <li><b>Automate low-risk domains first. </b>Start with detection and correlation before moving to the control layers.</li> <li><b>Maintain human governance over changes</b>.<b> </b>Autonomy without control can increase risks, even as it reduces toil.</li> <li><b>Upskill engineering teams. </b>To adapt to industry disruption, network engineers should understand automation pipelines alongside more fundamental networking skills, such as routing protocols.</li> </ol> <p>Autonomous networking doesn't replace network engineers -- it removes the need to manually analyze network data at scale, giving engineers more time to focus on critical tasks where human judgment remains essential.</p> <p>Today, AI can detect issues, group alerts, prioritize issues and analyze telemetry. It can't, however, make high-risk changes to the network. Understanding this boundary is crucial for enterprises that want to use AI without creating organizational chaos.</p> <p><em>Verlaine Muhungu is a self-taught tech enthusiast, DevNet advocate and aspiring Cisco Press author, focused on network automation, penetration testing and secure coding practices. He was recognized as a Cisco top talent in sub-Saharan Africa during the 2016 NetRiders IT Skills Competition.</em></p> </section> AI can automate key network operations tasks, such as anomaly detection, event correlation and ticketing. This shifts network engineers toward governance and system design. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/iot_a253400028.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/AI-driven-network-management-tasks Fri, 08 May 2026 17:15:00 GMT 10 AI-driven network management tasks <p>Most organizations have embraced zero trust, but many are early in their adoption journey. Yet with the rising volume, velocity and sophistication of attacks, security teams are under pressure to accelerate those journeys.</p> <p>"We're definitely seeing higher rates of adoption today than one or two years ago," said Jimmy Nilsson, vice president of professional services at Kyndryl, a security consulting firm.</p> <p>Zscaler's ThreatLabz 2026 VPN Risk Report found that 84% of surveyed organizations had or were planning to implement a zero trust, up from 81% the prior year and 78% the year before that.</p> <p>Those figures, however, tell only part of the story. Researchers, security advisers and others in the field say enterprise security teams have just begun to take advantage of what zero trust can do to counter the many threats they face.</p> <p>Let's examine what zero trust is capable of and the specific uses cases where it can be put to work.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Zero-trust's capabilities"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Zero-trust's capabilities</h2> <p>Cybersecurity professionals view <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/zero-trust-model-zero-trust-network">zero trust</a> as an approach, a framework, a philosophy and a security model. Mike Monday, managing director of security and privacy at global business consulting firm Protiviti, called it an "engineering strategy."</p> <p>Zero trust is built on the idea that no user, device, system, workload or network segment -- even if it sits within an enterprise perimeter -- should be inherently trusted. Instead, the zero-trust security model requires entities to be authenticated and verified before they can access resources. Every access request must be authenticated, authorized and continuously validated based on identity, device health, context and risk signals.</p> <p>"That whole authentication has to happen through that end-to-end process," Monday explained.</p> <p>By removing inherent trust and adding authentication requirements and continuous validation, zero trust helps ensure that only authorized, authenticated entities are permitted access to an organization's IT environment and the data it holds. It also helps contain entities that do gain access, such as threat actors, by preventing unauthorized entities from moving freely throughout the environment.</p> <p>John Kindervag <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/History-and-evolution-of-zero-trust-security">introduced the zero-trust security model</a> in 2010 while he was an analyst at Forrester Research. He and other early advocates championed zero trust as a necessary replacement for the traditional castle-and-moat security model, which by default extends trust to anything within the corporate environment. Such a hard-perimeter, soft-interior model relies on firewalls. In an era when cloud computing and other technologies were quickly eliminating the perimeter, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Perimeter-security-vs-zero-trust-Its-time-to-make-the-move">this approach provided inadequate protection</a> against threat actors.</p> <p>A zero-trust environment requires a combination of security technologies and IT architecture patterns and principles. These technologies include identity and access management, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/multifactor-authentication-MFA">MFA</a>, zero trust network access (<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/The-basics-of-zero-trust-network-access-explained">ZTNA</a>) and endpoint detection and response tools. Key enabling IT architectures include microsegmentation and microperimeters.</p> <p>"Zero trust is a journey. It's a way of leveraging various technologies to address a specific problem, which is securing networks and securing data," said Fritz Jean-Louis, principal cybersecurity advisor at Info-Tech Research Group.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Key use cases for zero trust"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Key use cases for zero trust</h2> <p>An organization can apply zero-trust principles in a variety of ways. Key use cases include the following:</p> <ul type="disc" class="default-list"> <li><b>Employees working on-site</b><b>.</b> Zero trust ensures on-site workers access only the systems and data necessary to perform their jobs at the time they need that access. This limits the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Five-common-insider-threats-and-how-to-mitigate-them">risks posed by insider threats</a>.</li> <li><b>Remote workers</b><b>.</b> With zero trust, remote workers access only the systems and data they are authorized to access when that access is required. They do so from devices and networks that are secure through contextual security enabled by ZTNA and other measures.</li> <li><b>Third parties</b><b>.</b> Zero trust can be applied to third parties outside the organization, such as contractors, partners and customers. Strictly controlled access for them reduces the risk of unwanted, unintended exposure and third party-related data breaches.</li> <li><b>System-to-system or machine-to-machine access.</b> These require continuous authentication for every request, and zero trust adds protection through the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Why-zero-trust-requires-microsegmentation">use of microsegmentation</a>. This zero-trust use case helps <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/answer/Use-microsegmentation-to-mitigate-lateral-attacks">prevent lateral movement</a> by entities and ensures that if one service or device is compromised, attackers cannot automatically access other parts of the environment.</li> <li><b>Endpoints and remote devices.</b> In this use case, which includes operational and IoT technologies, zero trust requires that devices be authenticated and validated before they are permitted to access networks, systems and data.</li> <li><b>Access to APIs</b><b>.</b> Zero trust can be used for strict, continuous authentication and authorization for every API request, regardless of origin. This design is meant to permit legitimate access while preventing lateral movement by unauthorized entities. The result is a minimized blast radius in the event of an unauthorized entry somewhere in the environment.</li> <li><b>Data.</b> Zero trust can help protect data in the era of generative AI and large language models by authenticating and verifying AI identities and roles before granting them access to data they are authorized to use. Gartner has predicted that 50% of organizations will implement a zero-trust posture for data governance by 2028. This is increasingly relevant as unverified AI-generated data proliferates.</li> <li><b>AI agents</b><b>.</b> Organizations that <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/How-to-implement-zero-trust-for-AI">apply zero trust to AI agents</a> deny trust by default. Instead, agents are assigned individual identities, which enables each to be tracked. Zero trust prevents agents from sharing credentials, and agents are subject to continuous authentication and task-based permissions, as well as behavioral and semantic analysis.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Zero-trust implementation strategies and challenges"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Zero-trust implementation strategies and challenges</h2> <p>To <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/How-to-implement-zero-trust-security-from-people-who-did-it">implement or advance their use of zero trust</a>, experts advise organizations to develop a new mindset, yet many struggle to do this, Nilsson said.</p> <p>"Many organizations aren't successful because they're too focused on cybersecurity technology. They end up with siloed cybersecurity technologies, which is no different than how security organizations focused on cybersecurity two decades ago," Nilsson said. "Zero trust requires a new operating model. It's a change in how organizations approach security architecture."</p> <p>Nilsson and others cautioned organizations against implementing zero trust in every area of their digital environment all at once.</p> <p>"Zero trust can protect the entire ecosystem, but realistically, the number of tools you'd have to deploy to protect all those elements is onerous," Jean-Louis said.</p> <p>Experts also noted that organizations might struggle to implement zero-trust principles in legacy systems and to balance user experience with zero-trust requirements.</p> <p>Jean-Louis said he advises organizations to identify their <i>protect surface</i> -- that is, the portion of the larger attack surface they deem most necessary to protect. Consider how to apply zero trust to identities, devices, applications, data and the network using tools and technologies that can work across as many of those five areas as possible.</p> <p>Nilsson recommended a similar strategy, saying organizations should be as specific as they can in how they define their use cases. Build a zero-trust strategy for a specific use case, he said, and then use that as a blueprint for the next use cases.</p> <p>"Always think about what you are trying to secure, understand the asset you're trying to secure, how it is used by the business, how it collaborates with other systems in the business, and then build the security around that," Nilsson said.</p> <p><i>Mary K. Pratt is an award-winning freelance journalist with a focus on covering enterprise IT and cybersecurity management.</i></p> <p></p> </section> When applied correctly, zero trust can minimize an organization's attack surface. Experts weigh in on the best use cases where zero trust can deliver results. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/German/zero-trust-adobe.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Zero-trust-use-cases-highlight-both-its-benefits-and-misconceptions Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Top zero-trust use cases in the enterprise <p>Simple Network Management Protocol and Common Management Information Protocol were both designed to provide a method to manage networks, but their origins differ.</p> <p>SNMP and CMIP were each released in the late 1980s. <a href="https://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/SNMP">SNMP</a>, an application-layer protocol, was designed by the individuals who worked to develop the internet -- i.e., the <a href="https://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/TCP-IP">TCP/IP</a> family of protocols. CMIP was designed by committees of the Open Systems Interconnection (<a href="https://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/OSI">OSI</a>) organization.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="SNMP vs. CMIP: Different goals"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>SNMP vs. CMIP: Different goals</h2> <p>SNMP and CMIP reflect the differing development philosophies of the internet and OSI communities. The internet community deemed simplicity as most important, especially in the early days when devices had limited memory and processor capacity. The OSI community, however, believed each protocol must be designed to be extremely flexible and to initially address future requirements.</p> <p>When SNMP and CMIP were being developed in the 1980s -- and continuing into the 1990s -- individuals in the two communities believed they were in competition. Many in the OSI organizations said internet protocols, like SNMP, would collapse under load, while internet developers often felt OSI's protocols were too complicated, difficult to implement and expensive in terms of memory and processor resources.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="SNMP"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>SNMP</h2> <p>The goal of SNMP developers was to provide a <a href="https://searchitoperations.techtarget.com/tip/SNMP-monitoring-tools-improve-how-IT-looks-at-application-performance">simple but useful protocol</a>. SNMP initially had just two commands: <span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace;">GET</span> and <span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace;">SET</span>. SNMP managers use these two commands to access and modify device parameters.</p> <p>The application-layer protocol initially had no security, but developers added security in later revisions. Developers also designed additional commands -- such as <span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace;">GETBULK</span> and <span style="font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace;"> RESPONSE </span>-- to access more than one parameter at a time and for a device to signal the SNMP manager that a problem had occurred.</p> <p>Exchanges between management stations and managed devices are straightforward. They simply exchange datagrams that contain commands and responses. No connection between manager and device is maintained with SNMP.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/networking-snmp_vs_cmip-f.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/networking-snmp_vs_cmip-f_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/networking-snmp_vs_cmip-f_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/networking-snmp_vs_cmip-f.png 1280w" alt="SNMP vs. CMIP" height="272" width="560"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>Compare the differences of SNMP vs. CMIP, including protocol suite, goals and exchange method. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="CMIP"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>CMIP</h2> <p>OSI developers believed a more flexible and comprehensive management protocol was needed as they considered SNMP vs. CMIP. In addition to retrieving and modifying network parameters, a CMIP manager can direct a remote application to create or delete a software entity that can then be managed.</p> <p>CMIP management stations maintain connections to devices using the <a target="_blank" href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1189" rel="noopener">Remote Operations Service Element</a> (ROSE) protocol to communicate with devices. ROSE is the OSI remote procedure call protocol used to carry CMIP commands between management stations and managed devices. All parameters are encoded using Abstract Syntax Notation One, an interface description language. Security capabilities keep hackers from modifying configurations.</p> <p>Although the OSI protocols are used for some applications today, the success of the internet has proven that fundamental communications protocols, including SNMP, can carry today's traffic -- a load far beyond anything imaginable in the 1980s and 1990s.</p> <p><b>Editor's note:</b><i> This article was updated in 2026 to improve the reader experience.</i></p> <p><em>David Jacobs has more than 30 years of networking industry experience. He has managed leading-edge hardware and software development projects as well as consulted Fortune 500 companies and software startups.</em></p> </section> While SNMP and CMIP originally competed as network management protocols in the 1980s, SNMP has emerged as the more relevant protocol, largely due to its simplicity. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/searchSMBStorage/data_storage_management/smbstorage_article_013.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/SNMP-vs-CMIP-Whats-the-difference Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:30:00 GMT SNMP vs. CMIP: What's the difference? <p>Network analytics can be a rich source of intelligence about infrastructure performance, efficiency, security and operations. Given enterprise reliance on connectivity for everything from internal communications and customer service to production, analyzing network traffic from various sources can yield insights into key patterns and trends.</p> <p>As a result, network analytics use cases can illustrate how organizations have been able to troubleshoot configuration issues and improve network efficiency. IT professionals can also apply network analytics to cut operational costs and identify potential security threats.