Network Operations Center (NOC) support services is a term that evokes a sense of reliability, seamless operations, reduced downtime and a lot more specifically related to an organization’s IT infrastructure. On hearing NOC, one often thinks about elements like continuous real-time monitoring, proactive issue resolution, performance optimization, and robust security management, that are mission-critical for keeping the network safe, secure, and running.
According to a report by the Ponemon Institute, an unplanned outage can be bank-breaking. The most expensive one can cost a business over $17,000 per minute. On average this cost can sum up to around $9,000 per incident.
Well, this sounds expensive!
As mentioned, downtime is just one area NOC support services cover. There is so much more in this realm that can help keep the business network up and running, leading to uninterrupted business operations.
Keeping in mind the gravity of a healthy network infrastructure, our blog is focused on helping readers with a one-stop shop for all that you need to know about NOC support services. The blog will majorly cover areas like an overview of NOC, key components, types, core functions, the steps to choosing the right NOC services, best practices, and the outlook.
Decoding NOC support services
“Network” is the heart of every business. It is the key component that enables businesses to communicate internally and externally, store data, and a million other functions. On the technical front, Network Operations Centers (NOC) also pronounced as “knock”, are hubs in centralized locations where IT professionals monitor, manage, and maintain an organization’s network. NOCs primarily take care of tasks like network monitoring, patch management, incident response, backup, and recovery to ensure optimal performance. Additionally, they work toward mitigating security threats by working with the security team. By proactively managing network operations, NOCs help businesses avoid downtime, enhance efficiency, and maintain smooth and secure connectivity across their digital environments. The following image depicts the various components managed by NOC.
Large organizations often seek the expertise and support of NOC teams to tackle complex IT infrastructures, whereas small or mid-sized players benefit from these services in case of talent shortage. If we visualize an NOC, it is typically a room installed with a range of devices handled by the network support teams by deploying specific tools and software to streamline business operations. Evolving from just managing networking equipment, the scope of NOCs has expanded to include cloud services, software distribution, troubleshooting, and other critical aspects of the digital landscape.
Key functions of a Network Operations Center (NOC)
Networks can be managed in-house or outsourced to a third-party NOC service provider. However, it is essential to understand the purpose of NOCs.
Listing down the core functions of NOC
Network Health and Performance Management
Network health and performance management is one of the core functions performed by NOCs. Focusing on 24/7 monitoring of the network infrastructure, it is responsible for detecting unusual activities and unauthorized access to protect the system. Periodically, assessing network health and performance allows businesses to identify potential issues early, enabling proactive measures to prevent significant damage or disruptions. This vigilance ensures that the network and applications run optimally, thereby supporting seamless day-to-day business operations and communication.
Network Incident Resolution
NOC systems are built to provide continuous monitoring of network infrastructure, swiftly diagnose issues, and address them before they escalate into critical problems. This “always-on” approach ensures rapid incident resolution, minimizing downtime and maintaining network stability. NOC services encompass everything from efficient incident response to resolving network disruptions, all to maximize network uptime. The specific responsibilities may vary depending on the NOC setup and its integration with the Security Operations Center (SOC).
Change Management
Change management as a function in NOC includes managing and directing any modifications to the network infrastructure. These can be hardware/software updates, or configuration changes. NOC ensures that these changes are integrated in a seamless and hassle-free manner with minimum disruption to business operations. By vigilantly keeping a record of each change, NOCs play a vital role in mitigating risks and maintaining the overall stability of the system, to ensure that any modifications made to the network are directly proportional to the organizational strategy.
Firewall Management
Firewall management is essential for every business as it ensures a safe and secure network. By controlling the inward traffic to the network based on rules set by the IT administrator, they can control cyberattacks at an early stage. NOCs assist in firewall management by continuously monitoring and maintaining the firewall performance to strengthen the network. These proactive measures help keep up the optimal functionality of the firewall and make your system secure and resilient against cyber threats.
Reporting and Compliance
Reporting and compliance are an extremely essential component of NOC services. The NOC teams often are involved in generating detailed reports about network health, performance, security breaches, and incidents, and analyze this data for better insights.
NOC services also include generating reports based on network and firewall logs to analyze and understand network security and bandwidth usage, aiming for process improvements. The NOC team maintains a comprehensive reporting and compliance posture. Firewall reports, traffic reports, security reports, and reports on protocol trends, etc., are a few examples of how they do it.
Choosing the right NOC services
Signing up for reliable and high-quality NOC services is the need of the hour to help businesses keep their operations up and running. To ensure this, companies need to decide on whether to go for an in-house or outsourced services model. This indeed can be difficult.
Having an in-house NOC model gives companies complete control over the operations, however, it comes at a higher cost and a set of responsibilities. By going for an in-house model, companies often are required to hire the best talent, and regularly upgrade and replace the technology, which can be extremely daunting.
On the other hand, going for an outsourced NOC services model can not only save time and money, but also offers a high ROI and businesses can enjoy benefits such as technological value and 24/7 service availability.
