Managed service providers (MSPs) play a major part in increasing business continuity and enhancing the productivity of the businesses they cater to. Businesses these days rely on MSPs to take on the responsibility of managing their networks, so they need not spend most of their time on network management tasks like keeping track of network devices, troubleshooting network bottlenecks, etc. Further, some businesses invest in MSPs to save them from fines and expenses due to non-compliance with industry standards in their network environment.
MSPs need to understand their clients’ networks in detail, so they can keep upgrading the quality of services rendered to their clients and comply with SLAs. MSPs also need to know of the latest technology and market trends to keep up with the competition and outplay them. As much as it sounds daunting and tiresome, the right tactics to manage multiclient network effectively can make this arduous task doable.
How to handle multiclient networks and deliver the best service to your clients
An acute awareness about all the devices, their performance, critical KPIs, and potential network mishaps in a multiclient network is the linchpin of a successful multiclient network management strategy. To master multiclient network management and ensure optimal performance of your clients’ networks, it is important to know the following points.
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Gain unified visualization: Overseeing all your client networks 24/7 is critical to understand the fine details about each of your client network devices and manage them all proficiently. But some tools require changing tabs often to do this, increasing the risk of not spotting a critical alert or potential device failure. This is why you should use a tool that provides unified visibility across your multiclient network and lets you customize your dashboards based on your preferences.
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Filter key metrics and devices: Listing out critical KPIs and network devices in client networks can help keep the multiclient networks up and running round the clock. This list makes the jobs of MSPs easier by letting them focus on a smaller circle of KPIs and devices, allowing to easily point out the budding hazards and possible device failure in that circle. This can reduce network hazards from blowing up on huge level.
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Automate mundane operations: Daily or monthly maintenance operations such as restarting a device and L1 and L2 troubleshooting operations can take up a lot of an MSP’s time. However, a person isn’t always required to supervise these operations and can instead be automated. Find the right balance of human involvement and automation to help your multiclient network run more smoothly.
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Restrict access to irrelevant data: Giving your entire MSP team access to all your clients’ network details poses a significant security risk to your multiclient network, as it can increase the risk of data breaches. This can be easily avoided by restricting access to data unless a team member needs it to carry out their work tasks. This builds a secure perimeter around the networks and better protects them from security breaches.
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Secure your multiclient networks: Keeping an eye on configuration changes to spot unauthorized configuration changes and misconfiguration is vitally important to increase security of your client’s network. To shield the networks further, ensuring compliance to the latest industry policies, scanning the networks periodically to pinpoint firmware vulnerabilities and applying patches on them in advance will be of great help, too.
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Generate reports to spot issues: Boosting client network uptime can sound like a challenge, but with the right reports, it can be easy. Reports are organized data that can help you mend issues in your multiclient network with their ability to show viewers what is wrong and anticipate mishaps at a glance. Foresee and remedy before an issue, network bottlenecks, excess usage of storage arises and worsens.
How can OpManager MSP be of help to MSPs?
ManageEngine OpManager MSP is a granular multiclient network health monitoring and management tool that helps MSPs ward off network bottlenecks and device failures. This tool helps automate monotonous tasks, resolve network issues proactively, and reduce the mean time to repair (MTTR). Service providers can also leverage OpManager MSP’s reporting capabilities and foresee network faults and take action to avoid the issue altogether.
This just scratches the surface of what OpManager MSP can do. To learn more about OpManager MSP, download a free, 30-day trial now or request a personalized demo from our experts.