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="3 essential network analytics use cases"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>3 essential network analytics use cases</h2> <p>Deriving the maximum benefit from network analytics requires IT professionals to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/Wireshark-vs-tcpdump-Whats-the-difference">capture data from disparate sources</a> across the infrastructure and then correlate it to gain an end-to-end view of patterns. This process requires merging data from different systems. While this is often complicated, it enables network professionals to address important network analytics use cases, such as the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Performance optimization and capacity planning. </li> <li>Credential misuse. </li> <li>Cloud security. </li> </ul> <h3>Performance optimization and capacity planning</h3> <p>When done effectively, network analytics reveals crucial information about hidden bottlenecks and other <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Network-design-principles-for-effective-architectures">network design </a>issues that can choke traffic and impede productivity. To illustrate one of the benefits of network analytics use cases, companies find that applying that data to gauge ongoing performance optimization could return even greater dividends.</p> <p>IT organizations can use historical pattern information to anticipate future capacity requirements and potential performance issues. By tapping into this data, IT organizations can rebalance network loads, expand capacity and make configuration changes to better adjust to communication requirements.</p> <div class="youtube-iframe-container"> <iframe id="ytplayer-0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qNvzbvC_bm8?autoplay=0&modestbranding=1&rel=0&widget_referrer=null&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.techtarget.com" type="text/html" height="360" width="640" frameborder="0"></iframe> </div> <h3>Credential misuse</h3> <p>Network analytics can also shed light on security issues, applying network telemetry data alongside other data sources to accelerate the discovery of anomalous patterns indicative of threats. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatamanagement/tip/Residual-access-failures-put-data-at-risk">Credential misuse</a>, which is often difficult to detect through manual human analysis, can be spotted much more quickly when comparing abnormal behavior against a normal baseline.</p> <p>Network analytics can flag unusual actions, such as multiple login tries from different devices or attempts to connect to a network resource from an unexpected device.</p> <p>If a breach has occurred, IT professionals can use network analytics to expedite the discovery of which assets the rogue user was granted access to and what data could be compromised. Expedited breach identification can help <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/How-to-develop-a-data-breach-response-plan-5-steps">prevent future losses</a> and mitigate the consequences of the theft.</p> <h3>Cloud security</h3> <p>IT organizations can also use flow logs from third-party cloud environments to get more insight into activity in their on-demand environments, a good example of network analytics use cases. <a target="_blank" href="https://medium.com/@samruddhi.deshmukh19/cloud-analytics-6a06569e608f" rel="noopener">Network analytics from the cloud</a> can help organizations track performance and make more accurate capacity-planning decisions for commissioning and decommissioning of cloud resources based on dynamic usage requirements. Cloud network analytics can also shed light on potential security threats or possible vulnerabilities.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The value of network analytics use cases"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>The value of network analytics use cases</h2> <p>It's important for enterprises to recognize use cases for network analytics tools. Use cases not only demonstrate the value of network analytics but also show where and how the tools excel. Network analytics help organizations evaluate network performance and identify anomalies. Moreover, when the network performs as expected, organizations can gather information about its behavior to optimize performance, improve troubleshooting and strengthen security.</p> <p><b>Editor's note:</b><i> This article was updated in 2026 to improve the reader experience.</i></p> <p><em>Amy Larsen DeCarlo has covered the IT industry for more than 30 years, as a journalist, editor and analyst. As a principal analyst at GlobalData, she covers managed security and cloud services.</em></p> </section> Network analytics enables teams to monitor performance, identify issues early and improve efficiency. These use cases illustrate how insights can address network challenges. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/IoTAgenda/business_of_iot/iotagenda_article_004.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/What-are-the-top-3-network-analytics-use-cases Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:15:00 GMT 3 essential network analytics use cases <p>Cisco is working to extend its networking leadership into the age of quantum computing.</p> <p>The company revealed a prototype Thursday of what it calls a "universal quantum switch," one that understands the encoding modalities of different types of quantum computers so they can be networked in the same way classical computers are today.</p> <p>The switch works at room temperature and can hook into existing fiber optic networks. Unlike today's commercial <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252454768/Cisco-sees-the-future-of-switching-in-Luxtera-silicon-photonics">photonic switches</a>, these switches preserve the quantum entanglement of photons, allowing them to convey complex quantum states.</p> <p>"Cisco's quantum network greatly expands the possibilities of quantum computing by allowing the networking of several smaller quantum computers into an effectively larger one, even if the underlying physics of the quantum computers are substantially different," said Mark Horvath, a Gartner analyst, in an email.</p> <p>In February, Cisco, in partnership with Qunnect, <a target="_blank" href="https://outshift.cisco.com/blog/quantum/scalable-quantum-entanglement-networking" rel="noopener">set up</a> a quantum network over a noisy commercial fiber optic conduit from Brooklyn to the 60 Hudson Street telecommunication carrier hotel in Manhattan. They were able to convey 5,400 qubit pairs per hour over the 17.6-kilometer route, about 10,000 times faster than any previous experiments, Cisco researchers asserted.</p> <p>"Cisco Quantum's recent validation results from working with Qunnect in NYC were fascinating and good evidence of solid advancements, proving quantum networking can work over distances and without supercooling," said Jim Frey, Omdia principal analyst for networking, in an email.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="A need for quantum networking"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>A need for quantum networking</h2> <p>Quantum computing promises to solve complex problems too difficult for today's classical computers, in areas such as financial modeling, drug discovery, weather exploration and logistics planning.</p> <p>Even after decades of research, however, quantum computers are still far from where they need to be to run these complex workloads, which would require hundreds of thousands or even millions of quantum bits -- or <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/qubit">qubits</a> -- to model.</p> <p>Today's most powerful quantum computers, however, can juggle at most only a few thousand qubits at once, and with vigorous research in the next few years, that number might only jump to the low tens of thousands.</p> <p>"There's a big gap between the number of qubits we need and the number of qubits we have," said Vijoy Pandey, senior vice president and general manager of Outshift, Cisco's emerging technologies and incubation group, during a press conference this week.</p> <p>So, it would be natural to borrow a technique from the high-performance computing community and lash quantum computers together to get the required power needed to tackle these jobs in a distributed manner.</p> <p>A network of computers would scale faster than trying to vertically build up a single computer, Pandey argued.</p> <p>"In order to reach the total compute capacity needed for quantum computing to be broadly viable, and to make the system secure, it will be necessary to chain quantum computers together via quantum networking," Frey agreed.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Cisco doing what it does best"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Cisco doing what it does best</h2> <p>Cisco's universal quantum switch works just like a typical data center switch but adjusted for quantum traffic. It accepts the incoming quantum signal, internally converts it to a neutral common modality for routing, and sends it out in the correct modality for the receiving system -- preserving the quantum state all the while.</p> <p>Classical internet routing differs from what would be required for the quantum realm. The internet operates on a store-and-forward approach, but a quantum network must establish an open path between the source and destination first to share the entanglement state.</p> <p>"For now, we think of quantum networking as completely different from classical networking. Distributing quantum states is a completely separate way of doing things," said Ramana Kompella, Cisco fellow and head of Cisco research, during the press conference.</p> <p>Quantum computing states are fragile, Kompella said. A pair of photons can be entangled to produce a qubit, and the more photons you can entangle, the more information you can convey. Moving a quantum state from one processor to another, called <i>teleportation</i>, requires preserving each qubit's entanglement properties. But electromechanical noise can easily destroy a qubit. The more devices a state of qubits passes through, the more a potential loss of fidelity compounds.</p> <p>Different quantum systems have different encoding modalities, much like early classical computers were incompatible with one another. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/feature/Companies-building-quantum-computers">IBM quantum systems</a> have a different modality, for instance, from those built by Atom Computing. This is not vendor lock-in for its own sake, Kompella said. Different applications favor different modalities.</p> <p>Cisco partnered with both IBM and Atom for this switch, which will support four modalities:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Polarization, where the orientation of light waves carries information.</li> <li>Time-bin, where the timing of light pulses carries information.</li> <li>Frequency-bin, where the color or frequency of light is used to carry information.</li> <li>Path, where the physical or spatial path carries information.</li> </ul> <p>"We don't know which of these technologies will be dominant," said Reza Nejabati, head of Cisco quantum research and quantum labs, during the press conference. "So the network can support any of them."</p> <p>Fast switching was also imperative. The Cisco switch can reconfigure connection in as little as a nanosecond, while consuming less than a milliwatt of power.</p> <p>Key to the switching process is a silicon-based quantum state converter, which, using quantum tomography, converts qubits into an internal encoding format for routing. They are then converted back, without being measured or destroyed, to their original encoding, or to one of the other encoding formats, at their destination.</p> <p>Unlike other qubit management approaches, the switch can operate at room temperature, thanks to the frequency of telecommunications fiber optic channels and the internal encoding format.</p> <p>The work builds on previous Cisco research as part of its Outshift quantum incubation program, including a quantum network entanglement chip to link the quantum computers to the network, and a network-aware quantum compiler that orchestrates quantum algorithms across multiple quantum processors -- handy for error correction.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The next steps for quantum networking"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>The next steps for quantum networking</h2> <p>The Cisco universal switch is still in the prototype phase. It will be several years before it is released commercially, as the supporting stack for end-to-end operation needs to be finalized. For instance, the company will need to build a repeater of some sort because quantum signals can only travel about 100 kilometers or so.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> This is a seismic breakthrough that will bring solutions into reach for many problems that were years beyond today's existing generation of quantum computers. </figure> <figcaption> <strong>Mark Horvath</strong>Gartner analyst </figcaption> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>In the more immediate term, researchers will post a paper explaining the technology on ArXiv.</p> <p>"This is a seismic breakthrough that will bring solutions into reach for many problems that were years beyond today's existing generation of quantum computers," Horvath said.</p> <p>In addition to putting quantum computing on a more solid commercial footing, quantum networking may open up new uses on its own, Kompella said.</p> <p>For instance, a quantum network could give high-frequency trading (HFT) firms a competitive edge. An HFT firm might run across multiple data centers, and when it makes a purchasing decision in one data center, it should replicate as quickly as possible in the other locations.</p> <p>Today, the network is the bottleneck for HFT, in that it limits the speed at which that information can be moved to near the speed of light. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/An-introduction-to-quantum-networks-and-how-they-work">Quantum communications</a> could beat what was previously thought to be the physical upper limit by coordinating the decision-making process ahead of time through entanglement, according to Pandey.</p> <p>"Coordinated decisions [that run] faster than the speed of light actually give you a substantial advantage compared to any classical strategy," Kompella said.</p> <p><i>Freelance news writer Joab Jackson has been writing about back-end IT technologies for the past three decades. His grandfather programmed mainframes, and his father wrote computer games for hobbyist programming magazines in the 1980s.</i></p> </section> Cisco's quantum switch prototype operates like a data center switch and supports four encoding modalities. It marks a step forward in making quantum computing 'broadly viable.' https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/arvr_g1273484747.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366642172/Cisco-unveils-quantum-network-advancements Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT Cisco unveils quantum network advancements <p>Contact center fraud is a reality that organizations must prepare for or else risk considerable losses due to security lapses in customer data protection. Successful fraud schemes can damage a brand's reputation and result in compliance liability, especially in heavily regulated industries, such as financial services and healthcare.</p> <p>As contact centers expand into digital channels and remote operations, fraud detection has become a critical component of customer experience and data security strategies.</p> <p>Companies can mitigate their vulnerability to unauthorized access or disclosure of confidential information with the right blend of <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/Best-practices-for-call-center-agent-training-programs">comprehensive agent training</a>, well-documented authentication and data security processes, and contact center fraud detection technologies.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What is contact center fraud?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What is contact center fraud?</h2> <p>At many businesses, traditional call centers and customer service and support operations have <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/feature/History-and-evolution-of-contact-centers">evolved into contact centers</a> to handle customer communications across multiple channels, including phone calls, live chats, email, social media, text messaging (SMS), mobile apps and video calls.</p> <p>Cybercriminals target contact centers to gain access to sensitive customer information by exploiting agents and weak authentication processes. These bad actors can then use personally identifiable information (<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/personally-identifiable-information-PII">PII</a>) and other account data -- Social Security numbers, financial institutions and credit card numbers -- to commit identity theft, set up fake accounts and participate in bank and credit card fraud.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Why do bad actors target contact centers?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Why do bad actors target contact centers?</h2> <p>Contact centers are popular targets for fraud because poorly trained agents are often vulnerable to manipulation. A toll-free number used for customer service and transactions such as purchases can allow criminals to initiate numerous fraud attempts while maintaining anonymity, provided they use caller ID spoofing techniques. Unsuspecting agents, especially in call centers, make excellent attack vectors since they're all that stand between a fraudster and customer accounts.</p> <p>The expansion of <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/How-to-manage-remote-call-center-agents">hybrid and remote contact center operations</a> has introduced new fraud detection challenges. Remote work has made it increasingly difficult for agents to receive proper fraud detection training or guidance from co-workers. As a result, they may struggle with using anti-fraud tools remotely.