NOC also known as network operations center, is a centralized location where IT teams can keep track of the performance as well as the overall health of your network. NOC services are typically the front line of defense against various network errors and failures. The NOC Monitoring Services oversee different types of infrastructure and equipment that varies from (wiring, wireless systems, servers, databases, telecommunication, dashboards, firewalls, and even Iocal devices along with smartphones). Outsourced NOC services are meant to monitor your customer support calls, desk ticketing, along with integration of customers’ different network tools. To keep it short, they act as a very important part in making sure you have an overall good customer experience.
Why Have A NOC?
Simply put, the core purpose of NOC services is to maintain peak performance and network availability. Some important tasks include:
- Monitoring your network for various problems that will require special attention especially those that stem from the outside.
- Troubleshooting, sever, software installations, network issues, and managing all of your devices.
- Incident responses, taking care of power failures, along with communication issues and security operations as well as threat analysis.
- Backup and storage; email voice and video data management, policy enforcement, and vendor management just to name a few.
In today’s companies, network management and performance monitoring has become increasingly unique, it also requires a multiple number of employees, plenty of devices, and different offices that cover the globe to manage and monitor. The possibility for problems occurring can come from anywhere at anytime, from the volume of users, website traffic, and malware which can impact performance drastically along with wreaking havoc on productivity and your ability to meet the businesses needs. Keeping all of this in mind, NOC monitoring services are specially designed to prevent downtime, so that customers and other users don’t realize when incidents or outages occur.
What IsThe Difference Between A NOC And SOC?
A NOC’s main focus is based on network performance along with availability, while a SOC (security operations center) deals with monitoring, detecting, and analyzing the overall security health of a business 24/7. Outsourced NOC services search for issues in network speed and availability, while SOC is more so focussed on protecting sensitive property and client data, they are almost always responding to outside threats targeting the network and the performance of the company.
Since both services are different in both skill and knowledge, the approaches that both of these professionals must take are also very different. While one keeps a priority of the ins and outs of different networks and applications, the other one focuses more on security. With this being said, both NOCs and SOCs collaborate on major incidents and resolve issues for your company during an emergency, while also allowing them to adopt better tools to share and monitor information.
The network operations center is hands down one of the most important teams within IT and they have both internal and external customers relying on their services. It’s crucial to have a NOC that is capable of preventing catastrophic outages and maximizing the uptime as well as the staff who are properly trained, and well-equipped with the best tools and automation.