Bridging Network Security Gaps with Efficient Network Management

Network management is an essential element of IT (Information Technology) that helps ensure enterprises run efficiently and effectively end to end. AI (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning are emerging to automate numerous network administration and management operations, including provisioning, encryption, and optimization. These solutions improve transparency, and control over the network and its devices while reducing the workload on IT professionals. 

At the same time, the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic has altered network administration, pushing businesses to discover new techniques to expand management accountability to employees working from remote locations. Moreover, an efficient network management solution includes functions, strategies, best practices, next-generation technologies, and other components. 

Why it is important to deploy a robust Network Management Solution? 

IT should evaluate the expense of network outages to effectively emphasize the business necessity for a well-thought-out network management strategy. Network outages impact revenue, staff productivity, credibility, monetary loss, and overall Operational expenditures. 

As per research, Network brownouts, or sudden and unplanned interruptions in network quality, cost an average of $600,000 per firm. Downtime incurs expenses, whether planned or unplanned, that enterprises can minimize or at least reduce with the assistance of network management techniques. 

Earlier, businesses might have rationalized a lighter strategy for network management as establishing robust network management and monitoring demands many skilled personnel. Network automation has alleviated this burden by automating typical labor-intensive conventional network operations such as provisioning, scripting, executing design changes, and diagnosing the roots of slowdowns and failures. 

Advantages of Network Automation 

1. Reduction in Human errors 
2. Faster deployment of modern technologies; 
3. The capacity to discover and isolate the source of network security problems; 
4. Security risks are reduced since lesser manual operations result in minimal configuration or policy mistakes that might lead to vulnerabilities. 

Network automation is only one of many concepts and terminologies to be comfortable with as you improve your concept of network management. 

How does Network Management Function? 

Network management consists of five important components: 

1. Fault Management 
2. Configuration Management 
3. Account Management 
4. Performance Management 
5. Security Management 

Network experts utilize monitoring technologies that analyze the network from end to end to account for the effectiveness of these components. 

A comprehensive network monitoring system might assist to rationalize the expense of hardware or infrastructure improvements required to deal with repeated network bottlenecks. 

Together with monitoring tools, businesses should thoroughly investigate deploying a network analytics solution to consolidate data acquired from monitoring and provide informative and actionable reports. Network analytics and monitoring solutions should bridge on-premises, remote, cloud, or hybrid settings, and deal with wired and wireless infrastructure uniformly. 

Top Network Management Tools 

Network management providers are working hard to minimize complexity while increasing interoperability and feature sets. However still, most businesses continue to utilize different network management solutions for diverse products and technologies, which certainly increase the complexity. 

Here are some examples of network management interoperability improvements. 

1. Integrated network monitoring and cyber security 
2. Network analysis as a service 
3. Hybrid Cloud Monitoring 
4. Configuration Management 
5. Open-source network management 
6. Automated network performance testing 

The above-mentioned features and capabilities reduce manual, error-prone chores such as configuration restorations, tool access controls, compliance monitoring and verification, vulnerability analysis, and network synchronization. Eventually, network experts will be seeking ways to integrate network automation technologies to build an end-to-end solution that will help in development, deployment, and testing. 

Techniques for Network Monitoring 

Goal-based networking is one of the most anticipated network management solutions. Automation and orchestration are used in intent-based networks to improve how network topologies are implemented. The objective is to develop self-managing, self-healing networks that perform network activities using AI and machine learning. 

To be sure, IT teams are cautious of this level of automation, believing that it would separate them from day-to-day activities. To properly execute automation adoption in the business, firms should engage network specialists who are confident in surrendering some control to new automation and intelligence solutions. 

AI and machine learning will also improve network operations by allowing analytics programs to identify the source of a problem and proactively implement the appropriate solution. 

One of the most important benefits of AI and machine learning is a considerable reduction in the number of events that IT staff members need to manage daily, from millions to just a few critical ones. 

The Bottom Line 

The reliability and performance of hybrid setups are defined by a company's technological hygiene and network maintenance. Designing and managing network objects are not always fascinating activities. Having said that, if everything is done right, everything from compliance and automation to security and scalability will be more streamlined and risk-averse. Visit www.vareli.co.in to learn more about network object management and its importance.