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/call_center_compliance_checklist-f.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/call_center_compliance_checklist-f_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/call_center_compliance_checklist-f_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/call_center_compliance_checklist-f.png 1280w" alt="Graphic showing a contact center compliance checklist, including securing networks, authenticating customers, recording conversations and managing sensitive information." height="266" width="560"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>Contact center compliance programs help organizations reduce fraud risk by securing networks, authenticating customers, protecting sensitive data and following privacy and consumer protection regulations. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Common types of contact center fraud"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Common types of contact center fraud</h2> <p>While contact centers encounter many types of fraud, the most common are identity theft, account takeover, stolen credit card information and finagling free merchandise.</p> <p><b>Identity theft.</b> Criminals use stolen personal information of legitimate customers to access accounts for monetary gain. Contact center agents might struggle to detect identity theft because the bad actors have accurate customer information. Many fraud schemes use personal information found on the dark web after a data breach. Synthetic identity fraud occurs when criminals combine real PII, such as a mobile phone number and email address, with falsified data to create a manipulated or false identity. They then use the information to open accounts and initiate transactions.</p> <p><b>Account takeover.</b> To transfer a customer account to their account, fraudsters might change an email address or login information to reset customer portal passwords. These criminals can use automated tools to create username and password combinations in a technique known as credential stuffing to gain access to customer accounts.</p> <p><b>Use of stolen credit card information.</b> Fraudsters bombard contact centers with attempts to buy goods and services with stolen credit card information. Because contact centers don't require physical cards, criminals can more easily make purchases with stolen information, a tactic known as card-not-present fraud.</p> <p><b>Attempt to receive free replacement items.</b> Criminals act as legitimate customers who purchased goods, then claim to have problems and request replacements. Retailers are the most common victims of this type of fraud, especially those with loose warranty and replacement policies.</p> <p><b>Phishing and vishing scams. </b>Cybercriminals have long targeted consumers with phishing scams, sending fraudulent emails that contain malicious URLs or hyperlinks to download malware or steal passwords. Another tactic is <i>voice phishing</i>, or <i>vishing</i>, using urgent phone calls that demand victims to update company or personal data supposedly to protect bank accounts and other financial transactions. Similar fraudulent methods are used on contact center agents. A criminal vishing about problems with an account can dupe an unsuspecting agent into sharing sensitive customer data.</p> <p>Many contact centers have been hit with ransomware attacks, locking up communications systems until the problem is resolved or the ransom is paid. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/distributed-denial-of-service-attack">Distributed denial-of-service attacks</a> have also been used to disrupt communications services. More recently, AI-generated voice cloning and deepfake audio can be used to impersonate legitimate customers.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Tips for identifying fraudulent customers"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Tips for identifying fraudulent customers</h2> <p>Criminals use different fraud methods depending on their motivation or the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/feature/Types-of-contact-centers-explained">type of contact center</a> they target. Common warning signs of fraud include the following:</p> <ul type="disc" class="default-list"> <li>Social engineering methods to falsely extract information.</li> <li>Inability to verify recent transactions.</li> <li>Long pauses before answering questions.</li> <li>Communication to evoke an immediate reaction based on urgency, familiarity or authority.</li> <li>Attempts to establish a relationship or rapport with a specific contact center agent or manager.</li> <li>Inconsistency in customer history and documentation.</li> <li>Attempts to bypass regular customer service procedures.</li> <li>Red flags and suspicious activity identified by anti-fraud technologies.</li> <li>Attempts to bypass anti-fraud processes and technologies.</li> <li>Automated speech patterns that may indicate AI-generated voice fraud.</li> </ul> <ul class="default-list"></ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Tools to identify fraud"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Tools to identify fraud</h2> <p>Enterprises that take contact center fraud detection and prevention seriously shouldn't rely solely on agent training. Contact center managers can integrate several technologies into most on-premises, cloud or distributed workforce contact centers to block or flag suspicious activities and enhance fraud detection.</p> <p><b>Identity verification. </b>Technologies like automatic number identification can verify a customer's identity based on their phone number ahead of automated or interactive voice response (<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/definition/Interactive-Voice-Response-IVR">IVR</a>) interactions. Some of these fraud detection technologies track phone numbers based on information like possession (authenticating the mobile number and the device), reputation (risk score) and ownership. If additional verification is needed, layered authentication controls can help prevent fraud by sending one-time verification codes via text or email to a customer's device. In the future, individuals could have additional ways to prove their identity with mobile devices as more states offer digital driver's licenses and government IDs. Some identity verification platforms now combine device fingerprinting, behavioral analytics and risk scoring.</p> <p><b>Contact source analytics. </b>Emerging technologies can more accurately confirm a contact's true source as well as the type of device used. These attributes can tip off contact center agents about whether the caller is a real customer or a criminal in a known fraud location or using equipment common among fraudsters, such as caller ID spoofing and IVR probing tools.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/ai_sharpens_contact_center_features_and_actions-f.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/ai_sharpens_contact_center_features_and_actions-f_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/ai_sharpens_contact_center_features_and_actions-f_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/ai_sharpens_contact_center_features_and_actions-f.png 1280w" alt="Diagram showing how AI improves contact center features such as IVR systems, self-service chatbots, agent performance analytics and post-call summaries." height="355" width="560"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>AI technologies can strengthen contact center operations by improving IVR systems, enabling self-service chatbots, supporting agent performance monitoring and generating automated post-call summaries. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <p><b>Multilayered authentication.</b> Multifactor authentication, AI and knowledge-based platforms can identify bad actors who impersonate legitimate customers. The technology platform inputs various data points and calculates a fraud risk score to inform the agent about next steps in the fraud prevention process. A one-time pin or passcode sent by text or email to an individual's device can add a dynamic layer of security before a login session or transaction. Based on risk assessments, businesses must find the right balance between frictionless customer experience and layered security measures.</p> <p><b>Voice biometrics.</b> Advanced audio biometrics can analyze a caller's voice, creating a new authentication layer for contact centers and customers. Voice biometric SaaS providers let remote agents access these authentication services regardless of where they work. These technologies will soon have to contend with AI-driven voice cloning and deepfake audio, which might require reevaluation of fraud protection and other security measures.</p> <p><b>Suspicious behavior detection.</b> <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/feature/Important-contact-center-AI-features-and-their-benefits">AI and machine learning techniques</a> combine with fraud detection analytics tools to detect suspicious behavior such as unusual calling patterns, IVR usage anomalies and other behavior-based indicators. The tool then decides whether the contact is legitimate. Behavioral analytics can also be used to monitor agent behavior for insider threats by flagging multiple account redirects or password resets.</p> <p>Organizations that combine agent training with layered authentication and AI-driven fraud detection tools are better positioned to protect customer data and maintain trust.</p> <p><b>Editor's note:</b> <i>This article was updated to reflect the latest developments in contact center fraud detection and prevention tools, techniques and practices.</i></p> <p><i>Kathleen Richards is a freelance journalist and industry veteran. She's a former features editor for TechTarget's </i>Information Security <i>magazine.</i></p> <p><i>Andrew Froehlich is founder of InfraMomentum, an enterprise IT research and analyst firm, and president of West Gate Networks, an IT consulting company. He has been involved in enterprise IT for more than 20 years.</i></p> </section> Scammers may target contact centers, but comprehensive agent training, authentication techniques and advanced technologies can protect businesses and customers. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/customer_service02.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/How-to-train-agents-on-call-center-fraud-detection Tue, 14 Apr 2026 11:02:00 GMT How contact centers detect and prevent fraud <p>Legacy networks, older infrastructures built on outdated hardware and OSes, have many limitations compared to modern networks and pose significant business risks.</p> <p>Despite their risks, legacy networks persist due to the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Engineers rely on existing skill sets to maintain networks.</li> <li>Organizations don't have the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/How-to-develop-a-network-budget">budget to allocate toward a network upgrade</a>.</li> <li>Executives don't recognize the importance of funding new purchases for the network.</li> </ul> <p>Neglecting to upgrade an outdated network, however, is a critical mistake organizations can't afford to make. The continued use of a legacy network creates management complexities, business risks and higher costs. This article examines the risks of legacy networks, the benefits of transitioning and best practices to get started.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The limitations of legacy networking"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>The limitations of legacy networking</h2> <p>Many organizations still use legacy networks, but they come with limitations that prevent them from reaching their full potential. Examples of limitations include the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li><b>Device management complexity</b>. Legacy networks use tools that parse human-readable command-line interface text. Because these legacy devices lack APIs, it's difficult to integrate them with modern automation platforms.</li> <li><b>Performance bottlenecks</b>. Legacy devices lack application-specific integrated circuit-based acceleration that is required for advanced networking features. As a result, AI workloads in high-performance environments might not have access to low-latency communication. Combined with low network interface card bandwidth, this creates a data transfer bottleneck.</li> <li><b>Legacy hardware</b>. Vendors often stop sending software updates to old devices. These devices use older <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/Wireless-encryption-basics-Understanding-WEP-WPA-and-WPA2">wireless encryption standards</a>, such as WPA2, because their hardware cannot support WPA3. These older standards lack newer features modern networks require.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Business risks of legacy networks"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Business risks of legacy networks</h2> <p>When legacy networks are used today, their limitations translate into real operational and business risks. These risks include the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li><b>Vulnerable to attacks.</b> Outdated encryption and unpatched devices can expose a network to attacks. For example, Wi-Fi devices that still use WPA2 pose a significant risk when WPA3 is available in newer models.</li> <li><b>Loss of revenue</b>. Because legacy networks are more susceptible to attacks, these hacks can <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/The-effects-of-network-downtime-and-ways-to-fix-it">cause network downtime</a> and service disruption.</li> <li><b>Operational inefficiency from silos</b>. Virtual devices in public clouds and physical on-premises devices are two different silos. Manually configuring each of these silos increases the risk of human error.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The cost of inaction"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>The cost of inaction</h2> <p>Legacy networks can incur various financial and operational costs for organizations due to outdated infrastructure. Examples include the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li><b>Modern applications limited by legacy networking</b>. If an organization tries to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/feature/How-to-modernize-legacy-applications">modernize applications</a> by adopting Kubernetes or using open source software tools, the disparity between the legacy network and the new technologies could present challenges. Examples include forced reliance on disparate load balancers, lack of zero-trust security, insufficient fine-grained traffic control and limited observability at the application level.</li> <li><b>Inability to automate.</b> Legacy networks have limited automation capabilities, which means network teams complete tasks manually. Teams will become slower to perform device upgrades or troubleshoot.</li> <li><b>Barriers to AI adoption</b>. Over time, the inability to use higher-performance networking infrastructure compounds into a structural disadvantage. Organizations will stagnate as their competitors continuously improve their services with AI.</li> <li><b>Competitive disadvantage</b>. The inability to use new networking technologies leads to the loss of <a target="_blank" href="https://rogerlmartin.substack.com/p/first-mover-advantages-versus-pioneering" rel="noopener">first-mover advantage</a>. Organizations could be outpaced by competitors in digital product releases.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Moving beyond legacy networks"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Moving beyond legacy networks</h2> <p>To successfully transition from legacy networking architectures, organizations should follow key best practices. Recommendations include the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li><b>Assess and prioritize workloads</b>. Identify high-throughput and low-latency applications. This ensures the network team knows exactly how much capacity and performance the upgrades must deliver.</li> <li><b>Adopt automation and programmability</b>. Purchase devices that support APIs, and ask engineers to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Best-practices-for-network-automation-with-Python">learn Python to become familiar with network automation and AI</a>. If part of a workload runs in a public cloud, use orchestration platforms to automate configuration across both environments.</li> <li><b>Ensure security by design</b>. Purchase devices with modern encryption, such as WPA3. For application-level security, use mutual <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/Transport-Layer-Security-TLS">TLS</a> encryption in service meshes.</li> <li><b>Transition in phases</b>. A phased transition enables the organization to continue operating without network disruption.</li> </ul> <p>By following these recommendations, organizations can transition outdated legacy networks into modern networking architectures.</p> <p><em>Charles Uneze is a technical writer who specializes in cloud-native networking, Kubernetes and open source.</em></p> </section> Legacy networks face limitations like security vulnerabilities and performance issues, leading to operational and business risks. Transitioning to modern infrastructure is crucial. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/disaster_recovery_g179288049.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Why-legacy-networks-are-a-growing-liability Fri, 10 Apr 2026 17:00:00 GMT Why legacy networks are a growing liability <p>Contact centers and their agents are a critical part of customer service. They're the ambassadors of the organization, responding to large call volumes daily, interacting with customers and collecting feedback to pass on to the business.