The Value of Automation

Problem statement: manual tasks, takes long time to TS, increased downtime, not enough information for RCA

It’s a long holiday weekend, most of the support staff have taken off and are unreachable, leaving a “skeleton” support team on call and available in case of emergencies. A major storm sweeps through the region taking lots of your customers offline, due to the network outages.
On a “normal” day the support staff would have seen the alerts and alarms coming in from the network and would have started troubleshooting the issues. But this is not that “normal” day.

The network team has SLA obligations to their customers to minimize downtime, thus restoration of service needs to be timely. What do you do? Along comes Operational Process Automation (OPA).

Operational Process Automation is about getting the right systems and workflows in place to automate repetitive operational tasks, like troubleshooting steps, to improve efficiency and ensure consistency in operations teams.

So how does OPA work:

1. Need to be able to DETECT incidents that require actions by processing the data from the environment, looking for symptoms indicative of introducing operational risk. Identify the alarms generated and reported through the event management tools that relate to incident characteristics.
2. Determine what steps are normally, and sometimes routinely, taken to DIAGNOSE and troubleshoot the detected incidents. Document the troubleshooting workflow based on the information collected, identifying tasks necessary to view and ultimately resolve the incident.
3. Determine what ACTIONS are required to resolve the incident or implement workarounds: Identify common tasks and steps to complete, based on the troubleshooting workflow, and use the Opmantek software to perform as many steps as possible (ex. ssh into router and issue and capture “show” commands).

As you introduce automated remediating actions into the operational environment, technical reviews and required change approvals will be required to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the steps taken. As the corrective actions are proven over time to be stable, accurate, consistent and more mature, they can become more automatic and eventually integrated in with other processes and tools, like the incident ticketing system.

Operational Process Automation not only improves Mean Time to Restore Service, but it also drives down the cost of service delivery and fosters higher network availability. Automating routine tasks increases productivity in the technical and operations team, produces consistent and accurate results, increases staff job satisfaction, educates the inexperienced support staff, and ultimately increases customer satisfaction.
So back to our major storm outage. Thank goodness OPA was put into place a few weeks ago by the technical teams. By automating and remediating the necessary troubleshooting steps, led to a quicker resolution of the network incidents, minimizing downtime and keeping within the SLA guidelines established with the customers.

Put the knowledge of the engineers and operations teams into the “hands” of the machines

Como la mayoría de los gerentes de TI y los profesionales de redes estarán al tanto, los líderes empresariales y los empleados esperan contar con disponibilidad de red 24/7 en el trabajo. Desafortunadamente, lograr esto puede ser muy difícil y muchas empresas pierden innumerables horas para solucionar problemas cada año. Aquí es donde entra la supervisión de la red.

¿Qué es el monitoreo de red?

El monitoreo de la red asegura el buen funcionamiento de las operaciones regulares a través de la ayuda de técnicos capacitados, software de administración de red y soporte de red. La idea detrás del monitoreo de red es que ayuda a evitar pérdidas de productividad y, por extensión, el costo del tiempo de inactividad. De hecho, las empresas que calculan cuánto dinero podrían ahorrarles los servicios de monitoreo de red cada año descubrirán que ofrecen un fantástico retorno de la inversión (ROI). Aquí hay algunas razones por las cuales:

El tiempo extra se reduce

Si su personal regularmente acumula horas extras debido a cortes de red, un servicio de monitoreo le ahorrará una gran cantidad de dinero a largo plazo. También puede disminuir la necesidad de personal adicional en turnos nocturnos para ciertos sectores, lo que nuevamente le ahorra dinero a la empresa.

Control de daños

Los servicios de monitoreo de red pueden abordar problemas de TI antes de que se conviertan en desastres de relaciones públicas. De hecho, pueden detectar problemas desde el principio analizando factores como los tiempos de ida y vuelta, las tasas de utilización de la red y los porcentajes de error. Si hay algún problema con el buen funcionamiento de la red, las empresas pueden tomar medidas desde el principio antes de que las operaciones se ralenticen o los servidores se apaguen por completo.

Se reducen las llamadas de soporte:

Invertir en la supervisión de la red puede ayudar a mantener a los usuarios finales productivos y en línea, lo que reduce la presión sobre los técnicos de la red para que respondan las llamadas y respondan las preguntas de solución de problemas. Los servicios de monitoreo hacen esto al alertar a las empresas sobre posibles problemas, como el consumo excesivo de ancho de banda desde el principio, y eliminar la necesidad de soporte para el usuario final. Esto reduce la cantidad de llamadas a los equipos de TI y, por extensión, la cantidad de miembros del equipo necesarios para ocupar la mesa de soporte. Las empresas, por lo tanto, ahorran dinero en los sueldos de los equipos de apoyo.

