When it comes to IT infrastructure and network reliability, there’s really only one performance metric that matters to your employees and customers: Is it working? IT managers, analysts and support specialists understand there’s not always a simple yes or no answer.
Getting an accurate picture of network health requires evaluating data about dozens of metrics related to the interplay of hardware, software, cloud resources, mobile devices and other services. You need current and detailed information about factors such as backup performance, downtime, configuration errors, issue resolution, application performance, vulnerabilities, wireless activity, compliance status and much more.
The need to support more advanced applications and services makes it increasingly difficult to get all that information. For most organizations, collecting, reporting and analyzing network data from a growing number of sources has become a time-consuming task that monopolizes limited IT resources.
Gaining Insight
A good managed services provider can increase network visibility while simultaneously reducing your IT staff’s reporting burden. Most MSPs have invested in advanced monitoring tools with reporting modules that help collect and aggregate data about network performance. A recent Forrester study found that these tools cut the time required for such data-related tasks by 96 percent.
Best of all, an MSP can reduce the sheer quantity of data administrators must consume. By consolidating multiple reports into a single dashboard view, MSPs can frequently provide more clarity and context than can be gleaned from dozens of disconnected reports. This consolidated view also allows for more frequent reporting and more timely views of network status.
In addition to regular executive summaries featuring high-level overviews of the entire network environment, MSPs will provide more detailed reports that highlight how individual components are performing. This can help identify warning signs of potential problems before they disrupt business operations.
Reports can create savings opportunities by identifying resources that are operating well below thresholds for CPU usage, memory and other metrics. Such insight can help an organization understand how to shift workloads, reuse resources and otherwise right-size the infrastructure for improved cost efficiency.
MSP reports can also be useful for compliance purposes. Historical reporting can create an audit trail that illustrates actions and improvements that demonstrate compliance with many government and industry regulations. In some cases, MSP reports can also fulfill evidentiary requirements for legal proceedings.
The Verteks Approach
Clear, concise reporting is one of the hallmarks of Verteks’ managed services offerings. We collect and analyze log and event information to produce reports about all systems and devices under management, as well as evaluations of essential service-level metrics.
Ticketing reports cover any related service calls, incident reports and resolution activities. Device performance reports typically include data about CPU and bandwidth utilization, availability, downtime incidents, user login activity and any suspicious activity.
SLA reporting not only provides information about network health, but also helps you evaluate how well we are doing our jobs. These reports will show how long it takes to detect an outage, malfunction or security event, how long it takes to notify you of the problem and how long it takes to isolate and resolve the issue.
Almost all organizations rely heavily on IT infrastructure to accomplish their mission. Regular reporting about all facets of that infrastructure is essential for maintaining the health of network operations. With our extensive reporting capabilities, Verteks can provide the insights to help you understand your environment, identify potential issues, respond quickly and reduce risk.
