Network management is an integral part of a strong IT infrastructure in your business.
Without a strong IT infrastructure, your business is risk of technical malfunctions and unwanted data loss. Of course, a formidable IT system requires more than just monitoring your company’s PCs, servers, and even firewalls. It requires a series of applications and hardware to administrate, operate, and maintain computer network systems.
Supervising a complex IT network and its individual components is not a simple walk in the park but an integral activity nonetheless to secure a company’s important data and to improve day to day operations.
Find out how network management can help your business grow in 2016.
What is Network Management
Network Management, as defined in techopedia.com, is a broad range of functions that includes activities, methods, procedures and the use of tools to administrate, operate, and reliably maintain computer systems.
Its concept can be further summarized into three major activities which are also considered to be the primary elements of Network Management namely:
- Network Administration involves monitoring and tracking network resources such as monitoring transmission lines, hubs, and servers.
- Network Operations involves the timely repair and necessary upgrades to all network resources as well as preventive and corrective measures through close communication and with network administrators
- Network Provisioning involves configuring the network resources to support the requirements of a particular service.
Fortifying your IT structure can be quite tricky but are crucial in making sure that your organization survives in this digitally dependent world. So, how does network management save your business?
Minimizes your Company’s Security Risk
Keeping track of a complex IT infrastructure is no walk in the park. One of network management’s aim is to minimize your company’s security risk. The system easily identifies specific locations and the configuration of network components in your IT system. It allows your IT personnel to be able to identify, assess, and control threats to your company’s digital assets not only from physical threats of disasters and accidents.
This system is essential in enforcing network security to protect not only valuable data but also prevent any unwanted data breaches and hacking incidents. Another strength that lies with network management in terms of securing your system is that you can IT personnel can conduct ongoing monitoring of servers and other network assets from remote locations especially when disaster strikes. It also offers a more secure alternative for other business applications that include storing confidential customer information as well.
Track Network Progress and Failure
Checking the reliability of your organization’s IT components can be tricky for your IT professionals especially if your business runs on a large and more complex IT infrastructure. With network management, keeping tabs on your infrastructure will be undoubtedly easier through its remote access feature. This feature is certainly a lifesaver especially if communication links fail due to hostile factors such as accidents and severe weather conditions.
Tracking and debugging these outages are vital to the business.
Network Management tools allow organizations to actively monitor and track the network’s functionality and performance. Alerts immediately provide a timely information should issues arise that threaten and compromise your system from a particular threat. With Network Management, one is able to stay on top of not only keeping your clients and potential customers happy but it also keeps your business secure from harmful threats as well.
Support Multi-User Collaboration
Another unique reason how network management can save your business is because of its ability to accommodate multi-user collaboration. Network management tools were designed to simplify complex IT systems from various vendors and users and to make it sync with your company’s own infrastructure. This cost-effective and flexible solution not only helps maintain the uniformity in your company but it also provides a cohesive way for people to collaborate from various locations and from different devices. This is essential especially if your company happens to have offshore offices.
It Helps your Business Grow
The IT system is dynamic and will naturally every now and then in order to keep up with your company’s growing needs. Network management has the right tools that can be easily modified and altered should additions or deductions be made with the components in your company’s IT infrastructure. You will find that as more components will be added, the easier for your business to resume normal operations without further disruptions. What is great about is that IT personnel will also be able to easily track and record any changes or alterations made in the system.
Looking for a suitable system to manage your company’s IT infrastructure can be quite taxing. Any delays in securing or repairing damages will cost your business damages that can be often too heavy to deal with. With network management, imagine what your IT infrastructure can do to take your business to a whole new level.