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IT Helpdesk Network Management

12 September 2016
Rustyice
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Categories: Incident Management,Manage,Network Management,Problem Management,Productivity Up, Costs Down,Reporting,Transport Network Monitoring

helpdeskYour Business and Staff Require Technology to Work.

There’s no getting around it, there’s almost no business on the planet these days that cannot fucntion without technology. It is a tool that all businesses and staff require to function.

Help Desk:  Professional, Certified Experts Supporting Your Business

In the world of IT, problems happen. Computers crash, passwords are lost, email stops working, and the list goes on. And without proper technical support in place, these problems can bring your business to an abrupt – and potentially damaging – halt.

Not every support issue can be called a catastrophe…until it prevents you from being able to do your job. We’re here to help you stay ahead of the curve, so you can focus on growing your business – and to do so, we’ve adopted a proactive approach to network monitoring and IT maintenance.

That’s why our help desk is a seamless extension of our Sentinant Networks remote monitoring platform. So when you call to report an issue, there’s a good chance we’re already aware of the problem you’re experiencing – and are actively working to resolve it.

Our technicians receive regular training, coaching and quality review to continuously sharpen their skills, and they’re backed by a team of professional supervisors and managers to ensure consistency and unmatched service delivery.

IT Security

12 September 2016
Rustyice
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Categories: Intrusion,Manage,Network Management,Security

itsecToday’s IT security teams are faced with rapidly mutating threats at every possible point of entry – from the perimeter to the desktop; from mobile to the cloud. Fueled by the fast evolution of the threat landscape and changes in network and security architectures, network security management is far more challenging and complex than just a few years ago.

Security teams must support internal and external compliance mandates, enable new services, optimize performance, ensure availability, and support the ability to troubleshoot efficiently on demand—with no room for error. That’s a lot to balance when managing network security.

Systems Management

11 September 2016
Rustyice
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Categories: Manage,Network Management

imagesAs businesses grow, so do IT requirements. In many companies, it’s tough to find a facet of the business that doesn’t depend on IT. As dependence on IT to run the business grows, it becomes vitally important to efficiently manage and safeguard IT and data assets.

System management solutions — such as service desk management, single sign-on authentication and patch management — can help keep systems up and running, and maximize IT and employee productivity. They can also help your IT team efficiently roll out new software solutions, or upgrade existing ones. In a nutshell, effective systems management solutions help IT organizations move beyond fire-drill mode to provide the business with proactive guidance and support.

System management solutions also help companies protect against the fallout from downtime and threats, whether caused by system malfunctions, lost or stolen mobile devices, network sabotage, power outages, security breaches, identity theft, human error and natural and man-made disasters. Should any of these events occur, they can result in lasting financial loss, brand damage, legal liabilities and other extremely unpleasant consequences.

Many small businesses fail to perform regular data back-ups, and even if they do, tools and procedures can fail due to malfunctioning hardware and storage media, corrupted data, or because backup software isn’t reset to include new files or applications. Whatever the reason, costs to replace the data and restore employee productivity can be enormous. Businesses also face stiff penalties if they can’t store, retrieve, monitor and transmit data in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Systems Management: What to Consider

Criteria such as company size, number of devices, complexity of IT infrastructure, IT resources and expertise all come into play when considering centralized systems management.  For instance, in a small business with just a handful of PCs, centralized systems management may require more of an investment in time and dollars than it would take to just manage each device individually.

But as companies grow, a lack of centralized system management can become a pain point and true vulnerability. However, the sheer number and assortment of products and approaches available can be confusing, and the cost of traditional enterprise system management solutions can send small businesses into sticker shock. Driven by the need for a quick fix, businesses can end up with several disparate point products that don’t work together. This can create both short-term gaps and integration and scalability problems over time.

Environmentals

8 September 2016
Rustyice
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Categories: Building Management,Critical Infrastructure,Internal Systems,LAN Cable Plant,Maintenance,Manage,Operational Efficiency,Power

479817It’s not uncommon for small businesses to begin operation by stacking server hardware and network appliances on a desk or shelf. Though such a deployment is inexpensive, the pile of equipment invariably expands into an unmanageable mess with the growth of the company. Exposed equipment is also completely open to physical tampering and is a ticking time bomb for accidents such as coffee spills, dust or even workers tripping over wires.

However, rack-mount equipment is designed specifically to properly house this type of hardware. While these tend to be pricier than their non-rack mount equivalents, it’s arguable that being easier to manage far exceeds the cost premium. In addition, shelves and drawers designed for mounting onto the server rack are widely available; these let racks work with non-rack mount appliances as necessary.

Setting up a server rack is more than just twisting a few screws to secure the equipment into place. Proper cable management can’t be overstated, as just about every piece of equipment in the rack is linked with Ethernet cables. Intra-cabinet wiring aside, it makes sense to terminate cable runs for Ethernet LAN points for desktop computers, IP cameras and other network appliances at the rack.

Finally, don’t skimp on labeling and documenting your setup, even for relatively simple deployments. What may be obvious to the employer setting it up could be missed by a new IT staffer or a vendor contracted to work on certain aspects of the system. Time savings aside, proper labeling reduces the likelihood of catastrophic mistakes such as a mission-critical system getting unplugged or restarted without adequate warning.

The simplest way to properly label your infrastructure? Purchase a label printer from a hardware shop. Servers and network appliances should be labeled with unique descriptive names and their IP addresses. Ditto for other equipment such as keyboard, video and mouse switches, NAS appliances, routers, data backup devices and redundant hardware.

Detailed notes describing important procedures relating to your on-premises hardware should be printed out and attached to the server cabinet with tape or refrigerator magnets. These notes should contain important operating instructions relating to networking, data backup or shutting down (or starting up) the equipment in the event of a power outage.