Set network priorities for best results
Today’s businesses depend on data. When it doesn’t travel through the network fast enough, work slows down, employees get frustrated, and customers get mad. Just a few seconds of lag can lead to application failure, missed sales, and reduced productivity. Within some industries, such as healthcare and financial services, delays can have severe consequences.
If you’re concerned about network slowdowns, it’s best to address them before they become worse. Here are three likely causes and a way to find solutions.
1. Network congestion
It is often caused by two key factors: There is not enough bandwidth for the traffic going across it, and the type of bandwidth may not support the applications being used.
“If you don’t have enough capacity to connect all the users and devices, you don’t get the speed and availability you need,” says Les Wood, director of Product Marketing at Spectrum Enterprise. This situation leads to issues in today’s business environment since employees are accustomed to hyperresponsive personal technology.
“Immediate transfer is expected now. No one wants delays. No one wants to rerun batch processing of files because a system timed out,” Wood says.
2. More data-intensive and real-time applications
Organizations are adopting cloud-based software applications, and more people are using them to send and receive information throughout the business day and into the evening. Chances are your network wasn’t designed to handle the amount of traffic it’s bearing. Adding to the complexity, today’s interconnected systems rely on one another, causing a cascading effect when transmissions are delayed.
Another problem is the massive amounts of data that modern applications consume. “When people use real-time applications (Zoom, Webex, etc.) or when they’re sharing big files, it quickly takes a toll on the network,” Wood says.
If real-time responses aren’t essential, it’s not a serious problem. But if you’re trying to solve problems without delay, you need to size your network to solve — or, better yet, prevent — problems.
Companies are also using more artificial intelligence and internet of things (IoT) applications, which collect and transmit high volumes of streaming data and often require near-real-time transmission to yield effective insights. About 34% of American and European organizations use IoT technology for their operations, and another 12% plan to adopt it within the next year, according to Statista.
3. Aging infrastructure
Legacy infrastructure in general can impede an enterprise’s digital business initiatives. This holds true for networks as well. Outdated networking systems can be slower than current ones, carry more security risk, and often choke off cloud-centric innovation. A modern network can be easier to manage and troubleshoot while opening opportunities for agility and innovation.
“Older networking solutions may not be able to keep up with demand, especially as the use of collaboration, augmented, and virtual reality applications grows,” says Wood. “Eventually, support for [updates] and fixes comes to an end and companies don’t have the ability to benefit from the new technology to prioritize and shape the traffic.’”
Rightsizing your network
The key to solving network slowdowns is to understand the traffic going across your network and user needs across locations. Additionally, make sure you have the appropriate bandwidth and traffic prioritization policies.
“How many users are trying to access your network and from what locations?” Wood asks. “If you have branch offices and they need to connect directly to applications on the internet, you need to make sure you have the appropriate internet connection — bandwidth and type. This also means you have to have security at each endpoint.
“If you have a corporate location and performance is a key benefit being sought after, a private Ethernet network connection would greatly enhance the experience,” Wood says. “You know where all the traffic is going and see that it gets from point A to point B within the parameters of your requirements.”
Then prioritize your business applications according to the amount of latency they can tolerate. Lower the priority of nonessential traffic to expedite the throughput of essential business applications.
Consider your infrastructure management
Are you able to meet your current network needs and easily accommodate for the future? If your infrastructure isn’t keeping up, you should reexamine your policies and groom your network, so it is capable of meeting expectations.
Learn more about ways to advance your company’s networking capabilities.