Friday, 17 July 2015

Top Ten Network Monitoring Benefits

In order to achieve effective network management, you will need a network monitoring solution. Network monitoring systems are designed to constantly monitor your IT network, keeping track of activity

 

In order to achieve effective network management, you will need a network monitoring solution. Network monitoring systems are designed to constantly monitor your IT network, keeping track of activity and identifying any problems. They produce regular reports and alerts, which are sent to the network administrator so that action can be taken quickly to improve efficiency and prevent outages. Here we’ll take a look at the top ten network monitoring benefits.

 

1. Detect and solve issues before they impact your business

One of the key benefits of network monitoring is that it allows you to quickly detect and solve issues before they negatively impact your business. Rather than waiting for the issue to explode and wreak havoc, you will be able to proactively find a solution to eliminate the problem and keep everything running smoothly.

 

2. Plan maintenance effectively

No business can get away without maintaining their network on a regular basis, however there is a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Unplanned maintenance (which will occur as a result of unidentified issues) can be detrimental to your productivity levels and customer experience. Planned maintenance, which can be scheduled with the help of a network monitoring tool, will allow you to upgrade, patch and optimise your system at times that are most likely to minimise business impact.

 

3. Ensure success of new technology deployment

Deploying a new piece of software or technology without proper planning can be incredibly risky to your business. However, by monitoring your network, you can assess whether you are ready for deployment and ensure it is carried out seamlessly. Network monitoring solutions will also allow you to monitor the metrics post-deployment, to ensure that your new technology has been installed successfully and is delivering the promised benefits.

 

4. Maintain your business reputation

Errors and downtime not only impact your business but your customers too. If you can’t deliver the product or services required as a result of a problem with your network, your customers aren’t going to be very happy. Failure to meet customers’ needs can severely damage your business’s reputation and even lead to loss of custom. By simply monitoring your network, you can prevent all of these issues from occurring and help to maintain a good business reputation.

 

5. Increase customer acquisition

Delivering great services with consistent performance is essential to acquiring new customers. The great thing about network monitoring is that it will allow you to prove your key performance indicators relating to customer experience and demonstrate your ability to exceed SLAs to potential customers.

 

6. Lower costs

Monitoring your network can help you to ensure that you are utilising all of your assets to their full potential. This will not only help you to increase efficiency but also keep your IT costs to an absolute minimum. The more you save on your assets, the more money you have to spend elsewhere.

 

 7. Check on your web hosting provider’s performance

A good network monitoring program will also help you to evaluate your current web hosting provider’s performance. If you are regularly having problems with traffic management, experiencing downtime or finding that customers cannot access your website, a network monitoring solution will make this obvious to you and give you the proof you need to ditch your service provider and look for a new one.

 

8. Get a comprehensive inventory of your system

Another benefit of using a network monitoring system is that it will allow you to keep track of all of your assets. You will never lose anything ever again! WhatsUpGold’s Automated Layer 2 Discovery & Mapping solution comes complete with a comprehensive inventory that can auto-discover new devices, port-to-port connectivity changes and updates to both physical and virtual systems. It saves no end of time on manual intervention and gives IT Managers a complete overview of their network. You can read more about it in their latest Buyer’s Guide.

 

9. Achieving full compliance

Automating the process of network monitoring is the best way to respond to audit and compliance obligations with total confidence. As an IT Manager, it is your job to ensure that all of your network resources are connected at all times and that your systems are running securely. This is not a small task, which is why an automated network monitoring solution is highly recommended. Achieving compliance will not only help you to retain customers but also avoid being penalised by regulatory bodies as a result of failed audits.

 

10. Total peace of mind

Running a business can be stressful. With so many different things to think about, it’s understandable that you may sometimes feel a little overwhelmed. The good news is that a network monitoring solution can greatly help to eliminate your worries and give you total peace of mind. It will give you access to all of the information you need about your network, so you can make sound decisions for your business.

 

Conclusion

With so many benefits, it makes sense to invest in an automated network monitoring solution. Not only will it help you to minimise costs, improve efficiency and keep your systems ticking over nicely but it will also give you full control over your systems and the peace of mind that your network is secure.

For more information about network monitoring and our solutions, please get in touch with the Grant McGregor team on 0131 603 7910.

 

Image credit: krissen