</p> <p>Modern contact center platforms increasingly use AI-driven analytics, speech recognition and sentiment analysis tools to monitor interactions in real time and identify opportunities to improve both agent performance and customer experience (CX).</p> <p>A contact center monitoring program can help businesses <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/feature/The-ultimate-guide-to-contact-center-modernization">transition the contact center from an expense center to a strategic asset</a> by ensuring representatives effectively resolve customer issues along with capturing valuable customer feedback. Many companies have a basic QA monitoring program but often struggle with transitioning to a more advanced one. Businesses should identify the benefits of an advanced quality monitoring program and implement key best practices to ensure the program's success.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What is a contact center monitoring program?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What is a contact center monitoring program?</h2> <p>A basic contact center quality monitoring program consists of listening to phone calls between customers and contact center agents and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/answer/5-ways-to-improve-call-center-agent-performance">providing feedback to improve agent performance</a>.</p> <p>An advanced QA monitoring program adds three key elements:</p> <ol class="default-list"> <li>Provides insight into why customers call and facilitates action plans to address the root cause of customer inquiries.</li> <li>Identifies <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/Contact-center-challenges-and-how-to-overcome-them">customers who are frustrated with the company</a> and might decide to do business with a competitor.</li> <li>Analyzes the tools that agents use and implements enhancements to those tools that improve the agent experience and provide more accurate and timely responses to customers.</li> </ol> <p> Many organizations now augment traditional QA monitoring programs with AI-driven analytics tools that automatically analyze call transcripts and customer sentiment.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What are the benefits of contact center monitoring?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What are the benefits of contact center monitoring?</h2> <p>A contact center is the place where the voice of the customer is heard. It's the one place in the organization where a large number of customers reach out and, in most cases, provide unsolicited feedback to the company. A well-designed contact center monitoring program provides a valuable opportunity to identify customer pain points and gather intelligence with the goal of improving products, services and overall CX.</p> <p>Retaining existing customers is typically less expensive than acquiring new ones, so it's critical to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/How-to-improve-the-contact-center-experience-for-customers">identify areas for improvement in the current customer</a> base to increase retention and reduce costs. Contact center monitoring also provides real-time information at a much more granular level than either customer satisfaction or Net Promoter Score surveys, which are performed after the fact and have some level of bias, depending on who does or doesn't respond to a survey request.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/crm-call_center_agent_characteristics.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/crm-call_center_agent_characteristics_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/crm-call_center_agent_characteristics_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/crm-call_center_agent_characteristics.png 1280w" alt="Graphic listing key qualities of a contact center agent, including knowledgeable, detail-oriented, organized, flexible, empathetic and effective communicator." height="288" width="559"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>Successful contact center agents combine interpersonal and organizational skills such as communication, empathy, flexibility and problem-solving to deliver strong customer service. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="How to start a contact center monitoring program"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>How to start a contact center monitoring program</h2> <p>Starting and developing a contact center monitoring program require several steps, including the following:</p> <ol class="default-list"> <li>Identify the criteria that is monitored and scored, such as greeting, tone, call documentation and adherence to procedures.</li> <li>Develop a scorecard that measures the items to be monitored.</li> <li>Determine who performs the monitoring, such as a supervisor or QA analyst.</li> <li>Set the frequency of monitoring per agent and when the monitoring occurs.</li> <li>Develop a process to provide feedback to agents.</li> <li>Let the agents know the purpose of the monitoring program and how it works.</li> <li>Test the quality monitoring process end to end.</li> </ol> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Contact center monitoring best practices"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Contact center monitoring best practices</h2> <p>Successful quality monitoring programs typically include the following best practices.</p> <h3>1. Define quality and the ideal customer interaction</h3> <p>Contact center agents can't provide the proper service to customers if they don't know what the company expects of them. So, it's important for <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/definition/contact-center-management">contact center management</a> to train employees on what to say and do during a customer interaction before beginning the monitoring process. Scripts for agents are sometimes a contact center practice and other times a legal requirement, but they can help agents start off on the right foot by giving them a roadmap of what to say and how an interaction should be done. When scripts aren't a legal requirement, it's often beneficial to modify and use them as a guideline and make them less robotic-sounding to better serve customers.</p> <h3>2. Decide what customer service metrics are most important</h3> <p>Businesses shouldn't try to measure everything. Contact center managers need to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/Top-7-call-center-agent-performance-metrics-to-track">decide what metrics they value the most</a> and communicate them to their teams before beginning the quality monitoring process. Some metrics include first-contact resolution (<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/definition/first-call-resolution-FCR">FCR</a>), average handle time (AHT), average speed to answer, repeat call rate, calls answered per hour and agent utilization rate. If a contact center, for example, strives for FCR but also expects low AHT, it might be disappointed. The goal of FCR is to resolve customer issues with one phone call, eliminating the need for repeat calls and increasing customer satisfaction. But AHT might be longer as agents work to address the problem.</p> <h3>3. Provide feedback to agents on 100% of monitored calls</h3> <p>For calls that businesses monitor via analytics, a scorecard, which measures customer service and agent performance, should be sufficient. However, companies should <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/How-to-manage-remote-call-center-agents">provide agents with timely feedback and coaching</a> on monitored calls instead of waiting for a monthly review. It's also important for companies to provide agents direct feedback from customers. Companies need to offer agents feedback and coaching in areas of strength and opportunity. Some contact center platforms now use AI-driven coaching tools that automatically identify performance trends and recommend targeted training opportunities for agents.</p> <h3>4. Enable agents to listen to and score their own phone calls</h3> <p>In many cases, agents are the toughest critics of their own work. They should have the opportunity to hear how they sound and interact with customers.</p> <h3>5. Include side-by-side monitoring</h3> <p>Side-by-side monitoring enables analysts and supervisors to interact with agents and ask questions immediately following a phone call. Contact center management can then gather additional valuable insight into specific actions during the customer interaction, including any gaps in the tools agents use.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/searchcrm_callcenter.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/searchcrm_callcenter_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/searchcrm_callcenter_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/searchcrm_callcenter.jpg 1280w" alt="Two contact center agents wearing headsets review information on a computer screen while other agents work at nearby stations."> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>Supervisors and analysts often review agent interactions together during contact center monitoring to evaluate performance and identify coaching opportunities. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <h3>6. Use a different quality form for each customer service channel</h3> <p>Contact centers interact with customers across multiple channels, including phone, email, mobile apps, chat and social media. It's necessary to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/Best-practices-for-contact-center-quality-assurance">create different QA forms for each channel</a> to gather appropriate insights. On a QA monitoring form for phone calls, for example, one question might be about an agent's active listening skills. While that question is appropriate for a phone call, it might not provide any value for an email interaction.</p> <h3>7. Save examples of excellent customer interactions</h3> <p>Contact center managers monitoring agent performance inevitably come across some examples of excellent service and support that should be saved for later review and shared during training sessions. Contact centers can use these gold-standard examples as training tools for new agents and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/answer/Nine-skills-every-call-center-agent-job-requires">agents who need to brush up on their skills</a> by highlighting the language and techniques that helped create outstanding CX.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Technologies to support advanced contact center monitoring"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Technologies to support advanced contact center monitoring</h2> <p>A basic contact center monitoring program requires a technical foundation of quality monitoring software, which is included in many <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/definition/contact-center-as-a-service-CCaS">contact center-as-a-service</a> platforms and provided as a standalone tool by many vendors. This technology enables a team to listen to a sample of recorded phone calls and score each one using an electronic form.</p> <p>The first step in enhancing a monitoring program is to add the capability of capturing contact center agents' computer screens when recording a call. Screen captures enable analysts to do the following:</p> <ul type="disc" class="default-list"> <li>Observe how agents interact with desktop tools.</li> <li>Identify areas where agents can improve a process or transaction.</li> <li>Determine how businesses can improve desktop systems and tools to streamline processes and improve CX.</li> </ul> <figure class="main-article-image half-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/crm-call_center_technologies.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/crm-call_center_technologies_half_column_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/crm-call_center_technologies_half_column_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineImages/crm-call_center_technologies.jpg 1280w" alt="List of technologies aiding contact center monitoring" height="292" width="279"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>Speech analytics software facilitates contact center monitoring. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <p>The next step is to use <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/definition/speech-analytics">speech analytics</a> software to increase the number of calls monitored without requiring more staff to perform the function. Speech analytics can help increase the volume of quality monitors, especially at the agent level, and automate the call scoring process. With an increased number of monitors, patterns showing where an agent may be struggling with a specific type of inquiry can be more easily identified. </p> <p>Speech analytics provides several benefits beyond the ability to monitor a higher volume of calls. It can be used to identify the root cause of phone calls, which is more effective than analyzing disposition codes entered by an agent. Businesses can run a query, for example, that provides 100 calls in which customers have similar issues with a product. Analysts can listen to those calls, identify the root cause of a problem with a product or service, and resolve it. </p> <p>Speech analytics can also analyze phone calls for specific words, phrases, patterns and tones and provide reports. A word cloud, for example, is a collection of words depicting the frequency they appear in calls so companies can better identify customer expectations and sentiment communicated during calls. In more advanced real-time speech analytics, AI analytical capabilities are used in real time to identify calls in which the agent or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dialora.ai/blog/ai-voice-frustration-detection-call-centers" rel="noopener">customer is becoming frustrated</a> and notify a supervisor to assist in handling the call.</p> <p>Many modern contact center platforms also incorporate real-time agent assist tools that analyze conversations during live calls and recommend next best actions.</p> <p>As contact center technology evolves, monitoring programs are becoming more data-driven and automated. Organizations that combine traditional monitoring practices with modern analytics tools can gain deeper insight into customer behavior and service gaps.</p> <p><b>Editor's note:</b> <i>This article was updated to reflect the latest developments in contact center monitoring tools, techniques and practices.</i></p> <p><i>Scott Sachs is president and founder of SJS Solutions, a consultancy that specializes in contact center strategy assessments and technology selection.</i></p> </section> A well-designed monitoring program identifies customer pain points and gathers valuable intelligence that can improve agent performance and CX, as well as products and services. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/customer_service03.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/Best-practices-for-call-center-monitoring Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:00:00 GMT Contact center monitoring best practices for CX leaders <p>Executive leaders should treat compliance as an integral part of organizational strategic planning rather than the cost of doing business.</p> <p>Organizations can face major penalties if they don't comply with laws and regulations that protect customer data, like GDPR and HIPAA. Additionally, customers can lose confidence in an organization if their personal information is not protected properly.</p> <p>A significant number of <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/How-to-improve-the-contact-center-experience-for-customers">customer interactions occur in the contact center</a>. Therefore, contact center leaders need to comply with regulatory requirements and smart business practices to protect customers' rights. A combination of following legislative rules and thoughtful internal practices -- such as call monitoring -- can protect sensitive customer data while improving the customer experience.</p> <p>Establishing and following a contact center compliance checklist provides a strong foundation of good practices that lead to successful compliance.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What is contact center compliance and why is it important?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What is contact center compliance and why is it important?</h2> <p>Contact center compliance is critical. A failure, such as a data breach, can have significant negative effects on a customer's life and devastate an organization's brand image and reputation. Customers don't want to buy services from organizations that can't protect their personal information from bad actors. And, if there's a security incident, organizations don't want to pay fines and penalties to regulatory agencies.</p> <p>Compliance requires participation from every individual in an organization. Contact center managers shouldn't assume that documented processes always work or that agents always follow proper procedures. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/Best-practices-for-call-center-monitoring">Ongoing monitoring and reporting must be in place</a> to ensure things are working properly. Additionally, all employees must keep their eyes and ears open. Controls must be in place, and if something does not seem right, they must raise the issue with the appropriate individual.</p> <p>Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most contact centers were on-premises, which, in many ways, made compliance easier to implement and monitor. For example, employees had to swipe their key cards to enter the contact center. Compliance became more of a challenge when contact centers began to operate remotely, so checklists can help contact center managers follow proper guidelines.