Se reducen los tiempos de reparación.

Encontrar la fuente de un problema de red puede ser difícil incluso para los técnicos más calificados. Esto es particularmente cierto para las redes que se extienden a través de sitios que están muy separados y pueden terminar costando enormes cantidades de tiempo y dinero gracias a la necesidad de que los técnicos viajen. El monitoreo de la red puede prevenir tales pérdidas al ofrecer datos de diagnóstico en vivo y mapas que pueden indicar a los técnicos dónde se encuentran los problemas.

Las empresas pueden cumplir con los acuerdos de nivel de servicio

Los acuerdos de nivel de servicio (SLA) se elaboran para mantener contentos a los clientes y usuarios finales y hacerles saber qué esperar de sus proveedores de red. Si los SLA no se cumplen, las empresas pueden terminar en agua muy caliente. La supervisión de la red es una de las mejores formas de garantizar que se cumplan los SLA.

Se reduce el tiempo de inactividad

El tiempo de inactividad es un factor importante cuando se trata de pérdidas de la compañía. Esto se debe a que puede afectar enormemente la productividad de los empleados. Además del tiempo dedicado a no poder realizar sus tareas cotidianas, los empleados pueden sentirse frustrados o enojados por los sistemas de TI lentos, lo que puede afectar su capacidad para continuar con las tareas. La supervisión de la red es una excelente manera de reducir el tiempo de inactividad.

Elegir el software adecuado para ti

Una vez que haya tomado la decisión de optar por el software de monitoreo de red, deberá encontrar un paquete que se adapte a sus necesidades. Es posible que, por ejemplo, desee pensar en:

– Costes de instalación

– El costo de las licencias iniciales y las opciones de productos.

– Si el producto ofrece actualizaciones y soporte asequibles

– ¿Cuántos miembros de su personal necesitarán capacitación y cuánto costará?

– Costos asociados con la configuración del sistema.

– Si necesitará contratar a alguien nuevo para ayudar a administrar el nuevo sistema

Aquí en Opmantek, hemos ayudado a nuestros clientes a usar nuestros productos para diseñar la solución que necesitan. Nuestro personal está bien informado y es amigable y no es difícil de vender.

With a growing dependence on the internet, many small and medium-sized organisations are opting out of managing their own networks and handing the reigns over to Managed Service Providers. Managed services is a fast-growing industry that is expected to reach $376.15 billion with 11.7% CAGR by 2025 and FirstWave has long been recognised as a leading self-hosted RMM software provider to some of the biggest players in the industry.

In recent times, there has been a shift in the market to Software as a Service (SaaS) purchasing and many vendors now offer cloud-based solutions as a ‘simple’ software play for MSP’s. However, we have found that our customers require flexibility, and cloud is a one size fits most service that is not capable of supporting all network devices. Every day we are getting more and more enquiries from companies looking to regain control of their network by taking back ownership of their network management system.

Here are the top reasons our customers prefer on-premise or private cloud hosted FirstWave software over a one size fits all SaaS option.

100% visibility and control

SaaS-based remote management systems are often a good option for micro MSP’s because of the ease of deployment and monthly subscription payments for each monitored instance that make budgeting easy until your client base starts to grow. The devices under management become more obscure as the size of the networks you are managing increase. That’s when you start to lose network visibility, the event, health and performance data starts to lose quality and additional licensing costs associated with more complex network architectures begin to emerge.

FirstWave Software can be deployed in the cloud or on-premise but because you retain ownership of the database and have access to the source code at the core of NMIS, you maintain architectural, device and cost control.

Flexible integration

It is unlikely that any business will be implementing network management software for the first time when they come to search for a solution. It is highly likely that they will already have a number of products performing different functions within their network environment and they may not wish to, or be able to, replace them all at once.

FirstWave supports a huge range of integration options through REST APIs (HTTP(S)), batch operations, information provided in JSON files or CSV forms.

Service Now API integration is tried and tested in both directions for incident feeds and CMDB asset feeds as well.

FirstWave offers end to end solutions, you can implement them in stages (or only implement some of the features) and be assured that whatever other platforms you are working with, you will have the ability to integrate and feed data between your systems and maintain complete visibility in your FirstWave dashboards.

Tailored Business Requirements and Ownership of data

One size fits all rarely works for large network environments, but it is this cookie cutter system approach that is standard with SaaS RMM software providers.

