Monitoring the future

System monitoring is about two things: observing the present, and predicting the future.  If the present is in bad shape, what does the future look likely to be?!  Conversely, if the present is in bad shape, this is an opportunity to rectify the situation for the future.

Monitoring is a low-cost activity that flags issues as they begin to occur, and ideally within a timeframe when an expert can address them.  Reporting can help to catalogue issues and the status of a computing environment.

Reporting

In contrast to monitoring, reporting provides a fixed, point-in-time reference of a system’s state.  Reporting can be useful in determining cause and effect scenarios, in addition to providing a basis for future planning and growth.

Reports can be produced for almost any metric imaginable, including aggregated statistics, on (for example):

• Email sent & received per day/month/year, from or to particular domains
• Storage required for back-ups
• Web traffic
• File storage by type
• Host (computer) utilisation by hour for specific processes
• …and so on!

Most people find some level of report useful, to get a better idea of where their machine is at in the IT lifecycle.  How do you know how busy your internal server is?  At what stage should you replace it?  What is the migration strategy?

Developing a strategy

To avoid information overload, and be equipped with pertinent information only, is the ideal scenario.  Judicious use of information reporting tools, filtering, timely delivery and ready accessibility all assist the IT Manager in making the right choices.  We can assist in getting all this up and running, to help you.

Along with a reporting strategy, two other considerations come into play:

• The need for developing action plans, for predictable outcomes
• A policy for handling unpredictable outcomes

When these pieces are in place, it becomes clearer what the expectation is of the installed equipment, its support personnel and the supply chain at large.  This information can also ensure relative consistency in delivery scope and provision support amongst involved parties and systems.

Compliance

The advantages of a holistic monitoring & reporting programme, and planning strategy, are not only rooted in organisational/productivity needs, but also in compliance.  Being able to demonstrate clearly where (or why) services have been delivered in such a way can assist with compliance statements, regulatory adherence and incident management.

To discuss how we can assist with your management reporting, operational monitoring and strategy development, please contact us.