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Contact center compliance checklist"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Contact center compliance checklist</h2> <p>Organizations can't achieve compliance with a single tool or process. Compliance requires a multifaceted approach that integrates technology, processes and procedures.</p> <p>The following contact center compliance checklist can serve as a starting point for contact center managers as they seek to comply with internal and external requirements.</p> <h3>1. Secure the network</h3> <p>Organizations should use network <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/access-control">access control</a> to limit who can physically and logically access system hardware and software. Physical security protects the physical components of a network, such as devices, modems or routers, from physical harm. Logical security uses passwords and system permissions to protect a network's software and data from unauthorized individuals.</p> <h3>2. Lock down workstations</h3> <p>For remote workers, organizations must ensure workstation equipment adheres to pre-defined specifications or that the organization provides the proper tools.</p> <p>Physical workstation audits enable an organization to inspect both on-site and remote employees' work environments and ensure they support basic controls and meet compliance requirements. As physical visits to employees' remote workstations aren't always feasible, supervisors can use video conferencing to perform high-level audits. Beware: A video conferencing audit is limited in its scope and timing.</p> <h3>3. Authenticate customers</h3> <p>Customer authentication is a process where individuals prove they are who they claim to be. In some cases, single-factor authentication, where customers provide a single piece of information to confirm their identity, can suffice. However, many organizations have adopted <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/multifactor-authentication-MFA">multifactor authentication</a>, which asks customers to provide distinct pieces of information -- such as a password and a code sent to a mobile device -- to confirm their identity. Additionally, some companies are using voice and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/facial-recognition">facial recognition</a> technologies to authenticate customers.</p> <h3>4. Record customer conversations</h3> <p>Call recording lets organizations review telephone conversations between customers and agents. Managers can review recordings through a QA program and AI tools to determine if agents fulfilled external requirements, such as appropriate disclosures and authentication processes. Managers can also review recordings to determine if an agent fulfilled internal requirements, such as providing a customer with accurate information or following the correct internal procedures.</p> <h3>5. Provide mandatory disclosures</h3> <p>Contact center agents must provide mandatory disclosures, which are legal statements to explain specific processes, rules and options to callers. For example, if a contact center in the U.S. wants to record a customer call, it must be disclosed to the caller, and consent must be provided, which is passive consent in most cases. Regulations require mandatory disclosures when agents record customer calls, perform collection functions or make financial transactions.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/call_center_compliance_checklist-f.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/call_center_compliance_checklist-f_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/call_center_compliance_checklist-f_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/call_center_compliance_checklist-f.png 1280w" alt="Contact center compliance checklist image" height="266" width="560"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>This compliance checklist can help contact centers adhere to important standards and regulations. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <h3>6. Adhere to local privacy legislation</h3> <p>Organizations must adhere to various global and local legislation on customer privacy, depending on the geographic reach of the business. Due to legislation, organizations can't manage all customer information in the same way. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/State-of-data-privacy-laws">Data privacy laws vary by country and region</a>, so organizations must know where each customer resides before they transmit, process and store customer information.</p> <p>Examples of location-based privacy legislation include the following:</p> <ul type="disc" class="default-list"> <li><b>General Data Protection Regulation.</b> GDPR provides guidance on how organizations can collect and process personally identifiable information (PII) for individuals who live in the European Union.</li> <li><b>California Consumer Privacy Act. </b>CCPA provides guidance on how organizations can collect and process personal and household information for individuals who live in California.</li> </ul> <p>Because privacy legislation is always evolving, organizations must be proactive to ensure they're up to date on laws affecting their contact center operations.</p> <h3>7. Adhere to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act</h3> <p>Organizations in the U.S. must adhere to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which sets rules for how an organization can use outbound calls for solicitation. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/tcpa-rules.pdf" rel="noopener">TCPA</a> regulations state that telemarketing contact centers cannot use predictive dialers to contact a wireless phone without prior consent from the customer. It also ensures telemarketers adhere to the National Do Not Call Registry and special regulations, which may include restricted calling hours in a particular geographic location after a natural disaster event.</p> <h3>8. Manage sensitive information</h3> <p>To comply with standards, such as the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/PCI-DSS-Payment-Card-Industry-Data-Security-Standard">Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard</a> and HIPAA, organizations must protect sensitive customer data at rest and in motion. Sensitive information can include PII, credit card numbers or protected health information. To protect sensitive information, organizations should encrypt all data, minimize the amount of stored data and use automation, such as <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/definition/Interactive-Voice-Response-IVR">interactive voice response</a>, to perform sensitive transactions.</p> <h3>9. Provide ongoing training</h3> <p><a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/Best-practices-for-call-center-agent-training-programs">Organizations should provide annual training</a> on proper compliance procedures and guidelines to all employees. All employees should be up to date on specific compliance rules and understand how they can protect their organization and its customers.</p> <h3>10. Promote self-service</h3> <p>Organizations should maximize <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/customer-self-service-CSS">customer self-service</a> procedures through secured portals to limit the sharing of information with other individuals and reduce security risks.</p> <h3>11. Test, monitor and act on a continuous basis</h3> <p>Organizations can and should implement all the items on this checklist. However, business leaders shouldn't assume everything is working properly or that bad actors have not found ways to bypass established controls. Organizations should continually test and monitor the various compliance controls, whether through automated processes, such as reporting unauthorized attempts to access customer data, or human processes, like placing test calls.</p> <p>When something doesn't seem right, organizations should analyze the issue and take action to ensure the controls in place are performing as expected.</p> <p>A contact center compliance checklist can help organizations <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/feature/9-common-risk-management-failures-and-how-to-avoid-them">avoid compliance failures</a>. Contact center managers can use this checklist to evaluate their organization's current compliance protocols and ensure their teams follow proper guidelines.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Common contact center compliance issues and malpractices"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Common contact center compliance issues and malpractices</h2> <p>If strong compliance controls and practices are not in place, the following negative events can occur:</p> <ul type="disc" class="default-list"> <li>Calling customers who requested not to be called, which violates <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/definition/outbound-call">outbound calling</a> restrictions.</li> <li>Allowing PII to be stolen due to incorrectly accessing customer information.</li> <li>Improperly recording customer conversations by not adhering to call recording and consent rules.</li> <li>Providing incomplete information to customers by not adhering to scripting requirements.</li> </ul> <p>If these events occur, an organization can be liable for financial penalties, along with other legal consequences. Just as important is the potential for negative customer perception, which can lead to degraded customer loyalty and customer defections.</p> <p>Leadership in all areas of an organization must keep in mind that a compliance checklist only provides a template of best practices. It must be more than a written document. The organization must translate the document into reality and embed it into the corporate culture by focusing on the following actions:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Invest in technology to support key items on the checklist.</li> <li>Promote accountability.</li> <li>Reward adherence to policies and address any gaps that arise.</li> </ul> <p>A contact center compliance checklist might not stop all unauthorized activities, but it's a solid start to implementing a strategy that adheres to legal, organizational and customer requirements.</p> <p><i>Scott Sachs is president and founder of SJS Solutions, a consultancy that specializes in contact center strategy assessments and technology selection.</i></p> </section> A contact center compliance checklist can serve as a starting point for contact center managers as they seek to comply with internal and external regulations. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/check_g1268128622.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchcustomerexperience/tip/Call-center-compliance-checklist-for-hybrid-workforces Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT Contact center compliance checklist for modern workforces <p>Increasingly sophisticated adversaries are putting IT on the defensive. A cohesive approach to network security is more critical than ever.</p> <p>Threat actors have been quick to adopt cutting-edge technologies, among them <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/How-to-manage-generative-AI-security-risks-in-the-enterprise">AI and automation</a>, to make their attacks more potent. At the same time, cybercriminals are more aggressive, putting more pressure on the network security practitioners standing on the front lines in defense of enterprise assets. To combat these threats, organizations must craft a comprehensive, scalable network security management strategy that uses best practices to protect their network from end to end.</p> <p>Threat actors profit by using a combination of tactics, including phishing, ransomware and AI-generated deepfakes, to breach organizations. IBM's 2025 <a href="https://www.ibm.com/downloads/documents/us-en/131cf87b20b31c91">report</a> on the Cost of a Data Breach pegged the average cost of a data breach in the U.S. at upward of $10 million -- driven by more stringent regulatory fines and a surge in detection expenses. </p> <p>In this volatile climate, security practitioners must arm themselves with tools that protect the organization before attacks occur, as well as platforms that mitigate incidents as quickly as possible. Resilience is the ultimate objective.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What is effective network security management?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What is effective network security management?</h2> <p>A solid network defense underpins every productive and healthy enterprise network. The most effective strategies map the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/How-to-create-a-data-security-policy-with-template">right security policies</a>, tools, processes and practices to the organization's operational objectives.</p> <p>Enterprises must also heed government regulations and corporate mandates. Security practitioners are tasked with ensuring data integrity, security and the availability of their infrastructures. Yet, attaining complete protection isn't achievable. No enterprise can lock down its environment 100% without sacrificing productivity.</p> <p>To that end, effective enterprise security taps into essential technologies, such as the following:</p> <ul type="disc" class="default-list"> <li>AI-driven endpoint security platforms.</li> <li>Extended detection and response.</li> <li>Platformization.</li> <li>Zero-trust and access management.</li> <li>Firewalls.</li> <li>Multifactor authentication (MFA).</li> <li>Identity and access management.</li> <li>Network and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/network-analytics">traffic monitoring and analysis</a>.</li> <li>Security information and event management.</li> <li>Identity and access management.</li> <li>Vulnerability and testing.</li> <li>Unified threat management.</li> <li>DoS mitigation and incident response services.</li> <li>Encryption.</li> <li>Data loss prevention.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Network security management challenges"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Network security management challenges</h2> <p>Securing the infrastructure is a top priority, but security teams tasked with protecting network assets face some high hurdles, such as the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Virtual and highly distributed enterprise assets.</li> <li>Network security controls that may impede infrastructure performance and hamper the end-user experience.</li> <li>The need to integrate security data from disparate sources to protect hybrid environments and other network designs.</li> </ul> <ul type="disc" class="default-list"></ul> <p>Network security tools are continually improving, but certain issues still force network security engineers to scramble as they try to stay ahead of threats. It's still a challenge to obtain an accurate end-to-end perspective of network activity from multiple sources, particularly in <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tip/Navigate-hybrid-cloud-observability-with-3-techniques">hybrid cloud environments</a>. Even in products that supposedly have close correlation, true integration is often missing.</p> <p>Improvements in threat identification have helped. The 2025 IBM Data Breach Report found that a combination of AI and automation helped security practitioners correctly identify breaches 80 days faster than the prior year.</p> <p>Despite these gains, the reality for most organizations is that it's a question of when -- and not if -- they will be breached. That's one reason why so many have <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/How-to-implement-zero-trust-security-from-people-who-did-it">embraced zero-trust architectures</a> designed to ensure that only authenticated and authorized users gain network access.</p> <p>Zero-trust employs many protective controls, including granular authentication, which considers the following factors before allowing any entity or person access to the network:</p> <ul type="disc" class="default-list"> <li>User identity.</li> <li>Device type.</li> <li>Activity.</li> <li>Query.</li> <li>Location.</li> </ul> <p>Zero-trust also applies ongoing authentication and tracking to monitor users and devices. This ensures they have not been compromised.</p> <p>Another security tactic gaining favor is segmentation, which limits network access and prevents lateral movement. Organizations can also implement <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/answer/Compare-zero-trust-vs-the-principle-of-least-privilege">least-privilege access</a>, which applies MFA and granular micro-segmentation to further control access to enterprise resources.</p> <p>Network observability, in which IT administrators gain insights beyond traditional network monitoring by seeing and investigating activity in real time, is <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tip/Observabilitys-role-in-mitigating-IT-security-risks">another key advance</a> helping organizations mount stronger defenses. Using both security and network performance intelligence, observability helps security engineers better discern suspicious activity, optimize service levels and mitigate incidents.</p> <p>Finally, threat detection has become a more powerful defensive tool, thanks to incremental advances in machine learning. ML establishes a baseline of network behavior, observing when activity deviates. ML-based threat detection can distinguish between harmless anomalies and real threats.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Effective network security management best practices"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Effective network security management best practices</h2> <p>The best network security technology is only as effective as the policies and practices that implement controls. IT teams and end users must be aware of the protections in place and how to use them effectively.