“Configuration over customization” has long been a core value of our development team – rather than creating new versions of software for individual customers, we co-create software features with our customers and make them available and configurable for the hundreds of thousands of organisations that have used FirstWave’s software over the years. Almost every conceivable business requirement is catered for using configurations. Fault configuration, for example, can be adjusted in hugely flexible ways with our modelling policy engine, enabling one to make use of any metadata about a device to selectively apply fault and performance management. opEvents enables event management, correlation, escalation, network remediation automation, network fault analysis automation to be configured in an infinitely flexible manner to suit customer difference and your NOC.

Unlimited Scalability

With the number of connected devices within every organization increasing exponentially over recent years the ability to grow and scale to meet the needs of a business, without eroding profits for managed service providers is becoming more and more critical. As Managed Service Businesses grow, many SaaS providers force their users to compromise on the richness of data and troubleshooting capabilities by requesting paid upgrades to store more historical data.

At FirstWave we provide unparalleled scalability and ease of scaling.

We are highly efficient in our polling so you gain the most from each poller with thousands of devices per server instance even with full-featured polling. We also enable you to use as many pollers as you wish using opHA, we haven’t seen a limit of how many devices or elements one can manage on a single system. MongoDB provides cost-effective storage of as much data as you choose to store, making trending information and machine learning capabilities far more effective.

Excellent after sales support

We are regularly approached to replace other major vendors products because they are unable to scale, enormously costly to scale or they lose functionality as they do. As part of our transition and onboarding service, we’ll have a handpicked team ready to guide you. Furthermore, our support and professional services staff have worked for MSPs and Telcos and understand your business.

Ready to Detect, Diagnose and Act?

Want to learn more about how FirstWave’s RMM solutions can increase your network visibility, deliver unmatched automation and save money for your Managed Service organization and increase profitability? Click here to request a personalized demo from one of our engineers today!

Thanks to the unprecedented rise of communications platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat, many modern workers are starting to use them for business purposes. However, such unsanctioned tools are not built for business use and could pose a number of issues surrounding security and productivity.

According to a new report from managed services organisation Maintel, organisations must become more receptive to employee concerns about business-approved communication tools; failure to do so will only encourage the use of non-business-grade platforms.

What makes certain platforms better for business?

Communications tools designed for business use are usually adopted to maximise user productivity, improve situational awareness, boost system reliability, reduce costs, ensure compliance with certain legislation, and optimise security measures. When employees defect to other more casual platforms it is often because their business-sanctioned alternatives offer poor user experience.

To combat this, businesses must listen to employees and focus their efforts on making mandated platforms easy and more attractive to use. What’s more, these platforms must be integrated with network management software; such as helpdesks that offer speedy response times.

Why unsanctioned tools are so popular

Maintel states in its report that ‘popular consumer platforms are often preferred over business-grade alternatives because, they have been specially developed to be speedy and easy to use.’

However, they also come with security risks. Many businesses choose to block platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook Messenger to avoid the possibility of corporate oversight.

How to communicate effectively with employees

To ensure that employees understand why there are rules around communications platforms and to ensure compliance, it is important to enter into healthy dialogue with them. When reviewing your communications strategy, therefore, you may do well to consider the following approaches:

1. Gather feedback

Try to gather honest feedback about your current business communications platform. This will guide you when it comes to improving the user experience and will ensure that employees feel heard, thereby encouraging them to use sanctioned tools.

Reasons for choosing a communication tool for your business need to be as strong as the reasons not to switch platforms. Whichever platform you end up using, it is important to make sure that best practices are communicated clearly.

2. Set out clear policies for every platform

It is important to remember that sanctioned communications systems can still be misused with intently or accidentally. In this way, you must draw up clear policies about the types of acceptable use.

Explain the reasons for your policies. If colleagues understand that breaching them could have serious security implications, they more likely to adhere to the rules. Business owners should also ensure that their policies are communicated others using your corporate system such as a company partner.

3. Try to gently persuade employees

Blocking certain platforms is sometimes counterintuitive as it can instil feelings of resentment in your workers. Indeed, they may feel infantilised or that they are being made to use unproductive systems. In this way, you need to ensure that your communications are respectful and carefully lay out why the use of certain platforms is prohibited.

The key to a healthy and collaborative workforce is offering modern tools and a network management system that facilitates communication. Whilst it is reasonable to draw rules around social media platforms, you must offer excellent alternatives.

If you’re the manager of a technical team, you’re probably well aware that convincing employees to adopt a new process and break away from old habits can be difficult.

Of course, change is inevitable and necessary for every organisation. Say, for instance, that you’re concerned about the amount of money a specific piece software is costing your business. Although it is well-loved and your team members know it inside out, it probably makes good business sense to move on to something cheaper and more up-to-date.

