I. As defined by extnoc.com, a Network Operations Center or NOC (pronounced as “knock”) is a centralized location where a company and their staff can provide supervision 24 hours a day to help monitor and manage a company’s services, databases, external services, firewalls, and network.
II. It is where all the company’s servers and networking equipment are managed. It serves as the initial defense from any threats and attacks an organization’s telecommunication network might experience during operations. NOC may be located within the business’ premises or with a cloud-based provider.
III. Various Network Operations Center activities include:
- Network assessments
- Email management
- Incident response
- Optimization reporting
- Backup and storage management
- Firewall management
- Firewall and Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) monitoring
- Risk and threat analysis
IV. Having top-notch NOC Services is essential for both small and large organizations to grow and outlast. Businesses have to weigh up in order to decide if it is better to establish and manage their own in-house NOC or simply go for outsourced NOC services.
V. In-house NOC provides the organization the full control of the whole operation yet it requires higher operational and HR costs. Time and resources is also considered as its downside especially for smaller companies.
VI. Due to budget and resource restrictions, most companies consider outsourcing their NOC and enjoy the following benefits:
- End-to-end solution. In a NOC, troubleshooting is a long process. Network engineers have to go through a series of tasks and dedicate their full attention to untie and solve problems which, is not possible especially for most small businesses due to the lack of budget and resources.
- 24/7/365 Monitoring. Problems do usually come when you least expect it. With an outsourced NOC on station, working round the clock, threats can be easily identified, the team can swiftly provide a consistent solution without any interruptions, using the right tools and in the right procedure.
- Optimized business model. An outsourced NOC service has more technical and IT skills which means that they can assist you in optimizing your business and network structure and provide a much more innovative solution to help you deliver new services to your customers.
- Better emphasis on other important work. You don’t have to carry the stress of solving IT and networking issues as your outsourced team handles it for you.
VII. Most companies are often comfortable with the information provided to them, only to discover that additional charges and other restrictions apply. Find out what’s included in the contract and what’s not to make sure your preferred NOC team can satisfy your business requirements.
VIII. Make sure to outsource a NOC service not only because of its price, but the type, the role and the quality of the work they offer.
IX. How will they keep your data secure? Find out more about their data access control and other security measures.
X. Want to outsource the best NOC services? Contact bd@athl.com.hk
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