This 10 percentage point increase represents a relative growth of approximately 37% in the number of organizations that have completed the process. Furthermore, another 45% of participants report being in the implementation phase, bringing the proportion of companies that have already adopted or are progressing towards a NetSecOps model to 82%.

The study, now in its eighteenth edition, was conducted by Omdia through a survey of 750 network and security professionals from seven countries: Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

NetSecOps convergence is gaining traction among businesses.
The integration of network operations (NetOps) and security (SecOps) aims to improve coordination among the teams responsible for the operation, monitoring, and protection of technology infrastructures. VIAVI's results show that this convergence is gaining ground among organizations of different sizes and sectors. While 37% have already completed the transition, 45% are still working on it.

This means that slightly more than four out of every five companies surveyed have started or completed the convergence process. The study also indicates that approximately one-fifth of organizations still do not have a defined strategy in this area.

Chris Labac, vice president and general manager of Network Performance and Threat Solutions at VIAVI, notes that the results align with the company's customer experience. According to Labac, combining a NetSecOps organizational model with integrated network monitoring and security platforms is a key factor for businesses.

44% highlight security improvements after completing integration.
Among the organizations that have already completed the convergence of their operations, 44% identify improved security as one of their main benefits.

The report also highlights progress related to incident detection and analysis. Specifically, 30% of companies that have completed the transition report a reduction in the time required to detect problems. Meanwhile, 22% report a decrease in the number of reported incidents, while another 22% indicate a reduction in the time spent investigating them. These results reflect the benefits that participating organizations attribute to implementing a converged operations model.

Companies using NetSecOps report greater improvements in detection times.
The study also analyzes the impact of convergence on mean time to detection (MTTD). According to the data collected, organizations that have implemented a NetSecOps strategy are 2.7 times more likely to report a significant improvement in MTTD.

35% of companies with NetSecOps report significant progress in this indicator, compared to 13% among organizations without this strategy.

Jim Frey, principal networking analyst at the Enterprise Strategy Group, part of Informa Tech Target, emphasizes the need for NetOps and SecOps teams to share visibility into the infrastructure. He links this need to the expanding attack surface of organizations and the emergence of increasingly sophisticated threats, including those that utilize artificial intelligence.

Pre-deployment testing gains importance.
In addition to organizational convergence, the report identifies structured testing as another strategy used to improve network performance and security. The most common practice, mentioned by more than half of the respondents, involves validating new technologies before deployment. Technologies subjected to this type of testing include post-quantum cryptography (PQC), AI system security, SASE architectures, and cloud networks.

Among the participants who conducted tests, 52% reported experiencing fewer service interruptions and disruptions. Additionally, 44% reported a reduction in the number or severity of security incidents. Another 42% noted improvements in application performance or latency.

These percentages correspond to the results reported by the surveyed organizations that carry out testing activities.

Artificial Intelligence and Capacity Planning to Optimize Networks:
The VIAVI study also examines how organizations are trying to reduce the impact that security measures can have on their network performance. The results show that companies are using several strategies simultaneously. 65% of respondents say they use artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) tools to optimize both security and performance. That same percentage, 65%, performs capacity planning tasks to prevent security controls from placing an excessive burden on the infrastructure. Furthermore, 58% test network and security controls before deployment. Another 58% use continuous testing and tuning processes for security mechanisms to minimize their effects on performance.

These practices seek to balance the protection of systems with the availability and operation of business applications.

A study on enterprise networking and security priorities:
The 2027 edition of State of the Network analyzes the priorities, practices, and outcomes related to enterprise network performance and security. The Omdia research includes professionals at various levels of responsibility, from executive to management roles, across organizations of different sizes and sectors. The findings show increased adoption of NetSecOps models, accompanied by the use of artificial intelligence tools, capacity planning, and validation testing.

Overall, the data points to a growing integration of network monitoring and cybersecurity tasks, although there is still a group of organizations that have not defined a convergence strategy

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