With modern enterprise network environments taking on unprecedented sizes and scales, keeping tabs on the way that data moves around your network is more important than ever before. The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) revolution, the multitude of cloud services used for personal and professional storage, as well as an increasing amount of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings arriving on the scene doesn’t only mean bandwidth is in more demand, it also means your networking resources – as well as your networking staff – are stretched to their limits.

For these reasons, it’s easier than ever for sensitive data to be compromised, and in this blog, we’ll look at how IRIS’ Maps Network Reporting Software makes it easy to discover and act upon the way data moves around your network.

The importance of Network Reporting in today’s network environments

In the modern enterprise, it’s near-impossible to find a single department or function that doesn’t rely on network connectivity for its daily operation. Data has become an invaluable asset for any organisation in today’s digital marketplace. At the same time, it has the potential to pose a significant threat to both companies and individuals. From payroll information to trade secrets, to the personal information of stakeholders, data has become a currency in its own right.

The number of high-profile attacks directed at companies in virtually every sector has only increased in recent years, and it’s becoming ever clearer that no network is immune to intrusion or fault. So, as more traditionally ‘offline’ parts of the organisation come online, the implications of hacks and network issues stretch across the entire business, and not just the IT department. In conjunction with the proliferation of privately-owned mobile devices connecting to the enterprise network on a daily basis, the points of entry for potentially malicious connections is on the rise. In today’s context, Network Reporting and proactive monitoring is truly essential to the survival of an organisation.

What does IRIS Maps offer that other Network Reporting Systems don’t?

IRIS Maps is a powerful Network Reporting tool that enables you to view your network map on a single screen and at the same time see the overall state of your environment. IRIS Maps makes it easy for you to draw any kind of visual representation and link that mapping data back to real data on the network. It’s also possible to link back to different data types – for example, traffic utilisation can be represented on one link, and then another link representing SLA latency can be included, all on the same map. We achieve that through what we call a “Colour Pallet”, and this pallet can be customised and assigned to any link on the Map, making it easy to identify the different data at a glance.

IRIS Maps also collects and presents data in near real-time, which means that you’ll be alerted to any issues on your network as they arise. Having a real-time logical representation of the health of your network in a single view is a powerful tool for any business and operational centre, and IRIS Maps’ ability to adapt to a huge variety of network environments means it can provide a solution for any network, regardless of scale or complexity.
IRIS Network Systems has over a decade’s experience working with some of the biggest names in the Southern African ISP and telecoms markets. If you’re interested in finding out more about the products and services we offer, including IRIS Maps, check out our demo or contact us directly for more information.

Image Credit: www.souccar.com