The ITIC 2024 Cost of Downtime Survey report has stated that the average cost of an hour of downtime exceeds $300,000 for over 90% of mid-and-large sized businesses.
It has become difficult for the IT departments of these tech-reliant businesses to offer a wide range of services, have a skilled workforce, all while ensuring optimal network performance. Especially for Small and Medium Businesses and Enterprises (SMBs and SMEs) with limited IT Budgets and staff.
For an IT Managed Service Provider (MSP), maintaining a reliable IT infrastructure is the cornerstone of success. With businesses wanting uninterrupted IT services, NOC services have become an integral offering of MSPs. If you haven’t added NOC services to your list of offerings, here’s a NOC 101 guide that explores what NOC services for MSPs are, its importance and what it comprises of. The guide also covers challenges you as an MSP could face when providing these services followed by the critical decision of whether outsourced NOC services for MSPs would be a more feasible option than an in-house NOC.
Contents
- What Are NOC Services for MSPs?.
- Why Are NOC Services Necessary?.
- What Do Managed NOC Services Entail?.
- Tools Needed to Set Up Your NOC.
- Challenges Faced by an MSP in Providing NOC Services.
- In-house vs Outsourced NOC? Finding the Right Partner.
- Conclusion.
What Are NOC Services?
Stands for Network Operations Center, NOC is the basic-most service that IT Managed Service Providers (MSP) can offer. Gone are the days when the client would have an IT issue and a hardware engineer was called on-site to look at the servers and systems to fix the issue. The centralized and remote management of NOC services has enabled engineers to fix the issues without having to visit the site.
NOC is a centralized hub that lets you proactively monitor and manage the IT infrastructure of a business enabling them with uninterrupted business continuity.
A 24×7 NOC service leverages advanced tools and software to highlight compromised areas in the servers, switches, routers, firewalls, databases and all endpoints before they lead to a critical stage and impact the network performance.
The best part- NOC services blend seamlessly with your own MSP operations by being an extended arm and enabling an optimal network.
Why Are NOC Services Necessary?
Networks can be expensive to maintain and more expansive the network and data, more the number of people needed to enable smooth operations for clients. Organizations also run the risk of data loss, downtime, and expensive remediation if IT components are not adequately maintained and routine checks aren’t performed on a regular basis to mitigate risks.
A Network Operations Center (NOC) addresses these challenges by continuously monitoring the health and performance of client network. NOC services for MSPs, help detect issues proactively, ensuring that problems are identified and resolved, regardless of their complexity or severity.
What Do Managed NOC Services Entail?
NOC services are designed with offerings that provide clients with the assurance that, regardless of the time of day, a skilled expert is continuously monitoring every server, device, and endpoint to ensure they operate at peak performance. How do Managed NOC services ensure optimal network performance?
Monitoring & Alerting– Imagine arriving at work on a Monday morning only to discover that a critical application or network was down all weekend, halting operations and resulting in an exponential amount of unplanned downtime. For many organizations, the cost of such incidents is staggering. Which is why 24×7 NOC. At the core of NOC is Monitoring, a round-the-clock operation of the IT network ensuring all routers, servers, databases, network devices and endpoints, are running at their optimum and to alert the team if any abnormalities are detected.
Backup and Disaster Recovery– In today’s world, there is nothing as valuable as Data, to safeguard which, all remedial measures are taken. Data can be compromised due to online threats, human errors or natural disasters. A NOC team ensures storing and testing backups in multiple locations to ensure business continuity. Routine checks are done to see if AV Checks and updates are done to ensure viruses don’t infiltrate the IT Network.
Patch Management– Cybersecurity and its threats are ever-evolving and you never know when a bug can enter and everything goes haywire. A NOC team has the responsibility of running a scan for any outdated software, upgrade all patches of the system, and testing updates without the need for an individual upkeep. These are usually automated by a remote monitoring and management tool.
Threat Detection and Response– Advanced threat detection systems enable the NOC to identify potential vulnerabilities and counteract cyber threats effectively.
Incident Management– With the proactive approach of a NOC, the team actively looks for vulnerabilities and weak ends that could be harmful. Advanced tools and diagnostics and automated workflows all join hands to ensure a seamless incident response all while keeping the client informed.
Tools Needed to Set Up Your NOC
Setting up a NOC requires a healthy toolkit to ensure efficient monitoring, management, and response. Key tools include:
1. Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) Tools
RMM platforms enable MSPs to monitor client devices and networks remotely. These tools provide real-time alerts, automate routine tasks, and streamline issue resolution.
2. Professional Services Automation (PSA) Software
MSPs should have a PSA software to manage customer data, get transparency and insights into your clients’ operations. The software integrates ticketing, client management, and resource allocation, for a free-flowing seamless collaboration.
3. Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) Solutions
Reliable backup tools on-premise and on cloud across varied platforms to ensure data recovery in case of hardware failure, cyberattacks, or natural disasters.
4. Patch Management Tools
Automated patch management solutions like Ivanti or ManageEngine keep systems up-to-date with the latest security updates and software fixes.y
5. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Solutions
EDR platforms, to provide advanced threat detection and response capabilities for endpoints.
6. Collaboration Tools
Platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams facilitate communication and collaboration among your NOC staff, ensuring rapid response to incidents.
7. Reporting and Analytics Tools
Reporting tools like Tableau or Power BI provide actionable insights into system performance, help you as an MSP make informed, data-driven decisions.
Challenges Faced by an MSP in Providing NOC Services
While outsourced NOC services are indispensable, implementing them isn’t without challenges. MSPs often find themselves balancing between delivering high-quality services and maintaining profitability and here are some common hurdles that an MSP usually encounters while setting up NOC:
1. Resource Constraints
Building and maintaining an in-house NOC requires significant investment in personnel, tools, and infrastructure. Many MSPs, particularly smaller ones, may struggle to allocate sufficient resources.
2. Talent Shortages
The IT industry’s skill gap makes hiring experienced NOC technicians a challenge. Finding an engineer with the right mix of technical expertise and experience in proactive monitoring can lead to service bottlenecks or increased operational costs.
3. Cost
Balancing the cost of running a NOC with profitability can be difficult, especially for smaller MSPs. The high costs of advanced monitoring tools, ongoing staff training, and maintaining 24/7 operations can strain budgets.
“Technology can be a powerful enabler, but the burden of upkeep and the need for specialized skills can hinder a company’s growth.”
4. Keeping up with technology
The rapid pace of technological advancements and evolving cybersecurity threats demands continuous updates to NOC tools, processes, and protocols. Staying current without disrupting service delivery might turn out to be a daunting task for an MSP.
5. Vendor and Tool Management
MSPs often rely on multiple software vendors and tools to provide NOC services. Coordinating these tools and ensuring their integration into a unified system can be a time-consuming and challenging task, especially when dealing with diverse client environments.
6. Scalability
As MSPs acquire more clients, the demands on their NOC services increase. Scaling up operations to meet these demands without compromising service quality requires strategic planning and investment.
7. Data Management and Security
Handling large volumes of client data securely and in compliance with regulatory standards is a key challenge. Breaches or non-compliance can severely damage an MSPs reputation.
In-house vs Outsourced NOC? Finding the Right Partner
Choosing an in-house model can be very intimidating over the course for an MSP because it would not only require you to hire the best engineers but also require you to update and train them. And let’s be honest, MSPs that want to focus on business strategy and growth wouldn’t have enough bandwidth to maintain a 24×7 in-house NOC. With an in-house model you definitely get more control but on the contrary, hiring new talent and meeting their financial and technical expectations will be taking most of your time and cost.
Outsourced NOC support services are offered by Master MSPs and they have their own benefits. Below is a clear distinction on the difference between the two-
In-house NOC Services model
- Higher initial investment
- Faster implementation of processes
- High dependency on internal team
- More control over your team and the client’s IT
Outsourced NOC support services model
- Cost efficient since the pricing models are usually subscription or contract-based
- Access to global tech pool of talent and expertise
- Round-the-clock service availability
- High return on investment
- Faster response time as they confine to SLAs
Conclusion:
Businesses must deliver services faster than ever, without compromising quality. This requires a robust and reliable network infrastructure that minimizes disruptions. In addition to safeguarding client assets, NOCs position MSPs as essential IT partners by providing real-time information and addressing problems before they become more serious.
Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are crucial for maintaining this network health and businesses need a strategic approach to NOC management, moving beyond the days of single administrators handling all network issues.
As for deciding between an in-house team and an outsourced Master MSP, consider your business’s scale, resources, and strategic goals. While an in-house team provides control, outsourcing offers scalability and cost efficiency, making it an attractive option for many MSPs.
At the end of the day, you know the unique needs of your clients; so you need to analyze whether your NOC services partner fills those skills and technical requirements. Not just NOC, but does the Master MSP have any additional capabilities and expertise that can help you enhance your offerings? “Will they be able to handle the clients’ diverse environments (e.g., cloud, on-premises, hybrid) and technologies?” “Is it more strategic for your organization to invest in developing these capabilities in-house, or is it more efficient to leverage an existing NOC partner to immediately deploy these solutions and enhance your service offerings to customers?”
If you have decided to go with an outsourced model, do reach out to us at Infrassist, as we provide 24×7 Outsourced NOC support services to MSPs globally by being their trusted white-labelled extended IT arm.
