The Complexity of Communication Tools in the Middle East

By Peter Adel, Regional Sales Manager, NETSCOUT

The recent CrowdStrike outage underscores an important lesson: enterprises in the Middle East must be ready for any scenario, highlighting the need for effective observability. IT teams require clear visibility to swiftly address issues in their essential network and application systems.

Our blog series examines the use of Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) tools across businesses in the region, highlighting prevalent IT challenges. According to the latest NETSCOUT UCaaS Survey, many companies in the Middle East are utilising multiple UCaaS tools, with nearly 60% using six or more. Over 70% intend to integrate additional tools, underscoring UCaaS’s expanding role in boosting productivity and the increasing pressure on IT teams to maintain seamless operations.

Challenges of Managing Numerous Tools

In our second blog, we spotlight survey findings indicating that 90% of companies in the region utilize at least six SaaS tools. This widespread adoption frequently leads to performance issues that can disrupt business continuity. Nearly all respondents reported that user experience problems reduce the effectiveness of UCaaS and SaaS platforms.

In our fourth blog, we reveal that problems with UCaaS and SaaS tools are a major driver of help desk tickets. IT teams invest significant time in resolving these issues, placing additional strain on their already limited resources.

The Cost of Delayed Problem Resolution

Without adequate visibility into complex networks, IT struggles to quickly identify and resolve problems, resulting in business interruptions and growing frustration. Our fifth blog points out that 72% of respondents take hours to a week to resolve UCaaS issues, with similar delays for SaaS problems. The low percentage of quickly resolved tickets (27% for UCaaS and 29% for SaaS) adversely affects business operations and productivity.

The High Price of Downtime

Outages, increasingly common, pose a serious threat. The survey found that 96% of IT professionals experienced an outage in the past year, with 50% reporting four or more. These disruptions can be costly, with 64% of respondents noting losses of $10,000 or more.

The Need for a Better Approach

The frequent and expensive outages highlight the limitations of depending solely on vendor-specific tools, which often offer an incomplete view. The survey reveals that 83% of IT teams use these proprietary tools, which do not adequately address issues beyond the vendor’s platform.

A Path Forward

A more effective solution is needed. NETSCOUT offers a comprehensive, vendor-independent, packet-based monitoring solution that enhances visibility across the entire network. This approach, using nGenius Enterprise Performance Management, helps identify and resolve issues quickly, reduces downtime, and improves overall service quality. By employing this advanced solution, IT teams can better manage communication tools and mitigate the impact of downtime, adding real value to businesses in the Middle East.