The modern automobile is an engineering marvel. When a car drives down a highway, the wheels are spinning, the transmission is working, and the engine is firing on all cylinders.
Meanwhile, the car’s computer collects more than 100 data points second — but almost none of that is visible on the dashboard. Trying to process that incredible amount of data while driving would be an accident waiting to happen — which is why drivers do not need to see any of those details while they cruise along.
Modern network visibility solutions desperately need an automation engine to detect issues and proactively investigate them before notifying you.
Most of the time, networks inundate you with a lot of useless information about what is happening.
These facts clutter the view of your systems, which makes it harder to spot actual problems.
Instead of generating average operation data, CIOs should make sure their systems automate to highlight vital information and minimize the visibility of less relevant insights.
How Seeing Less Can Help You Know More
If your employees only receive essential and actionable information, they can perform at a much higher level.
Network visibility is somewhat of a misnomer because the right approach is not about seeing more — it’s about knowing more.
When automation takes away all the clutter — CIOs can expect organizations to experience great benefits.
• A Broader Business Impact:
After using the cloud and other advanced solutions to upgrade IT operations, Capital One can now deliver a unique customer experience. With a slew of high-quality digital services unmatched by its competitors, Capital One achieves improved results without increased investment.
• A More Proactive Approach:
Instead of reacting to an outage after it has happened, the right approach to visibility allows you to predict potential disruptions before they occur. According to the Uptime Institute, 15% of outages in 2018 cost businesses more than $1 million. By making changes in advance and steering clear of disruptions, companies can protect their reputations and save resources for critical business development projects.
• An Emergence of New Initiatives:
A network visibility posture focused on knowing where you stand is a welcome time-saver. Employees previously tasked with processing hundreds of noncritical data points can now invest their energy in new initiatives.
One of the most pressing needs is digital transformation, and research from the International Data Corporation suggests that about 80% of companies are in the midst of this transformation worldwide.
The flow and oversight of information is a high priority for CIOs.
Understand that to keep the flow, simplifying the presentation of that information is a key part of the job. When employees no longer have to process a deluge of data, they can perform their roles more efficiently and pursue new projects that drive business value.
Revamp Your Approach to Security Infrastructure
The infrastructure surrounding business security is precarious. One glitch can send the safeguards down and enable hackers to gain access to troves of information that don’t belong to them. It’s a risk most businesses run, but not one they have to accept. A strong security infrastructure can help assuage some of those concerns.
Overhauling a security infrastructure.
CIOs who want to overhaul their security infrastructure should follow these three steps to filter out unnecessary information and focus on more critical aspects:
1. Adopt the tools that enable focus.
It can be challenging to ignore the tools with flashing lights, beautiful dashboards, and significant numbers. The bells and whistles that those solutions offer might be engaging, but they’re also quite distracting. The essential tools are the ones that increase your team’s focus.
Each tool should provide CIOs with actionable insights without all the noise and integrate seamlessly into a team’s existing workflow. As an organization’s architecture grows, it can create unintended duplications, inconsistencies, and unreliability. Instead, the goal should be to add value without a corresponding increase in headaches.
2. Look to a group of subject matter experts.
The technologies used by CIOs in a workplace environment have numerous use cases and can offer tremendous value. They are also inherently complicated and often require a translator to relay more high-level insights.
Most network and security solutions are proprietary, and they require an expert to use the solution to its full potential. When CIOs designate experts to undergo in-depth training and dive into each answer, the potential to unlock the actual value of these investments improves dramatically.
3. Lean on experience to fill the gaps.
Knowledge and expertise come at a cost. Mechanics don’t earn $500 for an hour of grunt labor — their value comes from the hard-earned skills that go into the job.
There is a reason companies pay a premium for talent and experience. Even when the upfront costs feel excessive, these commodities yield a massive return on investment. McKinsey conducted a study about what goes into a successful digital transformation.
The study revealed that adding people who were familiar with digital technologies gave organizations a much better chance of undergoing successful digital transformations.
Thanks to the Big Data revolution, there is a misguided notion that more information is always better.
In the complex world of network security, an excess of information can obscure the crucial details that matter most.
CIOs should use an automated approach to remove any extraneous information from your security infrastructure’s sightline.
This more focused method leads to a more proactive and capable mindset that prioritizes knowing what is next rather than seeing what is next.
