The Chief Operating Officer (COO) has tasked you to provide recommendations on the technologies within your environment that should be outsourced. You recommended the two technologies below:

Full support of all network devices including switches, firewalls, and routers
An accounting application with several third-party plugins
The COO gave you the green light to continue your research and has asked for additional information to support a final decision. As you formulate your response to the COO, think beyond just networking and consider how your specialization interacts with other functions and the overall business purpose:

What role should virtualization, software-defined networking (SDN), and automation play in your recommendation?
What is the relationship between core and edge systems?
What other factors would influence your recommendation?
How would your decision be different if you are overseeing a team of four technicians versus a larger team of fourteen?
Your response should be no more than two well-written paragraphs. Ensure you provide citations in either IEEE or APA 7th Edition style for any external sources.