Channel Sales/Services In Network Availability To Nearly Double

This shift in sales channels requires vendors to develop stronger partnerships that deliver industry specialization and can communicate in depth at both the business and technical levels around the impact of network management and vertical business process issues.

According to analysts at IDC, a steady compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2003 to 2008 of 4 percent is a direct result of increased user technology requirements for granular data access and management of Layers 1-7, network and application correlation, and improved root cause of capabilities through distributed management architectures.

Network managers are analyzing software and hardware-based management solutions that offer more security capabilities, business analysis, and integration options to better identify and, more importantly, resolve network problems. Networking technologies such as VoIP, wireless, and faster network speeds are driving management capabilities and market opportunities.

"Tactically, infrastructure management vendors must continue to innovate in network management and execute product development, as strategically, users recognize that network services are core to any long-term strategy that maps out the impact of network events on business processes," says Stephen Elliot, senior analyst at IDC.