Organizations of all sizes depend on information technology to support their everyday operation.
But what happens when something goes wrong?
Computer systems are smarter than ever but still need human intervention to find and fix problems. Achieving managed IT services can help give your company reliable assistance when you need it most.
Many IT service providers are now including network operation center (NOC) monitoring with both their basic and premium packages. When you outsource your IT needs to one of these groups, you’ll gain the assurance of knowing your hardware, software and network are all secure and protected.
Basics of NOC
NOC monitoring is designed to handle all pieces of physical equipment that an organization uses. This can include desktop and laptop computers, as well as critical networking equipment like routers and switches. Some IT support providers will even include printers and mobile devices under the NOC umbrella.
NOC monitoring is performed from a centralized facility that track the status and performance of hardware devices. These monitoring centers will typically operate on a 24/7 basis to ensure that organizations have constant assurance that their network is performing as expected.
A big function of NOC monitoring is the ability to install new devices on a local network with confidence that they are safe and secure. This process is known as onboarding and will be led by the IT managed services provider. It usually involves installing a piece of software on the device to allow it to report its status and performance to the NOC monitoring center.
Switching to NOC monitoring will often offer a cost savings to organizations. Instead of relying on local staff to constantly watch for issues with devices, the responsibility is outsourced at a cheaper rate but the same level of protection.
Events and Responses
NOC monitoring centers leverage automated systems to help identify issues as soon as possible. The concept of pattern recognition is critical, as the monitoring tools are designed to watch for unusual sequences of activity that could be tied to an error or problem.
When an event or outage has been detected, the next job for NOC monitoring is to kick off notifications and work towards resolution. Typically someone in the local organization will receive communication about the incident while the managed support staff begin looking for the root cause.
Action plans will differ based on the source and symptoms of the networking issue. Certain equipment may need to be rebooted or even replaced in order to return the network back to a working state.
Security Protection
Adding NOC monitoring to your organization will add an important level of security to your network and infrastructure. As part of their standard offerings, managed support teams will be responsible for integrating antivirus protection to all the devices on your network.
Monitoring tools can also help to block hackers from your network and prevent cybercrime. Suspicious activity will be flagged before it hits the local network and therefore blocked from accessing any internal resources that could contain sensitive information.
For more business technology solutions, read our posts on Content Management Systems and Service-Oriented Architecture.