Are Network Blind Spots Killing Your MSP?

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1 Are Network Blind Spots Killing Your MSP?

2 ABOUT AUVIK NETWORKS With its infrastructure-focused network management system, Auvik helps MSPs deliver profitable network services. Auvik s cloud-based software provides unprecedented insight into client networks and automates complex and time-consuming tasks so MSPs can scale their practices efficiently. Copyright 2016 Auvik Networks Inc. Some rights reserved. You may give away or pass along this e-book for free as long as it is left completely intact, unaltered, and is delivered via this PDF file.

3 NETWORK BLIND SPOTS ARE THE THINGS YOU CAN T SEE AND DON T KNOW ABOUT. They re dangerous. Just like the blind spots on your car, network blind spots can set you up for deadly crashes. Problems will seem to come out of nowhere and hit unexpectedly. Network blind spots create all kinds of serious problems. A major network crash is one. But other problems can really pile up too. If your techs are operating blind, you re creating these kinds of headaches for your MSP: Outages and downtime Network performance issues Incomplete and inaccurate network assessments Inaccurate services estimates and invoices Security issues A constant cycle of reactive firefighting Network blind spots spell trouble for your business. What kind of trouble? Unhappy customers and relationships at risk Breaches of contract and service level agreements Massive amounts of time wasted Large amounts of profit lost Continue on that road and your MSP might not survive. Luckily, there are solutions. When you drive a car, you use mirrors and shoulder checks to make sure issues in your blind spots don t cause trouble. In a similar way, the right tools and processes on the network can improve your vision and help you avoid a pileup. This special report highlights six of the most common network blind spots and what you can do to avoid them. Stay safe out there! 3

4 Network blind spot #1 ZOMBIE DEVICES You know that old server your client decomissioned five years ago but never took off the network? It s a zombie device. Everyone has forgotten about it, so the client certainly won t tell you about it. But it still has a digital pulse, and because it hasn t been touched or patched or upgraded in years, it presents an easy attack surface for hackers. In fact, they might be inside the network right now for all anyone knows. Auvik s automatic discovery and mapping of every device on a network. "One of the big benefits is we re able to detect a switch that might be in a closet that we didn t know about or sitting underneath somebody s desk." ANDREW KROPF INFRASTRUCTURE & SOLUTIONS MANAGER NETWORK DOCTOR 4

5 Network blind spot #2 SHADOW IT We probably don t need to tell you that shadow IT is a huge issue. With the proliferation of bringyour-own-device policies, the portability of devices like smartphones and tablets, and the easy availability of -aas applications, more and more clients are adding things to the networks you manage without telling you. In addition to causing network management headaches like unexpected performance issues, shadow IT is another attack vector. Gartner estimates that by 2020, a third of successful cyberattacks will be on shadow IT resources. Auvik s automatic discovery and mapping of every device on a network in real-time so you always know what s on the network at any given second. "You don t always see a realistic view of your devices if they re not realtime. You have to wait to even begin the troubleshooting process, which adds even more time to an outage." KEVIN BEHNKE SR. NETWORK ADMINISTRATOR, LOYOLA HIGH SCHOOL OF LOS ANGELES 5

6 Network blind spot #3 CONFIGURATION FOG Do you know exactly how your client s network is configured? Almost two-thirds of corporate organizations don t, according to a survey from Auvik Networks. As a service provider, you need to do better. If you don t know exactly how network elements are configured, you ll have difficulty spotting and troubleshooting misconfigurations. And should an element crash, you ll need complete documentation of those configs to do a quick restore. Auvik s configuration management, which automatically detects, logs, monitors, and backs up network element configurations. Auvik also automatically detects and flags potential misconfigurations, such as VLAN mix-ups. "It s pulling all of the client configurations, which gives us much more information than we originally had, and which would have had to be done manually." ANDREW KROPF INFRASTRUCTURE & SOLUTIONS MANAGER NETWORK DOCTOR 6

7 Network blind spot #4 INFRASTRUCTURE FOG Infrastructure elements like routers, switches, and firewalls have traditionally been a network black hole information goes in but it s very hard to get it out. While there are plenty of great tools to help you see and manage servers and workstations, there hasn t been anything to provide true visibility into infrastructure. Chances are good your technicians are still building VPN tunnels and logging into devices one by one to build a view of the network and understand what s going on. That s a massive inefficiency. Auvik s remote monitoring and management features focused on network infrastructure. "Hands downs, the best network infrastructure monitoring and management system out there. Nothing else even comes close." HENRIQUE REIS CEO REIS INFORMATION SYSTEMS 7

8 Network blind spot #5 THE CLI Oh, the command-line interface. It s a powerful tool in many respects but one that s remained largely untouched despite decades of improvements in usability and design. We get that the CLI can be important as a network data source but it doesn t have to be the only way you can access information. Manually querying single devices and trying to parse and correlate the flood of information that flows back means important details can be missed. (Not to mention how time-consuming a process that is.) Auvik s graphical user interface and easily digestible charts and tables. Auvik queries the CLI and other data sources for you, then analyzes the data and presents it visually. This makes the data easier to read and understand, and helps auto-flag issues so you don t miss a thing. "Impressively simple and powerful. Certainly easier to use and visually better thought out than any similar network tools I've used." DANIEL TEIXEIRA-GOMES COO NDIEHOUSE SF 8

9 Network blind spot #6 LACK OF NETWORK TRAFFIC REPORTS The biggest risk you face is not being able to answer a customer s question. I don t know hurts their confidence and trust in you. I don t know weakens the relationship. And yet, I don t know is an answer that many MSPs must currently give to one of the most common client questions of all: Why is my Internet slow? Without detailed traffic reports, with the kind of data available through technologies like NetFlow, it s difficult and time-consuming to pinpoint network troublemakers. AuvikFlow, a set of six real-time network traffic reports that help you identify and analyze network traffic patterns and bottlenecks. "Traditionally, customers claiming the network is slow has been a huge wormhole. Where do you even start trying to figure that out? If the call comes in, being able to determine root causes quickly is important." DJ FORMAN CTO ITQUE 9

10 OWN THE NETWORK Auvik makes network management an efficient and profitable part of your MSP business. With Auvik, we can truly say we have full network visibility and control. We can say it, and we can deliver it. Corey Kirkendoll, President & CEO, 5K Technical Services To learn how you can own your client networks, book a demo with an Auvik expert today. sales@auvik.com North America: AUVIK (28845) UK: