“At the heart of these technological changes is a new generation of networks and platforms that connect businesses to workers, customers, suppliers and markets quicker than ever before and with greater efficiency,” Mike Marcellin, SVP and chief marketing officer for Juniper, wrote in the report. “These technologies also make it possible to collect and analyze data on an unprecedented scale in order to drive innovation and decision-making at an ever-accelerating pace.”

Nearly one-third of business decision-makers said they anticipate significant disruption within the next 12 months, and more than half of those surveyed expect a new disruptive technology, product or service to emerge in their industry within the next two years.

Unfortunately, many companies are not ready to respond. Forty-six percent of IT decision-makers and half of business decision-makers surveyed said if a competitor suddenly introduced a dramatically superior product or service, it would take their company at least a year to develop and deliver an answer.

“One of the survey's most surprising findings is the nearly universal belief that senior leaders lack sufficient knowledge of technology advances to keep their organizations at the leading edge of innovation and progress,” Marcellin noted.

The study also pointed to a correlation between a lack of technology awareness and a tendency to under-invest in advanced networking capabilities. Most of those surveyed reported budgetary constraints are the primary obstacles that prevent them from upgrading technology systems to keep pace with change and disruption. As a result, outdated infrastructure slows innovation, increases costs and hampers business growth.

The research surmised that while IT keeps businesses booming, it would be a stretch for busy executives to drop into their company's data center to ensure server racks and network boxes are humming.

“Leadership is preoccupied with growing the customer base, keeping costs down, profitability and growth,” the report stated.

The technology answer, according to the vast majority of those surveyed, is network and IT automation. More than 70% of decision-makers across all four industries said the opportunities that network and IT automation can create for their organizations excite them. An even greater percentage said they believe network and IT automation will be essential to their company's future competitiveness.

The research also found more than 90% of respondents who are IT decision-makers at companies using software-defined networking and network functions virtualization believe they have gained a significant competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Marcellin explained in the report's executive summary: “When you consider that one of the world's most valuable lodging company (Airbnb) manages no buildings, the biggest ride sharing service (Uber) owns no vehicles, the most influential media company (Facebook) creates no original content, and one of the leading retailers (Alibaba) controls no inventory, it's clear that technology is overturning traditional business models and familiar tactics that create a competitive advantage.”