Top 5 signs that your network is close to capacity
Here’s a list of 5 signs that your networking is close to capacity:
- Video Conferencing quality degrades – images freeze, stutter or become pixellated
- Office workaholics start browsing SEEK and Linked In
- Unable to enjoy their free time, chronic web surfers start doing some work
- On-premise applications run slow or die
- Internally-hosted websites start to drop down Google rankings
Top 10 IT Planning tips
Know where you stand (and where you should be headed)
Each organisation has its own unique IT capacity requirements which should be in lock-step with your business plan. IT planning must be firmly linked to your organisational goals, internal culture, branding, location and profitability.
Every CIO must have an accurate vision of what it takes to be successful in their particular market.
For example, if you are a large enterprise competing in a leading-edge technology market, you will need faster and more secure networking than a 2-3 man sporting goods distributor.
Polish up your crystal ball
Engage with your management teams to ensure your WAN capacity plan is in sync with the overall strategy. If there is any possibility that one or more of your divisions will experience strong growth or rapid downsizing, this must be on your radar.
Retain maximum flexibility
Wherever possible, choose hardware and software that improves your ability to shift your capacity across divisional borders. Change is a constant and network capacity will be wasted if you can’t shift it to where it’s needed.
Remove/solve any bottlenecks
Your current set-up may be hamstrung by one or two bad hardware/software decisions that are throttling your capacity. Identify and fix them and you may be able to delay any upgrades for a while. Whatever the case, they must be fixed.
Avoid Vendor Lock-in
There is always a degree of vendor lock-in with an IT decision – it makes sense to go with what you know. But you should avoid getting too locked in with any carrier, re-seller, or IT consultant – “rusted-on” relationships and long-term contracts can breed laziness.
Avoid the bleeding edge
Find your rightful place on the IT technology wave. Straying too close to the bleeding edge is expensive and inefficient as you act as a test-bed for the latest technology. Investing in new hardware is expensive and IT salespeople can be very convincing. You must do your own due diligence on their claims. Clinging to old favourites is just as costly in degrading productivity and reducing staff morale and retention.
As an independent vendor with 15 years of experience, VP Net can advise and assist in your next IT capacity upgrade.
Call us now on 1300 for a free consultation with your VP Net IT Consultant.