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> Network security tools are continually improving, but certain issues still force network security engineers to scramble as they try to stay ahead of threats. </figure> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>This starts with proper training. All employees and contractors should understand <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/How-to-write-an-information-security-policy-plus-templates">corporate IT security policies</a> and how to use available tools. Policy development and continuous review is a crucial foundational element. Ongoing end-user training and education -- not just an annual training session or quiz -- is a must.</p> <p>Other fundamental best practices include the following:</p> <ul type="disc" class="default-list"> <li>Deploy multilayered security with support and countermeasures. This limits lateral access and protects the most critical resources.</li> <li>Have an effective network monitoring service in place.</li> <li>Regularly update both software and hardware. Change factory hardware settings when deploying new equipment.</li> <li>Automate software patching but manually intervene when necessary.</li> <li>Consider employing automation for workflow optimization and some elements of remediation.</li> <li>Look into AI-assisted response.</li> <li>Perform vulnerability assessments on a consistent basis. Conduct interim testing between audits.</li> <li>Apply MFA and other access controls.</li> <li>Implement network segregation.</li> <li>Develop and deploy a zero-trust architecture that relies on continuous verification.</li> <li><a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/5-critical-steps-to-creating-an-effective-incident-response-plan">Define an incident response plan</a> that applies automation when possible.</li> <li>Take steps to prevent insider theft or data loss.</li> <li>Recognize what baseline network activity looks like.</li> <li>Proactively test systems to uncover vulnerabilities and poor configurations.</li> </ul> <p>Effective network security management best practices start and end with the human element. The most proactive organizations understand this concept and ensure the right practices and processes are in place.</p> <p><em>Amy Larsen DeCarlo has covered the IT industry for more than 30 years, as a journalist, editor and analyst. As a principal analyst at GlobalData, she covers managed security and cloud services.</em></p> </section> Threat actors are using increasingly sophisticated tools to make their attacks more costly. It's time for organizations to craft a comprehensive security management strategy. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/searchSoftwareQuality/security_testing/softwarequality_article_015.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/How-are-network-management-and-security-converging Fri, 27 Mar 2026 11:15:00 GMT Network security management challenges and best practices <p>Nvidia GTC 2026 was bigger and broader than ever, reflecting the continued, relentless growth of demand and rapid pace of change and innovation in the AI sector. Nvidia has placed itself at the center of it all, as the key supplier of a growing number and variety of xPUs and the related systems that underpin the most advanced AI factories.</p> <p>Equally important is the size of the ecosystem that Nvidia has cultivated across the full AI stack, as reflected by the 400+ exhibitors on the exposition floor. </p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Nvidia GTC highlights"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Nvidia GTC highlights</h2> <p>Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang highlighted several important developments from the Nvidia mainstage keynote, including the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li><b>NemoClaw overview.</b> NemoClaw, a safe environment for OpenClaw built on OpenShell, offers enterprises a path to safely use the approach to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/How-to-build-your-first-agentic-AI-system">building and running AI agents</a>.</li> <li><b>Token production efficiency. </b>Incorporating Nvidia Groq 3 LPX into the AI factory substantially extends token production velocity at the high end of the range, overcoming the inherent limitations of NVL72.</li> <li><b>Storage and performance optimization. </b>STX, the new storage reference architecture enabled by BlueField-4, reinforced data storage as an essential part of the mix that must be optimized -- along with compute and networking -- to continue <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/opinion/Strap-in-for-the-next-wave-of-AI">driving capacity up and incremental cost down</a>.</li> <li><b>Revenue growth. </b>Nvidia predicts<b> </b>it could generate $1T in visible revenue potential by the end of 2027. Growth will partly be due to more AI Gigafactory builds, but increasingly it will be driven by the rapid expansion in infrastructure demand for distributed inferencing. Nvidia believes the long-anticipated pivot point has been reached, and training will continue to drive revenue; AI inferencing will drive them faster from this point forward.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Tokenomics as a driver for AI business cases and ROI"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Tokenomics as a driver for AI business cases and ROI</h2> <p>The AI sector is focused on <a target="_blank" href="https://medium.com/@nconleth/understanding-tokenomics-1ae2e2c2fb05" rel="noopener"><i>tokenomics</i></a>, a term with roots in blockchain and cryptocurrency but applicable to AI as well. In the world of AI, tokens are the unit of production. The capacity and performance of AI systems are measured in terms of time to first token (TTFT) and tokens per second.</p> <p>Contextual data management is measured by token retention rate. There are even efforts underway to track value per token to understand and balance quality. And, increasingly, AI services are being metered and licensed in tokens. </p> <p>According to Huang, every chief experience officer should be thinking about how much token capacity to grant each employee, and employees should be measured by how well they use their token budgets. This concept represents a means by which <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/feature/10-AI-business-use-cases-that-produce-measurable-ROI">AI technology usage can be measured, managed and translated into business value</a>.</p> <p>Proper management and review of tokens, as with any other scarce resource, separate good use from bad. The bottom line is that everyone needs to start thinking in terms of tokenomics for business cases, KPIs and ROI across the ecosystem, from both supplier and user perspectives.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Ecosystem highlights"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Ecosystem highlights</h2> <p>The conference featured many press releases and announcements from vendors in Nvidia's ecosystem. Findings from discussions related to enterprise networking infrastructure include the following:</p> <h3>Akamai</h3> <p>Akamai announced support for the Nvidia AI Grid reference architecture through its Akamai Inference Cloud, based on the deployment of thousands of Nvidia Blackwell GPUs and BlueField DPUs across its 4,400 global edge locations. </p> <h3>Arrcus</h3> <p>Arrcus promoted its recently announced Arrcus Inference Network Fabric, a purpose-built networking approach for optimizing the delivery of inferencing workloads across distributed environments, now integrated with Nvidia Dynamo, Nvidia BlueField-3 DPUs and Nvidia Spectrum-X Ethernet.</p> <h3>Cisco</h3> <p>Cisco announced several new products related to its Secure AI Factory initiative to simplify network design, deployment and operations. Products include the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>UCS and Unified Edge support for Nvidia RTX Pro Blackwell GPUs.</li> <li>Reference architecture support for AI Grid.</li> <li>A new N9100 switch powered by Nvidia Spectrum-6 silicon.</li> <li>Integrated support of that same N9100 switch series within Cisco Nexus Hyperfabric.</li> </ul> <p>On the security side, Cisco announced the extension of its Hybrid Mesh Firewall for policy enforcement on Nvidia BlueField DPUs connected to Cisco Nexus ONE fabrics, as well as new purpose-built guardrails for AI agents within Cisco AI Defense, including support for Nvidia OpenShell for safer <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/feature/OpenClaw-and-Moltbook-explained-The-latest-AI-agent-craze">OpenClaw deployments</a>.</p> <h3>Cloudflare</h3> <p>Cloudflare was highlighting its offerings to directly support the development of stateful serverless AI agents, using its global Connectivity Cloud network reach and Agent Developer Platform, which includes a deep model repository, durable objects, and egress-free R2 storage for optimizing both cost and performance.</p> <h3>Dell</h3> <p>Dell continued to advance its AI Factory, with over 4,000 customers now in deployment and early adopters seeing ROI increases of nearly three times in the first year. The product uses Dell's ability to bring together compute, storage and networking, including PowerEdge servers that use both Nvidia HGX Rubin NVL8 and Vera Rubin NVL72 GPUs for high-end training, as well as RTX Pro 4500 Blackwell GPUs and the new Vera CPU for enterprise workloads in the data center. </p> <h3>Equinix</h3> <p>Equinix highlighted its recently launched Distributed AI Hub, part of the Equinix Fabric Intelligence initiative, and its first direct partnership with Palo Alto Networks to simplify and secure agentic AI deployments.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> The bottom line is that everyone needs to start thinking in terms of tokenomics for business cases, KPIs and ROI across the ecosystem. </figure> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <h3>F5</h3> <p>F5 has turned its focus onto improving tokenomics outcomes -- such as TTFT, token throughput and cost per token -- by integrating its BIG-IP Next for Kubernetes with Nvidia BlueField-3 DPUs. Given that most AI applications are built using cloud-native architectures, this approach acts as a control plane that optimizes results in a manner closely aligned with where workloads reside and execute.</p> <h3>HPE</h3> <p>HPE announced new Nvidia-related capabilities across compute, networking and software realms, set to be available in 2027. Examples include integration of Nvidia Vera CPU blades and Nvidia Quantum-X800 InfiniBand networking into the HPE Cray Supercomputing GX5000 platform.</p> <p>HPE also updated its turnkey HPE Private Cloud AI offerings to expand network capacity and introduced ProLiant servers with Nvidia RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell GPU support. Additionally, the company also integrated Nvidia AI-Q and Omniverse into its design blueprints, offering self-contained options for sovereign AI factory deployments.</p> <h3>IBM</h3> <p>IBM relayed results of using Nvidia cuDF to accelerate its watsonx.data's SQL engine Presto to dramatically accelerate terabyte-scale data refresh cycles for a global foods supplier. This yields a remarkable 30x improvement in price-to-performance over prior processes. IBM also promoted its certification of IBM Storage Scale 6000 with Nvidia DGX platforms to address ongoing challenges with AI data management and storage.</p> <h3>Lenovo</h3> <p>Lenovo has been working to deliver AI infrastructure in multiple forms, from Gigafactory architectures to laptops and workstations powered by Nvidia RTX Pro Blackwell GPUs for local inferencing. It also launched an industry-vertical platform focused on improving fan experience, revenue growth, business performance and operational efficiency for global sports organizations.</p> <h3>Nokia</h3> <p>Nokia announced a slew of new optical components and amplifiers for use within and between data centers, coming available later this year and into 2027. </p> <h3>Nutanix</h3> <p>Nutanix focused on addressing challenges with <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/Optimizing-hybrid-cloud-architecture-for-AI-workloads">deploying AI workloads in mixed environments</a>, where both cloud-native and virtual compute components will be present. The company also announced its Nutanix Agentic AI platform, a full software stack designed to help accelerate agent development, security and operational deployment.</p> <h3>WEKA</h3> <p>WEKA announced the general availability of the NeuralMesh AI Data Platform, which aims to make scaling high-performance data pipelines seamless as AI workloads move from PoC to production. WEKA also announced the Augmented Memory Grid, which provides accelerated data pipelining for existing Nvidia-based AI factories, similar to how the new Nvidia STX architecture will work with future reference architectures.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The AI wave continues"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>The AI wave continues</h2> <p>When attending an event built around an individual technology vendor, it's usually easy to see through even the most carefully constructed frameworks of stories and promises. But when those stories come from a chorus of surrounding voices, it's much more convincing.</p> <p>Getting the market timing right is one thing, and it has a lot to do with Nvidia's success, following years of tireless devotion to PC GPU cards. But one must also credit Nvidia's vision and execution in building and nurturing an ecosystem that can sustain and compound opportunities, sharing both the risks and the rewards.</p> <p>Lingering questions about whether the massive AI buildout is a bubble or a wave remain. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/Explaining-an-AI-bubble-burst-and-what-it-could-mean">Bubbles can grow very large but fail to deliver and pop</a> when overhyped based on hype rather than measurable value. Waves also start large but carry on due to a successful translation into outcomes.</p> <p>AI is a big technology wave, and it's not showing any signs of slowing. In fact, quite the opposite is happening -- it's still building. The positive value outcomes are already being documented, and we now stand on the threshold of the era of AI inferencing, where the real and measurable values start rolling in, in ever-increasing volume.  </p> <p><em>Jim Frey covers networking as principal analyst at Omdia.</em></p> <p> <em>Omdia is a division of Informa TechTarget. Its analysts have business relationships with technology vendors.</em></p> </section> Nvidia GTC 2026 underscored surging AI infrastructure demand and ecosystem growth. Tokenomics and inferencing are emerging as key drivers of future value. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/security_a244600171.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/opinion/Infrastructure-highlights-from-Nvidia-GTC-2026 Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:00:00 GMT Infrastructure highlights from Nvidia GTC 2026 <p>Mobile hotspots provide essential connectivity for a mobile and hybrid workforce, but inconsistent performance or security misconfigurations can disrupt operations and create compliance risks.</p> <p>When a user's iPhone hotspot isn't working as intended, there are various quick fixes they can try. If there's no internet connection, they can check their cellular data and reset the network settings. If they receive an error message saying the password is incorrect, they can verify and update the Personal Hotspot password. If they receive an error message saying a device is unable to join the network, they can restart the iPhone and the connected device.</p> <p>However, sometimes the troubleshooting process is more complicated. IT managers should have a plan for proactive management and troubleshooting to handle iPhone Personal Hotspots in the enterprise.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What causes iPhone hotspot issues?"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>What causes iPhone hotspot issues?</h2> <p>Several factors could cause an iPhone hotspot to fail. Frequent culprits include connectivity issues, misconfigurations and human error.</p> <h3>Connectivity issues</h3> <p>Connectivity issues are among the most common challenges when supporting iPhone hotspots in an enterprise environment. These issues show up as inconsistent performance, slow speeds and dropped connections. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Wireless-network-troubleshooting-Connectivity">Resolving connectivity issues</a> starts with troubleshooting cellular connection problems and ensuring the hotspot is set up correctly.</p> <p>Another typical connectivity problem is with the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchmobilecomputing/definition/Bluetooth">Bluetooth</a> on devices pairing to an iPhone hotspot. Bluetooth is generally slower than Wi-Fi, and therefore potentially more prone to performance issues.</p> <p>Bluetooth connectivity issues tend to be related to two main factors. First, other nearby Bluetooth devices can sometimes interfere with the Bluetooth signal, degrading hotspot performance or even preventing connectivity altogether. Second, outdated software can cause pairing issues. If either the iPhone or the device connecting to it is outdated, the mismatch can result in poor performance or an inability to connect.</p> <h3>Misconfigurations</h3> <p>Even with the support of MDM tools, configuration problems can affect iPhone hotspot connectivity. If a user has connectivity problems, make sure that the iPhone is running the latest version of iOS. Then, check that the hotspot is configured correctly.