In a marketplace where business functions are increasingly moving to the cloud, software is provided as a service over the internet and virtually all communication is mediated by networking technology, managing your networking resources is almost as important as managing your human capital. In other words, networking technology has become such an intrinsic and vital component in modern business that it’s possible to directly affect the productivity and satisfaction of your staff by changing the way information flows around your network. In this blog, we’ll take a look at why network performance monitoring is one of the most valuable, and overlooked, means of improving your employees’ productivity and performance.

Baselines dictate the resting pulse of your company culture.

The most important component of network performance monitoring, arguably, is baselining. Setting a baseline gives you an exact idea of how your network should be operating under normal conditions, and acts as a yardstick when investigating periods of increased or reduced demand of the network. Establishing a baseline is only the start, though – next, you need to understand how far above or below baseline your network performance can extend without problems arising. The most important fact to bear in mind here is that your baseline should take into account both the average flow of data in your network, as well as the frequency of peak traffic and the total bandwidth available to your network. Finally, bear in mind that your baseline should not be considered static. As your network grows and the needs of your organisation change, your baseline will need to be continually revised and optimised.

Always take detailed measurements to know what happens on your network.

The level of insight you’re willing to draw from your network performance monitoring reports is virtually limitless. Make sure your Quality of Service (QoS) settings are serving the best interests of your business. If low-priority data is interfering with business-critical processes, your staff will perform less efficiently and likely become frustrated. Do you provide company-sponsored devices to your staff or does your workplace operate on a Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) culture? The more you draw from your network performance monitoring reports, the better equipped you’ll be at dealing effectively with problems that could cripple productivity and send staff morale plummeting. This is a good example of where the health of your network and your physical office space are interdependent: are your employees spending too much time using brought devices and wasting bandwidth on non-work-related activities? If so, your network will suffer accordingly, and you’ll have to consider what real-life measures are necessary to deal with the problem.  

Striking the right balance is key to maintaining top-performing staff

As far as networking troubles go, there are measures that can be put in place and steps that can be followed to solve them. When you add the complication of staff expectations, wants and needs, however, it becomes decidedly less easy to manage. The key to keeping your staff happy and your network healthy is in striking the right balance between the two. Network Performance Monitoring tools, like the ones we provide at IRIS, are a great way of keeping ahead of the curve when it comes to your network. With the data made available to you by powerful reporting tools, you have a comprehensive view of your network environment and can easily tailor it to increase efficiency and boost staff productivity.

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