Characteristics Of Cost-effective Network Management

Information Technology could be called the precursor to business automation. The automation extended outwards and included other linked sphere of operations related to the central business venture. Synchronisation of these disparate operations in order to be able to achieve one singular end result gave rise to networks. Managing these networks was a costly affair. In order to ensure profit margins Cost-effective network management systems became an object in demand. A network comprises of individual objects, both hardware component and the application or software component. The plethora of objects that make up a network is to be experienced to be believed. A network administrator's job is never a post of envy but one that poses the administrator with problems uncanny. A visual picture of the complete network becomes a necessity for any network manager to be able to work out a solution imposed upon him by some client at a remote site. Given the ever changing scenario of any business house which goes with the current volatile market factors, the individual networks that run the business house proceedings are equally altering. A pencil drawn map of the network one day would never match the same drawn on a subsequent day.

Given this scenario, there is need for such a tool that provides a continuous updated view of the complete network components to the network manager as also allow the network manager to manage the components from a remote location. Managed Services Provider is one such class of software which gives an integrated view of the complete network and the various programs that is running upon it. The software could be one that needs no user intervention, then there are others which need to be executed by a network manager and there are those which are a mix of both. Depending on availability and competence of the network manager the type of MSP software is to be selected. Cost saving factor of such software requires no amplification. Rather than having individual network manager at each individual physical location trying to talk with each other, one network manager sitting remotely is able to monitor and provide solutions to the individual network system. To judge the ability of an MSP solution, two major issues are taken into consideration. How deep and wide does the software present the network hierarchy to the network administrator and how strong is its reporting process. Makers of the software would however attach various other features to their product to add selling value to it. Ease with which the MSP software itself could be deployed across the network or how demanding is the software on system resources are such additional features that the makers claim while marketing their products.

The prime factor on which would depend the success story of a business house today is how cost-effective a network the house is able to sustain. Managed Service Provider helps is lowering the cost incurred by the business house towards its e-business venture and therefore it can be termed as the most Cost-effective Network Management tool.