Tip of the Week: 4 Important Network Management Actions

A business’ computing network is one of their most important tools. Therefore, it’s extremely important that it is managed and maintained properly. Today, we’ll go over a few tips you should keep in mind to ensure that your IT network is managed and secure. 

Automate to Standardize

Some network devices have the ability to import and export configurations and settings. While sometimes certain devices on the network will need their own unique settings and tweaks, spending lots of time to set up a particular device is expensive, so being able to move all that work over to another device doing the same job can save a lot of time and headache.

The same goes with basic PC installations - having the base software most of your staff needs installed and at the ready will help speed up the deployment process. This is something that we rely on a lot at Horne & Benik to keep our work efficient.

Monitoring and Troubleshooting

Monitoring your network is going to be one of the most critical aspects of your management strategy. The tool that makes monitoring (and fixing issues) possible, is called a Remote Monitoring and Management tool. By keeping eyes on your network, you can quickly make adjustments to keep threats from becoming network-attached problems and causing downtime, the biggest productivity killer of all. 

Patching and Policymaking

On your network you will ultimately have a lot of software. Just as your hardware has to be maintained, so does your software. There are bugs and vulnerabilities that can cause major problems for your business, and obviously need to be dealt with. Your IT administrator needs to be checking for patches regularly and doing his/her best to keep these crucial systems patched with the latest updates.

Continuously reviewing network policies will help an IT administrator know exactly what is needed on any given platform to keep the integrity of the network up and keep the business running productively. This is more important when your business depends on compliance to sustain operational integrity. 

Planning your IT

When planning for additional IT projects, or implementing new tools on your existing network, you’ll need to understand that in technology, today’s standard is obsolete soon. That means that there must be a cognizant strategy to continuously build and innovate your business’ IT infrastructure and network to ensure that your business doesn’t fall too far behind. If you find a tool that you like, and it becomes necessary to run legacy hardware to facilitate the use of the tool, you can do that, but most of the time, you will want to keep the most innovative and new tools you can get on your network because they typically bring with them the most dynamic results and the strongest security. 

Managing your company’s IT can be a lot to take in and the experts at Horne & Benik are here to help your business prosper. Call us today at (603) 499-4400 to learn more.