Smart network management products, automation on tap in 2018

Smarter network management software, more automation and less clutter in branch offices will be among the key developments shaping networking as the new year unfolds. The integration of analytics within network management products to make them more intuitive and proactive is a bellwether development for enterprise networking, said Shamus McGillicuddy, an analyst with Enterprise Management Associates in Boulder, Colo., who shared his 2018 networking predictions with SearchNetworking. "You are going to see a lot of network monitoring and network performance vendors investing in analytics technologies to make their products smarter and to empower network managers to do more with less," McGillicuddy said.