Network Compliance Struggles Leave Enterprises Vulnerable to Downtime

The report, which surveyed 251 IT professionals, highlights a significant disconnect between the strategic importance of compliance and actual organizational maturity. While 46% of network infrastructure strategies are now dictated by compliance needs, only 23% of respondents characterize their internal practices as highly mature. Shamus McGillicuddy, vice president of research at EMA, notes that many firms still treat compliance as a periodic audit exercise rather than a continuous operational discipline, leaving gaps that lead to real-world failures.

Data indicates the cost of these shortcomings is high: 76% of organizations suffered security incidents and 77% faced network downtime due to compliance failures over the past two years. Automation remains the primary differentiator for success, yet adoption is uneven. Although 49% of firms are currently applying AI to their workflows, most remain cautious, favoring human-in-the-loop oversight over fully autonomous systems. Furthermore, while 96% of leaders acknowledge that DNS falls under the compliance umbrella, less than half have successfully integrated DNS management into their core programs, further complicating their security posture.