Fragmented tools and cloud blind spots are straining NetOps, but a new five-stage maturity model charts the path to excellence
NEW YORK, Oct. 01, 2025the leading provider of Intelligent Network Operations solutions for AI-enabled networks, today announced the findings of a new report developed in collaboration with Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), The Network Observability Maturity Model: How to Plan for NetOps Excellence. An independent study of 252 IT leaders found that despite investing heavily in observability tools, most enterprises struggle to manage their networks effectively. Fewer than half (46%) consider themselves fully successful with network observability tools, underscoring the urgent need for a more unified and intelligent approach.
The report highlights the top challenges currently plaguing network operations teams: tool sprawl, limited visibility, poor data quality, and excessive alert noise. These gaps increase operational risk, delay troubleshooting, and expose enterprises to performance problems, security vulnerabilities, and costly downtime.
"Too many teams are still firefighting with fragmented, reactive tools," said Paul Gray, BlueCat's Senior Vice President of Engineering for LiveNX, LiveWire, and LiveAssurance. "Automation and AI are no longer optional. Achieving secure, high-performing networks requires that NetOps teams retool with intelligent and automated solutions that help them more effectively move from problem to solution or avoid issues altogether."
Key report findings include:
- Tool sprawl is pervasive: 87% of NetOps teams use multiple observability tools, creating inefficiencies and fragmented insights.
- Alert noise wastes resources: Only 29% of alerts are actionable, slowing incident response.
- Cloud and SD-WAN create blind spots: Teams lacking visibility into modern environments are far less successful.
- Data quality and telemetry matter: Real-time streaming data collection and accurate telemetry improve AI-driven analytics and proactive response.
- Dashboards enable alignment: Unified, customizable dashboards allow NetOps, SecOps, and CloudOps teams to share a single source of truth.
- AI-driven automation is the differentiator: Organizations advancing to solutions that are intelligent, automated, optimized, and AI-driven gain faster troubleshooting, predictive optimization, and capacity planning.
To help IT leaders resolve these challenges and maximize the value of their toolset, EMA and BlueCat developed the Network Observability Maturity Model, a five-stage framework that shows IT leaders what they can gain if they consolidate tools, expand visibility across hybrid environments, and embrace AI-driven automation. Ultimately, the framework helps IT stakeholders understand how they can optimize their toolsets to become a best-in-class NetOps practice.
The model also highlights how AI-driven automation can accelerate response times and problem resolution, a sign of the highest level of maturity. EMA's research shows organizations advancing to "Intelligent and Automated" or "Optimized and AI-Driven" stages along this maturity curve are far more successful in preventing and rapidly resolving issues.
BlueCat's network observability and intelligence solutions, including LiveNX, LiveWire, and LiveAssurance, help enterprises consolidate fragmented monitoring stacks and extend visibility across hybrid and multicloud networks. These solutions keep the network running without interruption by proactively ensuring its performance, security, and reliability. By pairing flow and packet data with customizable dashboards and AI-driven insights and root cause analysis from LiveAssist, BlueCat helps IT teams prevent downtime, surface issues before they impact the network, and ensure policy enforcement across distributed environments.
"The Network Observability Maturity Model gives enterprises a clear, actionable path to modernize NetOps," said Shamus McGillicuddy, Vice President of Research at EMA. "According to our data, as organizations progress along this maturity model, they consistently achieve faster troubleshooting, reduced downtime, and greater business agility, turning network observability into a competitive advantage."
The full report is available here: https://www.liveaction.com/observability-report-2025/.
About BlueCat
BlueCat's Intelligent Network Operations.
About Enterprise Management Associates.
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Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
bluecat@brands2life.com
