The network is increasingly being seen as a commodity service; in some cases, it is less strategic. Along with this is coming the services mindset, leveraging Network as a Service (NaaS) model to drive on-demand connectivity. Unified network operation center (NOC) and security operation center (SOC) operations are emerging to ensure proactive incident management, business continuity, and compliance across hybrid environments. Organizations are also experimenting with generative AI (Gen AI) and increasingly leveraging agentic AI to enhance monitoring, predictive maintenance, and troubleshooting, resulting in faster detection and more secure operations. Sustainability has become central, with the adoption of energy-efficient devices, renewable-powered infrastructure, and optimized designs to reduce environmental impact. In response, service providers are expanding capabilities with enterprise-wide SASE, zero-trust access, agentic AI-driven NOCs, and intent-based networks, delivering agile, intelligent, and secure networks for the future.
Both demand-side and supply-side trends are covered in Avasant’s Network Managed Services 2025 Market Insights™ and Network Managed Services 2025 RadarView™, respectively. These reports present a comprehensive study of network managed service providers and closely examine the market leaders, innovators, disruptors, and challengers. They also provide a view into key market trends and developments impacting the network space.
We evaluated 34 service providers across three dimensions: practice maturity, partner ecosystem, and investments and innovation. Of the 34 providers, we recognized 24 that brought the most value to the market during the past 12 months.
The report recognizes service providers in four categories:
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- Leaders: Accenture, Capgemini, HCLTech, Microland, TCS, Tata Communications, and Wipro
- Innovators: Cognizant, DXC Technology, Tech Mahindra, and Telefonica
- Disruptors: AT&T, Computacenter, Hughes Network Systems, Infosys, Kyndryl, Orange Business, and UST
- Challengers: BT, Colt Technology Services, Lumen Technologies, NTT DATA, Red River, and Verizon
Figure 1 below from the full report illustrates these categories:
“Agentic AI is redefining the future of enterprise networks,” said Avasant Senior Director Mark Gaffney. “By equipping network teams and users with guided diagnostics, autonomous troubleshooting, and self-healing capabilities, networks can respond and resolve issues faster, supporting transformation goals and improving efficiency.”
The reports provide several findings, including the following:
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- Enterprises adopting NaaS service platforms that enable flexible, on-demand networking, achieving 20% faster deployments and 15%–20% cost savings, seamless multisite connectivity, and improved performance across diverse industries.
- By unifying network operation center (NOC) and security operation center (SOC) operations along with the command center, firms achieve 30%–35% fewer tickets and security incidents. This enables unified visibility across multicloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments, and strengthens compliance.
- Enterprises use Gen AI and Agentic AI for faster, accurate network monitoring, predictive maintenance, and AI-driven troubleshooting. This enables outage prediction at least 30–45 minutes in advance, reduces downtime, and provides real-time visibility across hybrid infrastructures.
- Enterprises reduce 30%–40% of their network energy and hardware footprint by adopting energy-efficient devices, renewable-powered networks, remote monitoring, and optimized design. They also promote device recycling and employee awareness to drive eco-friendly operations and responsible resource utilization.
“The NOC-SOC convergence is transforming how enterprises manage networks,” said Gaurav Dewan, research director with Avasant. “By unifying operations and security, organizations gain proactive visibility, faster incident response, and stronger compliance, ensuring business continuity in complex hybrid environments.”
The RadarView also features detailed profiles of 24 service providers, along with their solutions, offerings, and experience in assisting enterprises in their network modernization journeys.
This Research Byte is a brief overview of Avasant’s Network Managed Services 2025 Market Insights™ and Network Managed Services 2025 RadarView™ (click for pricing).