NETSCOUT unveils new UCaaS monitoring capabilities

NETSCOUT SYSTEMS has introduced new unified communications-as-a-service (UCaaS) capabilities for its Smart Edge Monitoring solution to help organisations with work-from-home and hybrid workforce models to help ensure a quality employee experience when using UCaaS solutions like Zoom, Cisco Webex, and Microsoft Teams.

NETSCOUT's Smart Edge Monitoring UCaaS capabilities use patent-pending technology to provide early detection of performance slow-downs with analysis throughout the complex communications ecosystem, including home-user networks, data centres, the cloud, and application data from UCaaS providers. As a result, it quickly pinpoints the source of problems facing end-users, either at home or in corporate or remote offices.

"The future success of hybrid workforces and work-from-home employees is directly tied to efficient, continuous, quality communications and collaboration," said Richard Costello, senior research analyst, IDC. "To ensure continued business continuity and end-user experiences, organisations need greater visibility across varied and complex work environments, such as that offered by NETSCOUT Smart Edge Monitoring, to better determine and mitigate root causes."

IT teams can use Smart Edge Monitoring to analyse the communications path through auto-generated UCaaS transaction metrics that rapidly pinpoint user configuration, application protocol, internet service provider, or server issues with more advanced visibility than traditional tools. Thus, Smart Edge Monitoring can identify what causes performance degradation and why within a single solution and workflow.

"Organisations have come to rely on communication and collaboration software to keep their employees connected and productive, no matter where they are performing their jobs," said Michael Szabados, chief operating officer, NETSCOUT. "The future of work requires visibility into complex network environments, and NETSCOUT gives IT teams the tools they need to resolve even the most challenging communications-related issues to deliver consistent, high-quality, UCaaS experiences."

Today's announcement follows new research that finds that 93% of enterprise-level organisations have increased their use of unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) platforms since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increased use has generated a flood of helpdesk requests with implications for the future of work and employee productivity. More than half of helpdesk tickets at 43% of recently surveyed enterprises relate to UC&C issues.

"The research shows that while communications and collaboration platforms remain vital for organisations, growing pains continue. Employees continue to be plagued with technical challenges that limit their productivity even as IT teams are under additional strain to diagnose and resolve these issues in a timely fashion," continues Szabados. "NETSCOUT Smart Edge Monitoring's intelligent, packet-based approach allows IT teams to see performance problems across complex hybrid work environments to better triage, support, and quickly extinguish root causes."