Here's how you scored on your Network Assessment.
"What Is the Significance of My Score?"
Well, the journey has to start somewhere. Acknowledging a problem is the first step toward fixing it, but progress won't be had without action. So, what's the next step?
- We suggest involving additional stakeholders from your company in taking the assessment. Compare scores to gauge collective perspective.
- Begin working on a strategy. Determine if your company aims for 100% uptime, 95% and above, 75% - 95%, or if performance just isn't a critical factor for you. Consider your network from three different perspectives: Connectivity, Performance, and Security. Then, systematically place each challenge you encounter into the respective category.
- Look for an SD-WAN platform that facilitates automatic failover and application routing. Procure two internet circuits from distinct carriers and deploy them. You should observe an immediate enhancement in performance.
You've now laid the groundwork for a plan and taken the initial fundamental step toward enhancing network performance using SD-WAN.
Should you require guidance or wish to explore SD-WAN possibilities, connect with one of our specialists. We assist businesses similar to yours every day in achieving a more efficient network.
You're on the right track and can now begin the process of optimizing your network. Here are three steps that may assist in doing just that.
- Incorporate a secondary internet connection aiming for a highly efficient fiber circuit, as the primary, alongside a lesser backup circuit that ensures functionality if the primary circuit encounters issues. If you require high availability, then two fiber circuits is advised. Otherwise, the secondary circuit can be broadband or LTE. Through the use of SD-WAN, integrating that secondary connection is a straightforward process.
- Trade out low-capacity MPLS leased lines and broadband for more robust connections, using fiber or broadband ethernet with improved bandwidth.
- Implement the dynamic capabilities of SD-WAN. Initiate performance optimization by channeling data across the WAN transport. Utilize deduplication and data compression to reduce traffic, while application optimization helps diminish latency for critical applications.
You're making great progress and edging closer to achieving an optimized network. It's the perfect moment to initiate application-based traffic routing using SD-WAN. Routing, categorizing, and securing data based on application ID yield the following benefits:
- Reduced expenses on bandwidth as traffic gets evenly distributed across circuits, enhancing efficiency.
- Enhanced application performance without the need for bandwidth upgrades.
- Streamlined IT management and monitoring by automating dynamic traffic control.
- Attainment of application reliability and stability through dynamic traffic routing across various circuits, guaranteeing the satisfaction of application demands.
Enhancing your application routing can significantly impact your network's performance and uptime. If you require assistance or suggestions, don't hesitate to contact one of our specialists.
Well done! You've developed a network strategy that outperforms many in your field. If you're prepared to refine your network towards excellence, it's time to delve into each business application, assess routing needs, evaluate your network's capacity for future growth, and conduct a comprehensive audit of internet carriers to ensure their technology and pricing align with your strategic objectives.
Take the initiative. Elevate your score.
Implement best-practice suggestions derived from the outcome of your assessment.
1. Your company's leadership prioritizes network uptime, having crafted and disseminated a well-defined network resilience strategy that serves as a guiding principle for all endeavors in developing and supporting products, strategies, and solutions.
At its core, your network serves your customers and end users. From the instant they access your site or network, they should possess unwavering confidence and trust that their transactions, activities, and communications will consistently maintain high quality, remain uninterrupted, and be consistently available.
2. Your organization has implemented a redundancy measure by having a minimum of two distinct internet service providers at each location. These providers seamlessly switch to one another in case of an outage or degradation of service.
Every internet connection will encounter disruptions at some point, whether caused by weather, scheduled maintenance, fiber cuts, or equipment malfunctions. In essence, outages are inevitable. If your business needs more than 95% uptime, preparing for an imminent connection failure necessitates having a secondary internet connection.
3. Your organization prioritizes the supervision and maintenance of network communication for high uptime and effective operation.
Recognizing network issues is a pivotal stride in addressing performance concerns. Vigilantly overseeing your network using tools such as SolarWinds, WhatsUp Gold, Nagios, Atera, and others is crucial. Certain carriers offer these tools for use on their connections, facilitating proactive monitoring.
4. Your company encountered a network or phone service disruption that resulted in substantial inconvenience for your customers or end users, hindering their ability to communicate, make purchases, or seek assistance.
Negative experiences while attempting to reach customer support, sales, or colleagues spread exponentially faster than positive ones. Customers engage with your company to purchase goods and services. However, when communication and network systems falter, the user experience deteriorates accordingly.
5. Your organization performs annual audits on your network and communication infrastructure along with its communication providers. These audits aim to assess your ability to adhere to network uptime priorities, evaluate associated service costs, and determine if there's a need for a technology upgrade or replacement of vendors.
Selecting suitable vendors to aid in supporting your network and communications significantly impacts your service's success. Over time, a vendor might alter their equipment, support structure, or pricing, potentially misaligning with your needs. Subpar performance from your vendors will directly affect your network's performance.
6. Your organization has formulated and executed a remote work plan ensuring continuous connectivity, upholding robust end-user security, and facilitating access, collaboration, and seamless communication.
Your network and communication systems must accommodate the growing necessity for employees to work remotely. Ensuring consistent connectivity, security measures, reliable voice performance, and safeguards for the corporation against malicious attacks are imperative.
Don't Allow a Subpar Network to Emerge as the Center of Your Company's Problems
Avoid letting your network's poor performance impact business operations any longer. Consult one of our specialists to gauge your standing compared to your counterparts.