Flexible network infrastructure and high-speed connectivity rank even with—and as a higher priority than—cloud computing when it comes to what’s needed to accomplish digital transformation, according to a recent survey.

Two-thirds of those surveyed in a Quick Poll are actively pursuing transformation, and they’re about evenly split among those whose organization has made the necessary investment in networking technology and those whose organization has more work to do in order to get to where it wants to go.

“Many organizations don’t have adequate visibility into what is on their network, and in some cases, they’re afraid to unplug boxes, even though they think those may no longer be providing essential services,” says Jody Hagemann, director, Product Management and Strategy, with Comcast Business.

“They’ve been piling up extra networking boxes and are having trouble extending that model as the organization grows,” Hagemann adds. “They’re going back to management and saying, ‘This is getting too complex and can’t support our digital transformation efforts.’”

Flexible network infrastructure, high-speed connectivity, and the cloud each rank among the top three priorities of 67% of the survey respondents. Network infrastructure is the top priority of 29%, high-speed connectivity for 27%, and the cloud for 18%.

But 75% indicated that lack of IT skills ranks as a top-three impediment to achieving their organization’s transformation goals. That’s likely why so many are looking to managed services for relief. It’s now a top 3 priority for 63% and the number 1 priority for 20% of those surveyed.