What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: A Network Assessment Can Reveal Hidden Issues and Security Concerns

Many SMBs don’t think about their network until it’s not working -- or has been hacked.

This short post includes an overview of why you should consider a network assessment (short answer -- security vulnerabilities and slow performance) and a short video explaining Coordinated’s approach to network assessments.

Ignoring your network can lead to security holes, slower performance from bottlenecks, and other performance issues that can hinder your business’ success -- and even keep you from growing.

When you want to invest in a network upgrade, not understanding your current network environments is an invitation to wasting your money. your business, if you don’t understand your current infrastructure, additional investments can be ineffective or even wasted.

A network assessment will determine how well your business needs are being met and identify areas of improvement.

A network assessment can help in the following five ways:

1. Inventory. As companies grow and IT staff enter and leave an organization, it’s easy to lose track of your hardware and IT assets. An assessment will find all of your connected devices, which will help you identify what additional equipment is needed (or what can be reallocated).

2. Baseline for “normal.” Having a baseline for normal performance allows support staff to identify potential problems or breaches more easily.

3. Network bottlenecks. Where does your network slow down and why? Outdated hardware? Poor installation? Connection type?

4. End of life equipment. Discover equipment that could be slowing you down and/or causing a security gap because it’s no longer supported by the manufacturer and is increasingly vulnerable to ransomware.

5. Overall strengths and weaknesses. An assessment will give you a look into design strengths and weaknesses, bandwidth-sucking software, and more.

A network assessment sounds expensive and time-consuming. They aren’t.

Listen to Kirk Studebaker, Coordinated’s VP of Sales, describe the Coordinated approach to a network assessment. It’s free. Doesn’t take as much time as you probably think. And you’ll receive the results and recommendations upon conclusion.

If you have even the slightest concern about your network either slowing you down or being vulnerable to hackers, I can’t encourage you enough to contact a managed network services partner and engage them to perform a network assessment.