</p> <h3>Human error</h3> <p>Human error is often a cause of mobile device issues. As an example, a user might forget their password or accidentally turn off the hotspot on their phone. In some cases, a user might mistakenly try to connect to someone else's iPhone hotspot rather than the one on their own phone.</p> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> IT managers should have a plan for proactive management and troubleshooting to handle iPhone Personal Hotspots in the enterprise. </figure> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="How to fix Personal Hotspot issues on an iPhone"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>How to fix Personal Hotspot issues on an iPhone</h2> <p>If the source of the problem isn't immediately clear or easy to solve, an admin might have to walk a user through fixing the iPhone hotspot. The following troubleshooting tips reflect Apple's current Personal Hotspot guidance for recent iPhone versions.</p> <h3>Step 1. Check cellular data on the user's iPhone</h3> <p>The first thing users should do is <a target="_blank" href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201415" rel="noopener">check</a> whether their iPhone has a cellular data connection. They can do this by opening Settings > Cellular and seeing whether cellular data is toggled on, as shown in Figure 1. If the user's cellular data is turned off and can't be turned back on, then the user must contact their carrier to ensure their account is active and in good standing.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_1-f.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_1-f_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_1-f_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_1-f.jpg 1280w" alt="The Cellular tab in iPhone settings." data-credit="Brien Posey" height="1210" width="560"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>Figure 1. Make sure that the iPhone's cellular data is active. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <h3>Step 2. Check Personal Hotspot settings on the user's iPhone</h3> <p>The user should also verify their Personal Hotspot feature is turned on and that the settings are configured correctly. They can do this by going to Settings > Personal Hotspot and checking that the feature is turned on.</p> <p>The next step in the process is to make sure that the hotspot is configured correctly. To do so, tap on <b>Personal Hotspot</b> and then toggle on the <b>Allow Others to Join</b> option (Figure 2).</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_2-f.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_2-f_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_2-f_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_2-f.jpg 1280w" alt="The Personal Hotspot tab in iPhone settings." data-credit="Brien Posey" height="1210" width="560"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>Figure 2. Be sure to enable the option to allow others to join. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <p>The iPhone automatically associates a random password with the hotspot. A user can change this password by tapping it and then entering a new password. However, if the iPhone is being managed by the organization, the user might not have the necessary permissions to change the password. On supervised corporate devices, IT can also restrict users from modifying Personal Hotspot settings altogether.</p> <p>On iPhone 12 and later devices, Apple provides a Maximize Compatibility option under the Personal Hotspot settings. This can help some devices connect more easily, but Apple says it can reduce performance. Apple's security documentation also notes that this mode prioritizes compatibility by restricting the hotspot to 2.4 GHz and WPA2 Personal. Use it when a client device is having trouble connecting, not as the default setting.</p> <h3>Step 3. Restart the iPhone and connected devices</h3> <p>As with many minor software glitches, sometimes the key to resolving a hotspot problem is to perform a full reboot of the iPhone. It's also a good idea to reboot the device that is trying to connect to the hotspot.</p> <p>If Wi-Fi hotspot sharing still fails and the user only needs to connect one computer, IT can also test a USB connection to determine whether the problem is specific to wireless hotspot sharing.</p> <h3>Step 4. Reset network settings</h3> <p>The best way to refresh an iPhone's network settings is to reboot the phone. However, another method is to enable Airplane Mode for a few seconds and then turn it back off.</p> <p>If the issue persists, the user can try resetting their iPhone's <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/What-are-the-3-most-common-network-issues-to-troubleshoot">network settings</a>. This step should be performed with extreme caution since it's easy to accidentally reset all of the phone's settings. To reset the phone's network connections, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset. At this point, the phone will display a menu containing various reset options (Figure 3). Choose the Reset Network Settings option. This will remove saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords, cellular settings, and previously used VPN and APN settings. If the iPhone is used on a business-managed network, users should check with IT before resetting network settings.</p> <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_3-f.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_3-f_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_3-f_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/personal_hotspot_3-f.jpg 1280w" alt="The Transfer or Reset iPhone tab in iPhone settings." data-credit="Brien Posey" height="1210" width="560"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>Figure 3. Users must be careful when resetting network connectivity. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <h3>Step 5. Contact carrier support</h3> <p>If no other steps have worked, the last option is to contact the wireless carrier's support team for further assistance. If the user works in a BYOD environment and owns the phone themselves, they would need to call their carrier. With corporate-owned devices, the service desk might have to contact the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchmobilecomputing/tip/Finding-the-best-cellphone-plans-for-small-businesses">organization's carrier support</a>. If the organization uses a mobility MSP, the service desk can escalate the issue to them.</p> <div class="extra-info"> <div class="extra-info-inner"> <h3 class="splash-heading">BYOD vs. corporate-owned iPhone hotspot support: Who handles what?</h3> <p data-end="324" data-start="144">When an iPhone Personal Hotspot fails, the first question for IT is whether the device is user-owned or company-owned. That distinction shapes the support path.</p> <p data-end="654" data-start="326">For BYOD users, the issue might not start with the device at all. Personal Hotspot availability can depend on the user's wireless plan, carrier settings and account eligibility. In those cases, the employee might need to confirm that hotspot access is included in their plan before IT spends time troubleshooting the phone itself.</p> <p data-end="947" data-start="656">For corporate-owned iPhones, the support path is usually more direct. The service desk can check whether hotspot use is allowed under company policy, whether any MDM settings or restrictions are interfering and whether the issue should be escalated to a carrier or managed mobility provider.</p> <p data-end="1156" data-start="949">In practice, IT teams should document both paths clearly. That helps remote workers know where to go first, reduces repeat tickets and makes hotspot problems easier to resolve when connectivity matters most.</p> </div> </div> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Common error messages when using an iPhone hotspot"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Common error messages when using an iPhone hotspot</h2> <p>When iPhone Personal Hotspot issues occur, it's often accompanied by an error message that can help determine the cause of the problem.</p> <p>A common error message is "Personal Hotspot Not Available." This often means the carrier has not enabled hotspot on the line, the user's wireless plan does not support it, or the account needs carrier-side attention. As such, the user or organization should review the wireless plan to confirm hotspot access is enabled. If the plan does include hotspot access, check to make sure that the user hasn't exceeded their data allotment.</p> <p>Another error users might encounter is "Unable to Join the Network." If this error message, or a variation of it, appears on the device that the user is trying to connect to the hotspot, make sure that the iPhone is powered on. Additionally, check that it doesn't have <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchmobilecomputing/answer/What-smartphone-battery-tips-can-help-IT-improve-mobile-UX">low battery power</a> and hasn't gone into sleep mode. Users can also try toggling the hotspot off and back on again. Keep the iPhone on the Personal Hotspot screen until the other device completes the connection.</p> <p>If a user receives an error message stating that the hotspot password is incorrect, they should make sure they're connecting to their iPhone and not someone else's. If they are connecting to the correct phone, they can try temporarily changing the password to something less complicated to make sure they're typing it in correctly.</p> <p>To troubleshoot a "No Internet Connection" error message, open a browser directly on the iPhone to make sure it can access the internet. If internet access is working on the phone, check whether cellular data settings or carrier limits are restricting connectivity. If the user is in an area with spotty coverage, they should also check to make sure that roaming is enabled.</p> <p>Users might also receive an error message indicating that the hotspot is not accepting new connections, or that it's hosting the maximum number of devices. This issue can occur with certain data plans, as some plans limit hotspots to a single connection. If the user isn't exceeding the connection limits, try disconnecting any unused clients to see if that makes the problem go away.</p> <p>For enterprise IT teams, the goal is not just to restore an iPhone hotspot connection, but to give remote workers a clear support path, align hotspot use with carrier and BYOD policy, and reduce repeat service desk tickets through better documentation and user guidance.</p> <p><strong>Editor's note:</strong> <em>This article was updated in March 2026 to reflect current troubleshooting guidance and improve the reader experience. </em></p> <p><i>Brien Posey is a former 22-time Microsoft MVP and a commercial astronaut candidate. In his more than 30 years in IT, he has served as a lead network engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense and a network administrator for some of the largest insurance companies in America. </i></p> <p><i>Will Kelly is a freelance writer and content strategist who has written about cloud, DevOps, AI and enterprise mobility.</i></p> </section> Hotspot issues can disrupt remote work and IT support. Here are the key fixes for connectivity, settings, carrier access and enterprise troubleshooting on an iPhone. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/mobile_g1097898396.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchmobilecomputing/tip/How-to-fix-an-iPhone-Personal-Hotspot-thats-not-working Thu, 26 Mar 2026 13:12:00 GMT How to fix an iPhone Personal Hotspot that's not working <p>When home internet problems strike, a mobile hotspot can work as an easy fix, so admins and users must know how to troubleshoot any issues with this backup option.</p> <p>Android devices can give remote and hybrid workers quick backup connectivity, but hotspot support can vary by carrier policy, device model, Android version and whether the phone is corporate-owned or BYOD. For IT teams, that means troubleshooting should start with plan eligibility and cellular service before moving to local settings, software updates and escalation paths.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Challenges for supporting Android remote work hotspots"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Challenges for supporting Android remote work hotspots</h2> <p>Supporting Android phone hotspots can present some challenges from both a technical and a security standpoint. IT administrators should understand the problems that sometimes come with mobile hotspots and how they can cause performance issues.</p> <h3>Compatibility with different Android versions</h3> <p>The Android OS is available on several different smartphones and tablets from several <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitchannel/definition/OEM">OEMs</a>, and that can be both a strength and a weakness for the operating system. The large OEM ecosystem running different OS versions can make it challenging to support hotspots, primarily for organizations that have a <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/BYOD-bring-your-own-device">BYOD</a> program. Compatibility issues show up as dropped connections and slow speeds.</p> <h3>Security risks</h3> <p>Android hotspots should be <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Adopt-5-best-practices-for-hybrid-workplace-model-security">secured with strong settings</a> and current software, especially on devices used for work. For example, an attacker could intercept sensitive data that a user transmits over their Wi-Fi hotspot. Hackers could also use the hotspot to launch attacks against other devices on the network.</p> <h3>Bandwidth limitations</h3> <p>Hotspot connectivity is meant for situational internet access, not as a full-time substitute for an internet connection. Like iPhone hotspots, Android devices have limited bandwidth for hotspot use. The ideal hotspot use case for end users is to send a quick email or Slack message telling coworkers that they've lost power or their internet is down.</p> <p>Bandwidth limitations mean slow speeds or dropped Wi-Fi connections when a user connects multiple devices to an Android hotspot. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/What-are-the-3-most-common-network-issues-to-troubleshoot">Poor network coverage</a> or high demand for data usage also contribute to bandwidth issues.</p> <h3>Battery drain</h3> <p>Using an Android device as a hotspot can quickly drain the battery, especially if users turn it on for extended periods or connect multiple devices to it. Battery drain can significantly limit the value of the hotspot for users who need to rely on their device for other functions.</p> <h3>End-user education</h3> <p>Many users might not be <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/post/4-ways-to-build-a-thoughtful-security-culture">aware of the security risks</a> associated with using an Android hotspot. They also might not know how to secure their device and network properly. This lack of awareness can lead to the inadvertent exposure of sensitive information or the sharing of the hotspot with unauthorized users.</p> <figure class="main-article-image half-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/5_reasons_to_update_software-h.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/5_reasons_to_update_software-h_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/5_reasons_to_update_software-h_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/5_reasons_to_update_software-h.png 1280w"> <figcaption> <i class="icon pictures" data-icon="z"></i>Hotspot failures often trace back to plan restrictions, mobile-data issues, settings conflicts or outdated software. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> <i class="icon" data-icon="w"></i> </div> </figure> <p>The other user training element to consider is the costs associated with hotspot data usage. A BYOD user resorting to their hotspot for business connectivity could easily blow through their personal account's data allotment, leading to an unexpectedly high bill from their carrier. Such a high charge might exceed their corporate cellphone or <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchmobilecomputing/tip/BYOD-policy-basics-Defining-and-enforcing-a-successful-policy">BYOD expense allotment</a> if not planned correctly. Users with an Android hotspot on their corporate-issued phone will need training on corporate hotspot usage policies, managing cellular data and troubleshooting.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="6 steps to fix an Android smartphone hotspot"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>6 steps to fix an Android smartphone hotspot</h2> <p>Troubleshooting an Android smartphone hotspot can be tricky for service desks and end users. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tip/How-to-build-a-successful-IT-service-desk">Creating troubleshooting documentation</a> for the service desk and even providing users with basic hotspot training is worth the extra time to help save the productivity of remote and hybrid workers. Service desk teams should start with their carrier's troubleshooting documentation for reliable instructions.</p> <p>When dealing with an unexpected Android hotspot issue, there are a few steps that IT admins and users can follow that will typically fix the problem. Before moving into deeper settings, restart the phone, confirm mobile data works on the handset itself and toggle airplane mode on and off. If the device does not have a working cellular connection, the hotspot will not be reliable either.</p> <h3>1. Check for compatibility and availability</h3> <p>Verify that the device trying to connect to the hotspot is compatible with the Android device's hotspot feature. Some older devices might not be compatible with newer hotspot features.