Advanced networking (AN) receives the best customer satisfaction score from our survey participants. Companies are adopting AN to create intelligent, automated, and hyper-scalable infrastructures. This transition is essential to support the demands of modern AI workloads and accelerated computing. Beyond the data center, key drivers also include the operational need to manage complex hybrid and multicloud environments effectively and enable robust edge computing for critical real-time applications. At the same time, the need for safe and easy access everywhere is pushing companies to adopt AN, especially through combined security systems such as SASE and Zero Trust. This Research Byte provides a look at the customer satisfaction rating for advanced networking as well as an overview of our Technology Trends 2025.
Advanced networking (AN) receives the best customer satisfaction score from our survey participants. Companies are adopting AN to create intelligent, automated, and hyper-scalable infrastructures. This transition is essential to support the demands of modern AI workloads and accelerated computing. Beyond the data center, key drivers also include the operational need to manage complex hybrid and multicloud environments effectively and enable robust edge computing for critical real-time applications. At the same time, the need for safe and easy access everywhere is pushing companies to adopt AN, especially through combined security systems such as SASE and Zero Trust.
As shown in Figure 3 from our Technology Trends 2025 study, advanced networking tops the satisfaction list, followed by Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). The ratings are based on the percentage of companies saying they are satisfied or very satisfied with their experience with each of the 15 technologies in our survey. The satisfaction ratings are based on a relative scale determined by the highest and lowest values for all technologies in the study.
The high user satisfaction rating achieved by AN stems directly from its maturity and reliability, which translate into an immediate and noticeable impact on the end-user experience. As a top-ranked technology, AN serves as the essential bedrock for other crucial digital initiatives, including cloud computing (IaaS) and efficient digital workplaces. It offers tangible benefits such as faster speeds, ubiquitous connectivity, and minimal latency. This enhancement in network performance makes its ROI highly demonstrable, thereby driving high user confidence and satisfaction.
“Another great thing about advanced networking technologies is that you get your money’s worth,” said Asif Cassim, principal analyst for Avasant Research, based in Los Angeles. “Only 8% failed to recoup their investment over a two-year period.”
Amid the push to adopt AN technologies, IT leaders should keep in mind that not all users or departments adapt equally well to the operational shifts these tools introduce. The move toward highly automated, software-defined, and cloud-centric networks (such as SASE and SD-WAN) may not suit every existing operational workflow or IT skill set.
Implementing a clear change management and re-skilling strategy is essential. Tracking KPIs, beyond just speed (for instance, latency, downtime, and policy enforcement success), is necessary during the transition to measure true value. Offering specialized training and consulting support is crucial to upskill staff. Additionally, integrating AN monitoring and orchestration with existing IT service management (ITSM) or operations management solutions can help optimize infrastructure success and incident response.
The full study is designed to give business leaders insight into the adoption, investment, and customer experience for 15 technologies in each category. It provides a glimpse into how quickly an emerging technology is being adopted, how deeply more established technologies penetrate the market, and how positive the customer experience is with each of them.
By understanding the adoption trends, investment activity, and customer experience, decision-makers are in a better position to assess the potential risks and rewards of investing in each of these technologies. They also can gain insight into just how aggressively competitors and peers are investing in them.
The full study also takes a quick look at an additional 13 emerging technologies. These include digital currencies, drones, autonomous vehicles, metaverse, non-fungible tokens, holograms, digital twins, quantum computing, self-healing systems, human-computer integration, Web3, ultra-high-density data storage, and exascale computing. The study evaluates whether IT decision makers are familiar with these, whether they see a potential use for them, and whether they have already implemented them or have them installed.
Sample pages from the full study are available for free download.
This Research Byte is a brief overview of our study, Technology Trends 2025 . The full report is available at no charge for Avasant Research subscribers.