5 things your infrastructure monitoring and alerting should include
Today’s businesses have numerous options when choosing network monitoring systems. Some decide to rely on cloud-based or on-premises tools. Regardless of the option that your company selects, you need to make sure your infrastructure monitoring and alerting tools have the right tools.
Include the following five features in your monitoring and alerting tools to protect your network and avoid data loss.
Data visualization
The ability to capture data from customers and devices gives companies more opportunities to provide efficient services that anticipate needs. Unfortunately, few humans can work with vast amounts of data. The numbers bleed together and become incoherent.
Even the results of data-mining algorithms can perplex business leaders. Data visualization, however, organizes information in ways that the human brain can comprehend quickly. The charts display obvious trends and deviations that are nearly impossible to detect when reviewing raw data.
Data visualization also makes it easier for business leaders to understand the results of infrastructure monitoring and alerting. Instead of receiving a report with data showing unwanted, inconspicuous use, you can get reports that arrange data into graphs and charts. That way, you can optimize your IT infrastructure to improve client services, boost productivity, and avoid security threats.
Metrics tracking
Depending on how you use your IT infrastructure, you may not notice declines in speed and predictability. At the same time, your staff members may wonder why it suddenly takes so much longer to process information.
Metrics tracking helps ensure that your network does its job well. By tracking the right metrics, your IT team could even predict downtime. Instead of becoming a victim of downtime, you can prepare a solution that limits disruptions.
Customer tracking
Your business’s success depends on strong customer services. Without happy customers, your business won’t last long.
Customer relationship management (CRM) tools capable of sending alerts will help you and your sales team keep people happy with your services. For instance, you may receive an alert when the CRM notices that your client has ordered products recently. It can also boost sales by sending notifications that encourage clients to buy additional items or take advantage of upcoming sales.
Customer tracking tools that send alerts to customers and employees may boost your company’s success without forcing you to hire more people or devote more time to communications.
Proactive security monitoring
Malware continues to plague SMBs. As malware becomes more sophisticated, it’s possible that unknown threats could hide on your network for weeks or months before someone discovers it.
Proactive security monitoring eliminates that possibility by constantly checking your network for files and applications that don’t belong. Just because your network was pristine an hour ago doesn’t mean that an employee hasn’t fallen victim to a phishing ploy.
Not every business decides that proactive security monitoring is necessary. Those that do, however, get to take a proactive stance that improves their security.
Agility
The fact of the matter is that you don’t know what monitoring and alerting tools you will need in the near future. Technology evolves quickly, so it’s nearly impossible to predict which trends will arise within just a year.
An agile infrastructure can incorporate the latest tools to keep up with new technology and help you stay competitive.
The need for agility helps explain why so many CIOs choose Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). IaaS doesn’t commit you to specific tools. Instead, you can rely on your service provider to update your infrastructure with the latest technologies.
Monitoring and alerting that meets your needs
After a thorough review of your current infrastructure, you should consider which of the above tools could help your business improve its security, productivity and success.
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