As we wrap up 2024, let’s reflect on the major shifts that shook the networking world. It’s been a year of challenges, innovations, and a fair share of “What just happened?” moments.
Here are the five most impactful trends that defined the year:
Trend 1: Feeling the Heat: Growing Pressure on IT Professionals
Managing networks has never been an easy job. Increasing demands, more complex environments, and heightened expectations have made network management a high-stress profession. We acknowledge there are pressures.
Pressure because you are budgeting and figuring out where your dollars are going.
Pressure because of the skills gaps.
Pressure because of time constraints.
Pressure because of managing technology.
You have had all these things happen to you during the past year.
We acknowledge that managing networks has never been easy. The demands on network teams have evolved – more devices, more users, and, let’s face it, more stress. The complexity of modern networks has turned what used to be a technical role into a high-stakes juggling act. Balancing uptime, security, and performance is no small feat, and 2024 reminded us all just how heavy the load can get.
| Key Takeaway: |
| The need for effective tools and strategies to streamline operations and reduce stress is greater than ever. Empowering IT teams with better monitoring, automation, and support can alleviate some of the growing pressure. |
Trend 2: The Widening Knowledge Gap: A Tough Job Gets Tougher
Let’s talk skills – or the lack of them. Network management has evolved into a highly specialized field, but there just aren’t enough skilled professionals to go around. The industry’s talent pipeline isn’t keeping up with demand, leaving many teams short-staffed and overburdened.
If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that the need for better training and recruitment in this space is more urgent than ever.
What’s more, as the complexity of IT infrastructure grows, so does the skills gap in the industry.
Network monitoring and management is a specialized field requiring deep expertise, but a shortage of skilled professionals remains a significant issue. This gap is not just a recruitment challenge but also a roadblock to leveraging emerging technologies effectively.
| Key Takeaway: |
| Investing in upskilling and education for IT teams has become a non-negotiable priority. Companies that prioritize training and collaboration will be better positioned to bridge this gap. |
Trend 3: Escalating Cyber Threats: A Never-Ending Game of Cat and Mouse
So, cyber-attacks, right? Cybersecurity was, unsurprisingly, a major theme this year. In other words, we’re always getting threats, and we’re always having things.
If you’re in the networking world, 2024 was a constant reminder that staying ahead of threats requires a mix of vigilance, tools, and a little luck.
Here’s what stood out:
- All things ‘ishing: Phishing, spear-phishing, and their more sophisticated cousins kept security teams on their toes.
- Ransomware: Did you know that businesses faced an average ransomware attack cost of $2.73 million this year? There is no doubt that ransomware is always on the rise, right? It’s always out there.
- AI-Driven Attacks: Attackers are increasingly using AI to enhance their operations’ speed, scale, and effectiveness.
So, between phishing, smishing, quishing, ransomware, and everything else that comes across, there is something that we should all take notice of.
We have to remain vigilant. You have to prepare yourself.
You need a baseline and must be able to monitor it.
If any of these attacks happen to you, are you prepared? That’s the question.
If you try monitoring after an attack what you were not monitoring before, you won’t know what’s been jumbled and done after the fact. You have to be able to have that baseline to have that health code of what is normal. We need to understand what we had before. We wouldn’t be able to give a checkbox when we do the root cause analysis and be able to say
“Hey, we’re back to normal. Things are what they were before this.
Or “Hey, we have a problem here, and we can define what that problem is because we are aware of it.”
| Key Takeaway: |
| If you apply monitoring after the fact, you may need to find out if that’s normal. Continuous monitoring, robust cybersecurity frameworks, and leveraging AI-powered defense tools are essential to staying ahead of these threats. |
Trend 4: The Shift to Network-as-a-Service (NaaS)
This year, we saw more organizations turning to Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) as a way to simplify operations and reduce risks. NaaS adoption surged in 2024, with the market growing from $14.6 billion in 2023 to over $18 billion.
Three reasons for the NaaS shift:
#1 Access to the latest technology
COVID allowed us to push forward a lot of technology and rely on it, whether ready or not.
One key difference in today’s network advancements is the shift from merely hosting infrastructure to embedding your network directly into the cloud. This isn’t just about using a VPN or applying software-defined solutions. It’s about building networks that live in the cloud, fundamentally changing how we think about connectivity and scalability.
NaaS allows us to adopt the latest technology without significant upfront investments.
#2 Elasticity and Scalability
When we are talking about capacity, we have to consider fluctuation abilities.
