Is the network considered a contributor to an organization or a cost center? While a contributor helps an organization attain key goals such as revenue or efficiency, a cost center is considered necessary plumbing that saps resources. Which category does the network fit?
Enterprise Strategy Group conducted a survey of 300 IT organizations to get some insight. Sixteen percent of the respondents said they consider networking to be a cost center. That can be interpreted to mean they view the network as a necessary evil, and something where costs should be driven down as much as possible.