How you can prepare your team in changes to network operations
Today’s networks, and network support teams, are under far greater pressure than ever before. So what does the future hold for networks and the teams that manage them? Read more and learn how to adapt now to prepare for what lies ahead.
With proper preparation comes rewards
In addition to ever-escalating data volumes, there’s the looming and continual risk of a security breach or a compliance failure.
At the same time, businesses are realising that traditional on-premises networks with perimeter-based security can’t support or enable the level of digital innovation or agility that the modern business requires. So what does the future hold for networks and the teams that manage them? And how can businesses adapt now to prepare for what lies ahead?
In Cisco’s 2020 Global Networking Trends Report, their CTO of Customer Experience, Rich Plane, outlines his predictions for the future of network operations. He suggests that in five years’ time, network operations teams are going to be ‘much more effective at doing what their organisations need them to do’ as they continue to evolve.
He believes that the team will have the insight and tools they need to do predictive problem detection and root cause analysis between any client or device and any business service helping to bridge business with IT.
In addition, as multi-cloud business services become the norm, network operation teams will extend visibility and predictive monitoring across WAN and public networks. Being able to operate from a single source of truth through the integration and consolidating of tool and support, team can provide more advanced processes such as ‘what-if’ analyses of any changes being made on the network will extend beyond the data centre and become more widespread. This means self-driving; self-healing workflows, some of which will be automated so that the network can take remedial or lifestyle management actions without human operator intervention.
1. More readily adopt new technology
Once you have the right infrastructure and support in place, you can then more easily explore and incorporate new technologies like cloud-based applications, automation and machine learning. And in fact, when asked which technologies would have the biggest impact on networking over the next 5 years, 25% of IT leaders said network automation.[1]
2. Empower and enable your people
Importantly, as Rich Plane also suggests, having a robust and secure network can also help you empower your network support staff to focus on more strategic and high-value initiatives rather than the day-to-day administrative tasks that can so easily consume their time and energy.
Equally, supporting your staff to work remotely, in a secure manner that still gives them the performance and safety of being on a corporate network is critical.
Enabling productivity wherever your staff wishes to work requires a network that is built, from the edge in, with security and performance in mind.
3. Be more agile and flexible
A modern, robust network can also ensure that your business can adapt to future events, or changes in the market, in a more agile and flexible manner. As your staff work remotely, so too are your clients looking to receive additional services, benefits, and interactions through online platforms. Your network can help you deliver innovation, higher-quality and more effective services to your customers.
4. Cut waste and save costs
By consolidating your network support and reducing reliance upon multiple vendors, you can also potentially reduce spend and free up funds which you can then leverage in other areas to accelerate innovation where your business needs it most.
How we help
Although you can review your network internally, engaging a partner with outside, unbiased, eyes is the biggest asset in any audit.
Interactive can provide support giving you a baseline audit on what you actually have in your infrastructure giving you a foundation for innovation. With over 30 years of experience in hardware maintenance support, we work closely with you to understand your current business state and your future goals, we can prepare a step-by-step plan for ensuring your network is optimised for the next phase. This could involve consolidating your existing support infrastructure or making some key changes to the overall management of your network to drive efficiency. If you would like to learn more, contact one of our hardware maintenance experts today.
