The average hour of network downtime costs $1-5 million in lost revenue and end-user productivity. That’s why service providers need high visibility into components and configurations to detect issues.
A NOC (Network Operations Center) offers round-the-clock monitoring and support. It helps to prevent small issues from snowballing into large ones, reducing downtime and improving overall performance.
High Availability and Redundancy
A network operations center, or NOC for short, is a centralized location that manages, monitors, and protects the intricate web of technology infrastructure that drives today’s digital landscape. While NOCs are typically used by larger enterprises or MSPs, many small-to-midsize businesses also utilize the services of a professional NOC company.
A key aspect of NOCs is that they are designed to achieve high availability and redundancy. It means that every network component is duplicated and that if one system goes down, another can take over without any user-facing downtime. This is accomplished through a process called “crossover,” whereby a system recognizes a failure and automatically switches to the backup system.
Redundancy is also achieved through using tools like load balancing, which ensures that one server is not overwhelmed by traffic and allows for quick and seamless recovery should it fail. Finally, geographic redundancy is often employed by deploying servers in multiple locations. It helps protect against outages caused by natural disasters, political events, or grid failure.
247 Monitoring
Modern businesses rely on high-speed connectivity to keep operations moving around the clock. It requires constant monitoring and maintenance to prevent network disruptions that cost companies millions of dollars in lost revenue and productivity.
NOCs are designed to monitor and manage the network infrastructure that keeps businesses connected. It includes routers, switches, firewalls, load balancers, and physical cables connecting everything. An NOC’s monitoring can detect issues, provide solutions, and prevent costly network downtime.
To maximize the benefits of an NOC, it’s important to prioritize training and establish clear procedures and means of communication. It is also helpful to have an NOC team that is fully equipped with the tools necessary to address any issue with your network infrastructure. Whether a simple hardware issue or a complex security threat, your NOC can help keep your business running when needed.
24×7 Security
The team at a Network Operations Center constantly monitors network systems for any issues or threats. This proactive monitoring can help prevent cyber-attacks and minimize downtime by identifying potential problems before they occur. Unlike traditional help desks, which only identify issues after an end user creates a ticket and waits for someone to resolve it, an NOC can detect a problem and take immediate action.
A NOC is a team of IT professionals with different levels of expertise who constantly monitor network devices and hardware. They work in a controlled environment designed for this purpose, ensuring everything runs as it should. If an issue isn’t resolved quickly, they have procedures to escalate it to a more experienced team member.
A Network Operations Center is an essential tool for organizations that must maintain their infrastructure. Public safety agencies, first responders, and global relief teams need an NOC that understands their unique challenges and can optimize and secure their critical systems. Whether you need to protect your infrastructure on-premises or require an external service provider, contact us to learn how we can provide 24/7 monitoring for your organization.
Enhanced Customer Experience
With the growing dependence on uninterrupted phone calls, video conferences, and business data transfer, users expect fast, reliable network connections. A good NOC can help ensure users have a positive experience by constantly monitoring the network to identify and address any potential issues before they cause a disruption.
The NOC team can detect real-time issues and quickly resolve them using advanced monitoring tools. They can also provide valuable feedback to the IT infrastructure team, helping them improve network performance over time.
A NOC can be the first defense against network downtime or security breaches. According to ITIC, 40% of enterprise respondents estimate that an hour of downtime costs $1-5 million in lost revenue and end-user productivity.
As a result, businesses are increasingly turning to managed NOC services from VARs, MSPs, and MSSPs. These third-party solutions can offer a range of benefits to both end clients and the MSPs themselves, including recurring revenues, improved customer stickiness, and enhanced operational efficiency.
Reduced Costs
In an era of 24-7 global operations, industries like telecommunications and financial services need constant, reliable connectivity. It requires continuous monitoring, identifying, and dealing with network performance issues. This is where a Network Operations Center comes in.
NOC teams often work within the managed IT services space and help drive service delivery for many MSPs. Especially for MSPs specializing in serving public safety agencies, first responders, and worldwide relief organizations, an outsourced NOC process can be more cost-effective than building an internal team to manage the needs of these specialized clients.
Conclusion
It can be challenging for a single person or small team to handle all the alarms from remote network devices. By working with a reputable NOC, the flood of notifications can be categorized and forwarded to the appropriate technician promptly. It helps reduce escalations and unnecessary expenditures while maintaining the Security of critical systems that must be up and running at all times. It also improves productivity and adds efficiency to a remote network management strategy.
