Networks First offers reputation versus technology service to decide which will win the war

Networks First offers reputation versus technology service to decide which will win the war

Networks First, an independent provider of support services for network infrastructure, has launched a new network maturity assessment as part of its professional services portfolio.

Retailers’ technology is facing increasing demands from customers, but downtime is a costly and unnecessary expense for instore or online businesses. The network maturity assessment is designed to provide valuable advice on how to achieve better operational performance and increased return on investment (ROI) from the current network investment. Other advantages include the ability to look for potential ways to reduce existing network costs, as well as align the network infrastructure closer to the organisation’s current business objectives.

Industry standard comparisons

The providers said IT departments are constantly battling to understand the technology deployed, compliance issues, the benefits new technology can offer, and whether it is being used to its full capacity. With increasing pressure on the IT director and network manager to achieve more from their organisation’s existing IT investment without further cost to the business, Networks First has developed a high-level design and operational network assessment service. The new maturity assessment service enables not only an independent view of how the network is designed but also a comparison against industry standards, and how it is being managed and operated by the organisation, providing a valuable benchmark tool using a five-phased network maturity model, according to the company.

Jason Peach, head of professional services at Networks First, explained: “By comparing what is currently deployed against industry and manufacturer recommended best practice, we are able to provide organisations with an accurate benchmark of where they are in terms of network maturity. Their entire network’s processes are placed under scrutiny, looking at everything from how they manage incidents coming in, to security procedures, or tracking activities through to completion.”

Enabling proactive approach

Peach continued: “Our conclusions allow retailers to do more with their existing networks. The service is all about giving organisations the knowledge they need to take a proactive approach to network management, utilising a life-cycle approach to gain and then maintain high network availability; ultimately guaranteeing increased sales and efficiency. The final report provides not only key observations but a priority list of actions which will ensure the network assets are being deployed and operated to maximum advantage.

“This service allows organisations to take the Do More challenge and change the classic perceptions of network management and the standard ‘fire-fighting’ approach to network issues. According to Forrester Research 67% of IT personnel are unaware of problems until end-users call their help-desk and over 40% categorised their approach to network management problems as reactive rather than proactive. This is an unnecessary cost to any business and simply unacceptable with the tools available to today’s IT director.”

Since it was first created by Gartner in 2005, the Network Maturity Model has found favour with many public bodies and is now recognised as a valuable and respected method of evaluating and developing communications infrastructures.

For more information on benchmarking an organisation’s network management function, Networks First has produced a white paper ‘The business case for network management’ which is available to download.