Securing alignment between your team and your new product, however, may not be easy. Whilst some may be happy to learn how to use the new technology, one or two team members may rebel. To help you deal with this situation and ensure that all team members are on board with new technologies or processes, we’ve put together a few tips for managers attempting to implement change:

1. Subtly introduce changes into the everyday working environment

Gradually conditioning employees to anticipate change will help to prepare them for any major future organisational shifts. This could mean anything from swapping seating allocations frequently or allowing different people to present at conferences.

As well as implementing these team changes, you should try to get employees involved with the process. This could involve setting up brainstorming meetings or conducting regular surveys to make sure the workforce is involved in making decisions about upcoming changes. This will allow them to feel that they are part of the changes rather than simply having to passively accept them.

2. Communicate changes well in advance

Strong communication is absolutely vital if you want to nurture a happy workforce. Failing to communicate changes or communicating them poorly could make employees reluctant to comply with new processes. To ensure that changes are crystal clear you should:

– Spell out the reasons for the changes, as well as how employees will be affected. Remember to provide concrete evidence when doing this.
– Let your team know precisely when the changes will occur and what they will need to do (if anything).
– Enlist willing team members to spread positive communications about the upcoming changes.
– Offer support services related to changes implementation.
– Send communications out via a number of channels including email and your staff intranet.

3. Encourage employees to ask questions

One of the biggest obstacles businesses face when implementing change is the spread of misinformation and hearsay. To combat this, encourage employees to speak up about any questions or worries they may have about new processes or software. This should help keep the record straight.

4. Host small group meetings about changes

Try not to break the news about changes to large groups as this may hinder productive discussions. Instead, gather small teams together to encourage open and healthy conversations.

5. Measure how well new processes are being integrated

When implementing changes, try to measure their impact on your team. This will help you and your colleagues understand whether there are any ways in which your implementation plan could be improved. Start by distributing feedback surveys and setting up regular update meetings to let colleagues know about how well the new changes are going.

Addressing resistance to change is fairly simple once you know how. It doesn’t involve any cheap tricks and requires you only to be honest, open and communicative.

Delivering effective management behaviours is to understand and tailor both attitudes and actions to gain the best response from the specific group being managed. This is particularly true when managing engineers and technical teams, who may respond in ways that other groups might not. Here are those seven ‘secrets’ towards success…

1. Highlight the importance of great products

Show how these are valued by customers and are valuable to others within the organisation whose task is to promote or sell them. Find ways to highlight the team’s technical achievements, whether through blogs or newsletters, messages on internal digital signage, celebratory meetings and events.

2. Recognise and reward problem-solving successes

This follows on from the previous point. Technical teams love to solve problems, suggest improvements, and deliver upgrades. This dynamic is so different from other activities within an operation, yet so vital to its success. As mentioned previously, make sure the world outside the team knows of such achievements, and seek out ways to offer rewards, either through financial means or clear recognition.

3. Set objectives, goals and timelines – but don’t prescribe processes

Akin to delegation, allow a technical team to define how the work will be accomplished. Using their specific skill-sets, while having them appreciate the importance of all deadlines is critical. The result will be an enthusiastic and energetic group; compared to those told ‘do exactly this’ often by someone with less knowledge and expertise of the work involved!

4. Provide specific feedback both through data and experiences

When managing smart staff, whether engineers or technical teams, it can be easy to assume they always know how good they are. But, as in any group, members will suffer from the occasional lack of confidence, or uncertainty. Technical teams appreciate data showing that they’re getting it right by showing the beneficial experiences of customers using the products successfully. 

5. Don’t financially force technicians to be managers

Some will want that career path, and that’s great. Others will be content to develop their expertise and become better where they are. It’s important not to overcompensate management in comparison, and to ensure that salary and bonus structures, as well as hierarchical ones, allow an individual’s preferred path to be followed.

6. Create a developing talent pool

Increasingly, in many sports, especially those where transfer fees can be astronomical, increasing importance is being given to developing homegrown stars. Hiring the next generation as raw talent, fostering their abilities and confidence, helps deliver seamless transitions when vacancies – inevitable in any team.

7. Quietly celebrate those who leave

A tad controversial? This is about positively recognising when someone occasionally (and for positive reasons) chooses to move on, rather than sourly decrying it. Know that this is thanks to the way they have been managed and developed, that the previous point has ensured a replacement is ready formed. Such events actually offer a positive message to those within a technical team – or looking to join it.

Developing technical teams is a truly satisfying management activity, one that provides tangible results – something we truly believe in here at Opmantek.