With the digitization of Enterprise, the business flows have become faster, more efficient, more intelligent, more vulnerable and your most valuable asset in the organization, after people, will be your Network.
Your network houses and moves your information, which makes it possible to do more than ever before and hence it is critical to provide, utmost care and attention that it deserves for running flawlessly. It is common place for many Enterprises to assign the responsibility and management of network assets to an in-house network team, but there are much better options available to provide expert support and services for your network, so that the Enterprise can continue to focus on growing business and profits. The benefits of managed network services far outweigh the cost, interruptions and timely interventions.
What Are Managed Network Services?
The term is not all that alien any more, but the fact that the dependency on an efficient functioning network has drastically increased without compromising on the quantity and quality of network availability and maintenance, let us look at some basics.
Managed network services are a way to outsource maintenance and availability of network to repairs to experts. A good managed network services provider or MSP manages many functions for the Enterprise, such as network design, provisioning & administration, 24x7 availability, network security, communications & support, are some critical responsibilities.
The Benefits of Managed Network Services
Break-fix services ruled the market for decades. When businesses experienced a problem with the network, they would call the Internet Service Provider (ISP), if they were lucky, a solution could be found quickly. If they weren’t, they would be stuck with a long service outage and downtime. This type of reactive service is known as the break-fix approach.
Managed services, on the other hand, offer constant and consistent monitoring of your systems with the goal of preventing failures wherever possible. Remote monitoring means your service provider can always see what’s going on and fix it directly.
The pros and cons of managed services make it clear that partnering with an MSP is the best way to simplify your network management affordably. These are some of the top financial and business benefits of managed services.
Cost Management & Control
Can managed network services cut down cost? The answer is yes. With smart network design and optimum use of assets, smarter ways of providing connectivity & redundancy, appropriate upgrades when required, managing outages if any and hence the overall activity on an outsourced basis can help mange the cost very efficiently.
Scalability
When the Enterprise is in growth mode and the success is dependent on fast deployment and upgradation of network assets, the network MSP will play a very critical and essential role, your team or resources are not pulled in to design, source and implement the solution, the MSP will not only monitor the usage but will very quickly jump in for scaling the network asset either upward or downward. Network MSPs help your business stay flexible when it comes to resources and can accommodate swift changes that an in-house team might not be able to respond to efficiently.
Manage & Minimize Downtime
It will always remain a universal fact that there are downtimes in a network for multiple reasons, it can be electrical or electronic failure, links fluctuation, physical disruption, improper backups, human errors, Network MSP will not only deploy strong safeguards in place on critical areas to mitigate risks but will also manage the associated administration and implementation of the overall exercise.
Unintentional human error accounts for a significant chunk of downtime, and there’s not much you can do to avoid it. Employing strong safeguards in critical systems is the best way to reduce the potential risk.
Reducing the risk of downtime is a multi-faceted task that an in-house team may not have the bandwidth or experience to tackle effectively. Managed services can cut down costs associated with downtime by preventing it from happening in the first place.
A Preventive Approach
Rather than managing an outage and calling in all kinds of support, it will be much easier and more efficient to partner with a Network MSP. They monitor your systems for problems and can resolve issues before they transform into full-fledged outages and downtimes. The cost savings associated with this approach are one of the top reasons to use managed services.
Free Your Resources
If your team is focusing in managing and running the networks, they will have very little or no time available to focus on new projects and innovation which can help further the Enterprise’s business. Managed Network Services can help by redesigning workflows, upgrading equipment and automating certain tasks. This takes the pressure of daily processes off your team so they can focus on their core strengths for which they were hired in the first place.
Relationships
The ongoing relationship with an MSP has several benefits. Managed services act as a partner for your in-house team and a bridge between you and technology vendors. They serve as a single point of contact for your business and become familiar with your company over time.
A trustworthy MSP is a valuable partner in helping your business grow, not just a service you call when something breaks. They have a vested interest in keeping your networks and systems healthy and delivering insights you can use to help your bottom line.
24x7 Support
Managed Network Services use remote monitoring technology to keep an eye on your systems day and night. Real-time alerts mean any problems that occur can be corrected before they have a noticeable impact on your business.
Without constant monitoring, it’s easy for a network issue to happen during off hours. If a system goes down in the middle of the night, it might take some time before anyone finds out. In some cases, the problem isn’t discovered until the next day — after significant damage has already been done. Remote monitoring allows your network MSP to take instant corrective action as soon as they receive an alert.
At Axon Networks we believe we can play a critical role in managed network services for your organization, provided you are ready to leverage all of this to your advantage in many more ways than one.
Stay safe & healthy.
Regards,
Atul Ojha
Co-founder
Axon Networks