Given the critical nature of today’s IT systems and networks, the traditional break-fix service model is inching closer to obsolescence. The speed of business requires a more proactive approach to problem resolution, which is why remote management and monitoring (RMM) solutions have become essential. These software tools deliver real-time visibility into performance and availability, making it possible to identify warning signs of potential problems before they disrupt business operations.
Monitoring solutions are hardly new. Agents running on systems and network devices transmit information about a variety of metrics. When these metrics approach a threshold that indicates a problem, an administrator is notified.
However, increasingly complex workloads are making it difficult to identify issues and trigger rapid responses. Virtualization, cloud infrastructure and mobility initiatives have made it next to impossible for all but the largest IT shops to monitor and analyze log files quickly enough to stay on top of things.
This is why we’ve invested in state-of-the-art RMM tools. With these tools, we can ease the strain on our customers by monitoring, analyzing and optimizing performance across wired and wireless networks and other IT resources.
Our RMM tools generate data that allow us to prevent downtime and data loss rather than simply fixing things that break. For example, we can detect when a disk is nearing capacity or an application lacks all the system resources it needs, and recommend solutions to these problems. We also monitor bandwidth utilization trends and backup processes, just to name a few.
RMM also allows us to automatically schedule maintenance tasks and take care of proactive maintenance such as operating system and security software updates, patch management, firewall management, and router configurations. Detailed performance reports can be customized and used to evaluate system and network health, ensure security and regulatory compliance, and identify long-term trends.
In addition to typical metrics, we can identify resources that are operating far below thresholds for CPU usage, memory and other metrics — giving our customers the ability to reallocate underutilized resources for improved cost efficiency.
The business value of effective monitoring and management has never been greater. When launching new technologies or services, RMM tools can help ensure the network is capable of supporting modifications without disruption. RMM also contributes to improved business performance by ensuring that the network performs optimally and delivers the best possible user and customer experience.
Most important, rigorous monitoring delivers significant bottom-line benefits by reducing the risk of disruption and speeding the discovery of outages when they do occur. According to a recent study by IHS Markit, network interruptions are the leading cause downtime for information and communication technology. Survey respondents reported an average of five downtime events each month, resulting in losses ranging from $1 million a year for a typical midsize company to more than $60 million for large organizations.
RMM delivers unquestionable value, but it does require a significant level of in-house expertise. For most organizations, it makes more sense to work with a managed services provider such as Verteks that has already made investments in RMM tools that are managed by a team of IT professionals. This approach not only provides reliability and budget relief, but ensures that tools are consistently upgraded to match growing network complexity.