So, you need elasticity to manage the fluctuations in network capacity. It’s going to cost you something. However, that elasticity allows the network to expand and the data to continue to flow. In other words, elastic networks prevent service disruptions by dynamically adjusting to changing needs. Overall, this ensures continuous performance and availability, even during periods of high demand.
#3 Risk Mitigation
Leveraging NaaS can help you reduce risks related to outdated hardware and security vulnerabilities. Companies are turning to NaaS for its flexibility, scalability, and ability to mitigate skills shortages. Benefits include faster access to new technologies, reduced security risks, and cost-effective capacity management.
| Key Takeaway: |
| As IT environments become more complex, NaaS is proving to be a practical solution for optimizing network performance while addressing resource constraints. |
Trend 5: AI Everywhere: Transforming How We Connect
Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t just a buzzword anymore.
AI is reshaping how MSPs, and all of us, operate.
Here’s how it made waves in 2024.
#1 Chatbots
I don’t want a customer support chatbot to give out the wrong information or send them down a path that was actually a version of it that doesn’t make sense. That helps nobody. However, it can happen with AI.
How do we shape that data to make sure it’s generating the data that we want?
- Customer Support: AI-driven chatbots can enhance user experiences by providing quick responses, acknowledging issues, and reducing wait times. They act as buffers, allowing teams to focus on solving problems effectively. But remember – you don’t just set it and forget it. You have to be engaged with it and understand it. In other words, work with your users and ask their expectations of that bot.
- Lead Generation: While AI tools for lead generation are helpful, be careful. Vet solutions carefully, understand contracts, and ensure tools meet your needs without unnecessary expenses or complications.
Success with chatbots requires active management. Regularly validate AI decisions, understand user expectations, and refine the bot’s training to ensure it delivers accurate and helpful information. If you do not have somebody validating what that AI is doing and what you’re allowing it to do, how do you know it will be right? If you don’t have this control, you just have a faster way of pushing out bad ideas or programs.
#2 IoT Integration
Finding a place in the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem is critical for MSPs looking to stay competitive.
- Monitoring and Inventory Tools: We keep looking for tools to monitor, tools to do inventory, and more. We have to harness AI for an effective IoT cloud strategy. AI can enhance IoT strategies by automating monitoring and inventory management, making networks more efficient.
- Innovation and Leadership: We must foster innovation and leadership to create effective IoT strategies. To this end, we must develop a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE). We need to be able to constantly evaluate if it is working as it’s supposed to. Was it a big cost saving to your business? Are you saving money? Is it doing what you think it’s doing? There is knowledge in a configuration, and we can use AI to pull that knowledge out. Build centers of trust, and we can build some of that innovation and leadership.
- Understand Patterns: All the things you manage are meshed and connected between them. Now, networking devices are not just hardware. Modern networks integrate hardware, software, and virtual solutions. In other words, half of the stuff that we get taught as buzzwords is this new technology. It’s a VPN on the backside, port channel bundling, SD-WAN, and things like that. MSPs must adopt a holistic approach, leveraging AI to understand patterns and create actionable insights for IoT implementation.
AI enables smarter IoT deployments, helping organizations extract actionable insights from connected devices.
#3 Cloud Computing
AI and cloud computing are tightly interwoven, offering you opportunities to build smarter and more adaptable systems.
- Data-Driven Decisions: AI can help you analyze network data to identify trends, improve efficiency, and implement cost-effective solutions. We can make better decisions because they’re data-driven, and we can control the data.
- Configuring the Cloud: Automated setups using AI can simplify cloud configurations, but constant monitoring is necessary to ensure systems perform as expected and deliver value.
- AI Expertise: Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) are vital to guiding AI implementation. When using AI, you need a subject matter expert who can validate the data and its decisions. Lastly, template this data and make it usable. Without validation, flawed data or patterns could lead to suboptimal outcomes. You must train and monitor AI to ensure it supports accurate, strategic decision-making.
| The takeaway? |
| AI has firmly established itself as a game-changer in IT, revolutionizing everything from customer interactions to network management. It’s woven into the fabric of networking. AI is no longer the future of networking – it’s the present. |
Looking Ahead: Lessons From 2024
As we close the book on 2024, these trends clearly signal where the networking industry is headed. The challenges are real, but so are the opportunities.
As we step into 2025, the focus will shift to closing skills gaps, fostering collaboration, and investing in smarter tools to create efficient, secure, and scalable networks. Let 2024 be a foundation for a stronger, more connected future in networking and IT.
Whether you’re managing a small business network or a global enterprise, one thing’s sure: 2025 will bring surprises. Are you ready?
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