</p> <p>Not every Android device is eligible to use the hotspot feature in the same way. Carrier restrictions, account entitlements and plan limits still matter. Hotspot availability and settings can vary by carrier, phone model and software version, and some providers require a hotspot or tethering plan. For enterprise fleets, IT should confirm hotspot eligibility in carrier contracts, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchhrsoftware/news/252521455/Stipends-for-remote-work-emerge-as-polarizing-issue">reimbursement rules</a> and BYOD policy before treating a hotspot failure as a device issue.</p> <p>Android device hotspot usage should be a discussion point for any BYOD initiative to ensure that employee devices meet the requirements for running a hotspot.</p> <h3>2. Check network and hotspot settings</h3> <p>Look over the network settings on the device that's attempting to connect to the hotspot. Ensure the device is set to connect to a Wi-Fi network and that the hotspot is listed as an available network. Make sure that the hotspot is turned on and configured correctly.</p> <p>Additionally, confirm that the hotspot is protected with a password, that the security setting is not left open for convenience, and that the Wi-Fi band fits the client device. If the hotspot is not visible or connections are unstable, try switching between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.</p> <p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.samsung.com/us/support/troubleshooting/TSG01212956/" rel="noopener">Samsung</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/2926415?hl=en" rel="noopener">Google</a> both provide documentation for checking network settings on their devices.</p> <h3>3. Verify standard Android device settings</h3> <p>Sometimes it's the simplest of settings that cause trouble for mobile devices. IT should walk users through checking and adjusting some standard device settings, including the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Verify mobile data is enabled and ensure healthy network coverage bars are at the top.</li> <li>Turn off power saver mode on the user's device.</li> <li>Turn off data saver mode.</li> <li>Disable the device's <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/virtual-private-network">VPN</a>.</li> <li>Check whether Data Saver, carrier plan limits or hotspot allotment restrictions are blocking tethering.</li> <li>Switch between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz to test range, stability and device compatibility.</li> </ul> <h3>4. Reset network settings</h3> <p>The process to reset network settings on an Android device is another example of why supporting Android devices can be challenging. There can be variations between vendors and mobile service providers for the steps a user must follow to erase all saved Wi-Fi passwords, VPNs and Bluetooth pairings. Consulting the appropriate phone carrier's documentation is a good place to start.</p> <p>Service desks should warn users that they might need to reconnect home Wi-Fi, re-pair Bluetooth devices and re-enter VPN settings after the reset.</p> <h3>5. Update the OS and software</h3> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> Troubleshooting an Android smartphone hotspot can be tricky for service desks and end users. </figure> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> <p>Ensure the Android device's software is up to date, as <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/5-reasons-software-updates-are-important">outdated software can cause issues</a> with the hotspot. Full Android and OEM updates can still roll out on vendor- and carrier-specific timelines, but Android's tethering stack also receives some modular updates outside full OS releases. When hotspot behavior changes, admins should check both the device software level and the vendor or carrier's current support guidance.</p> <p>Likewise, medium- to large-sized organizations using an MDM platform will often orchestrate OS updates to their devices under management.</p> <p>As with checking or resetting network settings, users should look for documentation from their carrier to find the best way to update their device.</p> <p>Simply turning off the hotspot and restarting the Android device can also resolve minor software glitches that could be affecting it.</p> <h3>6. Contact customer support</h3> <p>If the above steps do not resolve the issue, it's time to contact the device's customer support for further assistance. Corporate users need an escalation path for resolving issues, starting with their organization's service desk. Often, it makes more sense to have service desk technicians communicate with the carrier, but this depends on the organization's relationship with its mobile carrier. If an organization contracts with a third-party mobile <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitchannel/definition/managed-service-provider">MSP</a>, then most likely, user issue escalation starts and ends with them.</p> <p>Supporting Android users who need to use hotspots as part of their jobs requires a bit of strategy and preparation. Organizations must ensure that the service desk or other support staff have all the right knowledge and troubleshooting documentation to help remote and hybrid workers with ease. It's also important to prepare users with some basic Android troubleshooting. This should enable them to communicate with technical support more easily and, better yet, resolve mobile hotspot issues on their own.</p> <p><strong>Editor's note</strong>: <em>This article was updated in March 2026 to reflect current Android hotspot troubleshooting steps, carrier-plan restrictions and security guidance.</em> <br><i></i></p> <p><i>Katie Fenton is site editor for Informa TechTarget's Mobile Computing, Enterprise Desktop and Virtual Desktop sites.</i></p> <p><i>Will Kelly is a freelance writer and content strategist who has written about cloud, DevOps, AI and enterprise mobility.</i></p> </section> Android hotspots can fail because of carrier limits, settings conflicts, weak signal or security controls. Here are the quickest fixes IT teams should check first. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/legal_g1169668297.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchmobilecomputing/tip/How-to-troubleshoot-when-a-hotspot-is-not-working-on-Android Thu, 26 Mar 2026 11:29:00 GMT How to troubleshoot when a hotspot is not working on Android <p>Networking technology is the glue that enables virtually every digital function. Decades ago, pre-internet, networking was largely a combination of dedicated private lines and various dial-up services. An all-digital, intelligent infrastructure was the stuff of dreams.</p> <p>Fast forward, and today's networking infrastructure supports <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/opinion/The-top-5-predictions-for-networking-technology-trends-in-2020">a vast array of digital services</a>, driven by the internet and its massive influence on business. This prompts two key questions:</p> <ol class="default-list"> <li>Which networking services make the most sense from a business perspective?</li> <li>What is the best way to allocate the networking budget?</li> </ol> <p>Strategic network investments help deliver measurable outcomes, particularly as enterprises roll out their digital transformation initiatives. This article examines key network investments that consistently drive value, including modernization, automation, security and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/How-to-ensure-network-performance-and-reliability">performance optimization</a>. It also discusses how these investments improve agility, resilience and UX while supporting growth and innovation.</p> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Key networking investments for improved ROI"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Key networking investments for improved ROI</h2> <p>Today's network infrastructure is a blend of technologies, with advanced software-defined networking and the internet among the primary components. Making prudent investments in various technologies and strategies can help improve business performance, reduce downtime and support growth.</p> <h3>1. Network infrastructure modernization</h3> <p>While the internet is a key network infrastructure foundation, investments in technologies such as SD-WAN, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/Wi-Fi-upgrades-on-the-horizon-as-enterprises-eye-Wi-Fi-7">Wi-Fi 6 and 6E</a>, and fiber-optic cable upgrades improve customer experience (CX) by enabling users to interact more quickly and efficiently with apps, such as CRM platforms. Smart investments can also lower costs; for example, SD-WAN reduces MPLS expenses.<b>  </b></p> <h3>2. Enhance network security with zero trust</h3> <p>Zero trust greatly reduces the likelihood of a security breach -- both inside and outside a network perimeter. Zero trust also helps companies comply with security requirements; the architecture yields a positive ROI because the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach" rel="noopener">cost of a security breach</a>, such as a ransomware attack, can be high.</p> <h3>3. Cloud-based networking options</h3> <p>Cloud-based and managed network services help streamline business performance. They are highly scalable and quickly adapt to changing business requirements. They can also save on overhead costs associated with networking hardware, physical space, power and HVAC resources. Concerns about a lack of user control and security aside, investing in these services can improve CX while also delivering a positive ROI.</p> <h3>4. Network performance monitoring and automation</h3> <p>Today's complex enterprise networks require companies to monitor performance and spot possible network interruptions continually. AI can be <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Agentic-AI-ushers-in-a-new-era-of-network-management">particularly important here</a>. Monitoring and automation platforms can accomplish the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Reduce overhead.</li> <li>Lower risk of network outages.</li> <li>Spot security breaches before they can disrupt operations.</li> <li>Minimize chances of human error.</li> <li>Automate repetitive tasks.</li> <li>Analyze network performance.</li> <li>Provide recommendations for improvement.</li> </ul> <h3>5. IoT and edge computing networks</h3> <p>Moving processing closer to users and IoT devices requires sufficient bandwidth and efficient networking. Investing in networking services that deliver greater performance and operational efficiency is essential for enterprises with heavy real-time processing requirements, such as healthcare, manufacturing, transportation and logistics.</p> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Aligning networking investments with business goals"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Aligning networking investments with business goals</h2> <p>A solid understanding of the business goals underpins effective networking investments.</p> <h3>Define business goals first</h3> <p>As with most technology investments, there <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/How-network-modernization-creates-measurable-ROI">must be a solid business purpose</a>. This step can be facilitated by needs analyses, risk assessments and gap analyses. When a change occurs in the business, such as introducing a new CRM system, networking requirements must be determined at every stage of the project. A prudent investment supports the system as it scales; it's no secret that ROI must be tied to strategic business objectives.</p> <h3>Identify what constitutes success</h3> <p>Define what success is and what is needed to achieve it. A variety of success metrics exist; from a networking perspective, consider KPIs such as network availability, security event response and management, and UX expectations. </p> <h3>Exercise care when selecting a networking technology</h3> <p>Understanding business requirements is perhaps the first and ultimately most important step. <i>Bright</i> and <i>shiny</i> might sound good, but savvy networking professionals realize that might not be the most appropriate course. Yet identifying advanced technologies that incorporate AI, for example, could prove a smart investment. Networking that combines cloud-based services and AI is likely to be efficient, resilient to outages and able to accommodate changing business requirements.</p> <h3>Operational improvements are essential</h3> <p>Smart networking investments are more likely to yield ROI than upgrades to faster routers or powerful switches. Improvements can come in many forms, such as the following:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li>Reducing manual network management using automation.</li> <li>Increasing visibility into network performance to identify potential security threats.</li> <li>Generating improved network performance analytics.</li> <li>Shifting from Capex to Opex financial models.</li> </ul> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Tips for avoiding low-value networking investments"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Tips for avoiding low-value networking investments</h2> <p>Enterprises have multiple networking options available from service providers and equipment vendors that claim to have the right answers. It's easy to make an investment misstep. Below are some tips to reduce the chances of this happening.</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li><b>Find out what others are doing</b>. Contact network professionals from other enterprises using similar networking technologies. It might be possible to avoid a bad decision by learning from other professionals.</li> <li><b>Consider using outside expertise</b>. Contact external consultants with the experience needed to guide the selection process and reduce the risk of a poor investment decision.</li> <li><b>Simulate the new technology</b>. Automated tools are available to help with network design, performance analyses and the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchbusinessanalytics/tip/Predictive-analytics-skills-to-improve-simulation-modeling">investment selection process</a>. AI-based tools are ideal because they can evaluate a wide range of options and select one or more configurations that deliver the desired business performance while optimizing costs.  </li> <li><b>Ensure strategic alignment</b>. The networking technology being acquired must clearly support the required business strategies and performance expectations. This minimizes the chances of wasted investments and poor performance.</li> <li><b>Know the total cost of ownership</b>. Failure to accurately estimate the true costs of the new investment could result in budget overruns, even if the technology proves acceptable.</li> </ul> <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> Smart networking investments are more likely to yield ROI than upgrades to faster routers or powerful switches. </figure> <i class="icon" data-icon="z"></i> </div> </blockquote> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Best practices to ensure the best investment outcomes"> <h2 class="section-title"><i class="icon" data-icon="1"></i>Best practices to ensure the best investment outcomes </h2> <p>Enterprises can follow these best practices to make investment decisions that deliver the best business results and ROI:</p> <ul class="default-list"> <li><b>Business outcomes first, features second</b>. Focus on how the investment will affect the business. This ensures that professionals can reduce <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/network-downtime">network downtime</a>, optimize costs and meet security and compliance requirements.</li> <li><b>Establish value-based decision metrics</b>. Consider creating a scoring model that rates the investment based on factors such as achieving business strategies, reducing risk, controlling costs, and adding value through AI and IoT.</li> <li><b>Current and future performance gap analyses</b>. Look at how the network is performing now and examine how it might perform in the future. This helps identify potential performance issues and security risks. AI can greatly simplify these analyses.</li> <li><b>Select and prioritize the investments</b>. Identify the investments that promise the best overall initial value and ROI for the enterprise; launching them should make life easier for network managers, who can then deliver on their ROI.</li> <li><b>Ensure that security investments take priority</b>. Reducing the likelihood of a costly network outage or security breach helps boost ROI.</li> <li><b>Define KPIs in advance of deployment</b>. These can address performance issues such as network availability, cost reduction, reduction of security issues and reduction of technology outages.</li> <li><b>Establish a continuous improvement process</b>. Proactively manage network resources to ensure optimum performance and ROI.</li> <li><b>Speak in business terms</b>. Translate network performance jargon into a clear, compelling display of how achieving KPI metrics through the network investment benefits the business, including improved customer satisfaction and employee productivity, increased security and reduced compliance risk.</li> </ul> <p><em>Paul Kirvan, FBCI, CISA, is an independent consultant and technical writer with more than 35 years of experience in business continuity, disaster recovery, resilience, cybersecurity, GRC, telecom and technical writing. </em></p> </section> Network investments can significantly boost business performance and value. Modernization, security and automation can support effective digital transformation initiatives. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/money_g1189523318.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Key-network-investments-that-deliver-business-results Fri, 20 Mar 2026 18:00:00 GMT 5 key network investments that deliver business results Search Networking Resources and Information from TechTarget 60 webmaster@techtarget.com