Riverbed® today announced the results of a survey which found that over 70% of C-Suite decision makers believe business innovation and staff retention are driven by improved visibility into network and application performance. The survey findings unveiled in the ‘Rethink Possible: Visibility and Network Performance – The Pillars of Business Success’ report cites a positive correlation between effective technology and company health, a finding that is supported by the fact that 86% of C-Suite and IT decision makers (ITDMs), and 87% of business decision makers (BDMs), reveal that digital performance is increasingly critical to business growth.

Slow running systems and a lack of visibility

Three-quarters of all groups surveyed have felt frustrated by current network performance, with IT infrastructure being given as the key reason for the poor performance. This problem is exacerbated by a lack of full and consistent visibility, as one in three ITDMs report that they don’t have full visibility over applications, their networks and/or end-users. Furthermore, almost half of the C-Suite (49%) believe that slow running and outdated technology is directly impacting the growth of their businesses. This highlights the importance of implementing new technology to drive productivity, creativity and innovation.

Business priorities and challenges

Business priorities and challenges are evolving, so the technology they rely on needs to advance too. Over three quarters (76%) of ITDMs acknowledge that their IT infrastructure will have to change dramatically in the next five years to support new ways of doing business. A further 95% of all respondents recognise that innovation and breaking boundaries is crucial to business success, emphasising the need to embrace new technology. This may be why 80% of BDMs and 77% of the C-Suite say they believe that investing in next-generation technology is vital.

Commenting on the research findings, Colette Kitterhing, Senior Director UK&I at Riverbed Technology, said: “All leaders recognise that visibility, optimised network infrastructure, and the ability to accelerate cloud and SaaS performance are the next frontier in business success. Given this, it’s time the C-Suite, business decision leaders, and IT decision makers come together to invest in the right solutions, prioritise measurement, and place visibility and infrastructure at the top of their agenda.” 

Kitterhing continued: “At Riverbed, we are helping businesses evolve their capabilities, whether it’s by monitoring networks and the apps that run on them, application performance, or updating the network infrastructure that underpins their digital services. We fundamentally believe this is the key to supporting our customers’ staff and their ambitions, driving innovation, creativity, and helping them Rethink what’s possible.”

Rethink Possible: Evolving the Digital Experience

With over 80% of all leaders (82% C-Suite, 84% BDMs and ITDMs) agreeing that businesses must rethink what’s possible to survive in today’s unpredictable world, technology needs to be an enabler in the process. Riverbed’s portfolio of next-generation solutions is giving customers across the globe the visibility, acceleration, optimization and connectivity that maximizes performance and visibility for networks and applications.