Maintaining proper documentation is an important process for any business, but is an absolute must when it comes your network management. Unfortunately, many businesses overlook the importance of documenting any work that is performed on their network — and as such, have zero record of their work or visibility into their environment.
The reason network documentation is so important is because it makes it much easier for your support staff to diagnose issues when you know how things are connected, or how they have been configured within your network. It also allows you to troubleshoot problems, and properly guide outside vendors that you’ve hired for assistance — which helps avoid the unnecessary time it takes to discover the network, and thereby reduce overall costs.
The following are a few reasons why network documentation is crucial:
- It removes reliance on one person — Your IT staff is your go-to when it comes to network management, but what happens when they are not around due to vacation, illness and the like? What happens if they are no longer with your organization? Proper network documentation will allow you to transition any and all IT knowledge to other internal resources or outside vendors.
- Removes the reliance on a single vendor — The last thing your business needs is to be reliant on any vendors. Network documentation allows you to be adequately prepared in the event of a change in vendors. You may not be getting the proper service, or your current vendor might be acquired, or go out of business. In the event of a vendor change, having the proper documentation will greatly reduce the initial costs for the new vendor to perform their initial discovery, and will allow the new vendor to engage much more quickly.
- Empowers management — Knowing the status and health of your network is crucial — especially when it comes to budgeting for replacement of old hardware, or any devices that are headed toward EOL. It also ensures you will know that items such as backups are being performed.
- Security — Network documentation means you’ll be adequately prepared for that next security audit; having visibility of your network security practices makes sure that your network is protected/configured according to best practices.
If you need assistance with network documentation, North Shore Data Services is here to help. Contact us today by calling 978-988-0201 or by opening a ticket with our help desk at www.ns-data.com.