The table below gives a comparison between the two.
| Context | In-house NOC | Outsourced NOC |
| Cost | High initial investment | No initial investment is required. Lower cost as it is subscription or contract-based |
| Expertise | Dependent on the in-house talent | Access to a wide range of expertise and talent is available from the service provider’s team |
| Scalability | The scalability quotient is limited | Scalability is easier as the provider adjusts it based on customer needs and demand |
| Response Time | Highly dependent on internal availability | Often quick as it is based on pre-defined SLAs (Service Level Agreements) |
| Resource Availability | Available 24/7 | Highly depends on the availability of in-house schedules |
| Implementation Time | Faster | Longer setup delays the process |
| Security & Compliance | Stronger as they follow industry-prescribed standards, guidelines, and best practices. | It is the responsibility of the in-house team to get security and compliance in place |
| Innovation & Upgrades | Regular updates and the latest tools and technologies are made available in a hassle-free manner | Requires expertise, time, and regular research to stay up-to-date |
As security is one of the key concerns for every business, you can check out our blog on Simplifying Network Security with SASE: A Game-Changer for the Digital Era, to learn more about Network Security in detail.
Best Practices in NOC support
To get the best out of your network, NOC teams must include best practices that can help overcome common challenges to keep the system relevant, and resilient, and deliver desired outcomes. By implementing industry best practices, NOC teams can stay current with the industry standards, improve system performance, drastically reduce downtime, and more.
Without any further ado, let’s find out about the top five NOC support best practices, right here!
1. Consistently Monitor Information and Network Systems
A proactive approach to monitoring information and network systems is the key to a healthy network. If the NOC team keeps a record of network activities continuously, they are more likely to identify problems before they escalate and prove catastrophic. This best practice can additionally prove helpful in preventing unplanned IT outages and even reduce downtime, saving the business time, money, trust, and reputation.
2. Consider Significant Operational Metrics
Focusing and working on metrics that don’t bring value can let your efforts go in vain. Focusing on metrics that display performance against the overall business objectives is a must. However, KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) such as First-Call Resolution (FCR), Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), mean time to restore (MTTR), and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) are essential factors to be considered.
3. Escalate Incidents by Group
It is highly recommended to escalate the incidents by group. By doing so, NOC teams ensure that issues are assigned at a faster rate and to the right person. This approach adds to the efficiency of problem resolution speed, optimizes resource allocation, and improves the overall performance of the network. To do so in a more efficient manner, NOC teams can make use of incident management platforms.
4. Regular NOC System Testing
Regular testing of NOC systems is crucial for maintaining optimal network performance and reliability. By conducting routine checks and thoroughly evaluating the results, NOC teams can identify and address potential issues before they escalate. This process provides valuable insights into system vulnerabilities and helps teams understand where performance or availability might be compromised. Additionally, these tests allow NOC personnel to develop and refine strategies for quickly restoring systems in case of outages, ensuring minimal disruption to operations.
5. Implement Standardized Framework
If you want to ensure consistency across your NOC operations, it is essential to go for a standardized framework of process management. Adept at streamlining workflows, this approach also reduced errors allowing teams to deliver a faster Turn Around Time (TAT) around incidents. Adopting such a framework ensures overall consistency in dealing with support situations.
Future Trends in NOC Support Services
“Is your NOC future fit? This may be a challenging question because NOC services are closely linked to the technological advancements that are shaping the IT ecosystem. However, businesses need to remain current and keep an eye on what the future holds.
Emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, and edge computing are rapidly evolving and are redefining the future of NOC services. With the increase in data and business complexities, it is inevitable for NOCs to advance and handle greater responsibilities. This is why future NOCs will need to provide services and functionalities that are agile enough to accommodate modern technologies and deliver value.
So, let’s take a quick look at what’s trending in this arena:
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): AI and ML are becoming a vital element responsible for elevating performance in almost every field. Talking about NOCs, integrating AI & ML is not only a trend but an essential element responsible to drive progress and streamline tasks for NOC teams to free them for more strategic and complex responsibilities.
Automation and Orchestration: Deploying automation and orchestration in NOC operations can work exceptionally well, as it allows network operators to automate the activation and provisioning of services, leaving more room for the NOC team to enhance innovation and handle more complex and strategic tasks.
Cloud Computing: As more and more businesses embrace the cloud, it is inevitable for NOC services to adapt to manage distributed infrastructures more effectively. This includes leveraging cloud-native tools for comprehensive monitoring and ensuring robust security and performance across all platforms.
Internet of Things (IoT): The growing number of IoT devices presents both challenges and opportunities for NOC services. Providers must be equipped to manage a vast array of connected devices and address the unique security and interoperability issues inherent in IoT ecosystems.
Conclusion
In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, organizations are expected to deliver services faster than before, without compromising the quality. To be able to do this, businesses must make sure their network is healthy and no business operations are hindered due to events like downtime or security breaches.
NOC services act like the support system of every business. But the future of NOC services is expected to become more versatile and flexible, to work at its full potential.
Gone are the days, when one network administrator worked as the jack of all trades. As the responsibilities related to NOC are increasing with each passing day, businesses need to have a clear plan of action.
Calsoft being a technology-first company, understands the gravity of network operations for a business. Our product support expertise covers 24/7 NOC support to service providers for continuing business functions smoothly without any hindrances, downtimes, or data loss.