The purpose of proactive WAN network monitoring is not only to prevent problems that result in costly downtime to the organisation, but to also increase profitability. Organisations’ reliance on their IT infrastructure means that IT managers must incorporate proactive monitoring into their hourly, daily, weekly and monthly schedules. But with the complexity of today’s WAN environments, detailed monitoring of large networks can be tricky.

Let’s take a look at how proactive WAN network monitoring can eliminate problems as they develop and how IT can leverage the information monitoring gives them to improve systems’ overall performance.

WAN network monitoring means you’re in the loop

WAN network monitoring is a critical IT function that can save money, make the organisation more competitive and secure its important information assets. In addition, proactive WAN network monitoring ensures that system’s performance, employee productivity and infrastructure costs are managed effectively and do not hamstring the organisation. Monitoring for problems and improvement opportunities means that IT isn’t caught on the back foot and is able to identify developing issues and address them timeously.

1. Understanding your WAN network’s capacity:

Understanding your WANs capacity means you can proactively plan for upgrades and improve the network’s performance. An acute insight to how your devices are being used allows you to proactively identify areas that require attention. Large environments can become tedious to optimise when a detailed view is lacking.

2. Better troubleshooting:

Fast problem resolution is an absolute must to ensure business continuity when problems occur. The advantage that proactive WAN network monitoring gives you is the ability to identify developing problems and take corrective measures to bring the system back to peak performance. With WAN network monitoring you can speedily identify and resolve problems, thereby limiting downtime.

3. Plan accurately:

Planning for the future growth of your environment requires constant monitoring that gives you a timeline of events that places you in a position to make informed decisions on how to expand the network effectively. Without the information gathered via proactive monitoring, expanding your network is as risky as building a house made from a deck of cards.

4. Improve your disaster recovery plan:

Major issues can go undetected without proper monitoring regiments. The daily hustle in busy IT environments can sometimes result in oversight. Monitoring of hardware such as Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) units and other backup devices is equally important and should be monitored proactively. When disaster hits your network, you need to be sure that your failover plan is as effective in reality as it is in your DRP plan. Make sure you monitor your failover hardware and test them against your plan regularly.

5. Improve your service offering:

Remaining competitive demands constant evaluation and improvement. When things are humming along unimpeded, it doesn’t mean that it’s time to kick up your feet. IT managers should consistently be looking at ways to add value to the organisation by evaluating their environments and identify ways to move the business forward. A comprehensive WAN monitoring regiment not only identifies potential problems, but reveals opportunities to improve service offerings to the business.

The importance of a holistic view

WAN network monitoring is far more strategic than what the term implies. It involves watching for problems 24/7, but it’s also about optimizing complex environments that may experience performance issues due to a myriad of causes. Eliminating potential causes of performance degradation requires a holistic view of WAN networks. Network monitoring for large organisations is a critical IT function that, if done correctly, stands to benefit organisations greatly.

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