Guest Post: Manage your Network like it’s being Monitored by Inventory Management Software

IT companies across the globe establish their networks with hopes that they will be able to manage them efficiently and without issues. However, most of the time, this isn’t the case. Managing IT networks can be a difficult, especially if the software that that’s being used to manage servers across your network is buggy and inefficient. IT professionals drool at the idea of having software similar to that of inventory management software in retail stores. But sustaining servers within multiple networks is much more complicated than track inventory in a retail store.

One of the first things that you can do to manage your network a little more efficiently is keep your management toolsets up to date. Often, networks will grow so rapidly that they exceed the capabilities of your current toolset. Furthermore, as your network continues to expand, you will need to scale efforts accordingly. This means analyzing the growth and determining what kind of efforts you need to execute. This could mean things like hiring more individuals, further educating your current staff, and gaining a better understanding of your virtual and physical networks. Lastly, I would be remiss in not mentioning that you need to assess the problem fully. More specifically, understand problems with accurate diagnostics and root-cause analysis.

Another way to increase network management efficiency is to automate network processes. Find ways to automate your network configurations, data tasks, and network compliance tasks. By automating your network, you save yourself a bunch of time and you also avoid a bunch of potential network errors. Some things that you should automate are simple tasks such as access and password changes, network information audits, log changes, and policy reporting for auditors. A few simple automated tasks can free up a lot more time for your network team to work on strategy and planning rather than maintenance.

Something that is regularly overlooked is the power of information. Disseminating information to your network specialists and support team can really help you ease many different issues that arise. And make sure that you’re communicating in-depth information to these departments. Giving a bare description of your network issues is inadequate. The more that these departments, specialists, and support teams know, the quicker the problem will be solved.

Margot McClelland is a guest post writer.  © 2011 Blog Content Guild