How to Enhance Network Performance with Remote-Site Observability

Comprehensive network monitoring is instrumental from start to finish.

Man working on laptop at remote site
NETSCOUT

Businesses of all shapes and sizes are embracing new work models that include hybrid approaches, combining onsite and offsite environments such as branch locations, remote facilities, and home offices. Today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape has made this possible. As companies increasingly rely on VPN, SASE, SD-WAN, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) and unified communications as a service (UCaaS) applications to facilitate work anytime, anywhere, IT is under mounting pressure to ensure network and application performance is flawless.

The disbursed nature of these complex modern environments creates significant challenges for IT teams, who must maintain visibility end-through-end to pinpoint problems and address issues promptly. This highlights the need for robust instrumentation and deep packet inspection (DPI)—a technique for analyzing the data in each network packet for security and performance insights—to prevent visibility gaps and assure the performance of remote-site operations. Continuous performance monitoring is essential for delivering high-quality, positive user experiences no matter where those users are accessing the network and applications.

The Real-world Case for Remote-Site Observability

Remote-site observability is not an abstract concept. Managing the performance, availability, and health of remote sites or branches within an organization’s network has practical implications. To illustrate this point, here are some industry examples:

Healthcare: In healthcare IT scenarios, remote-site observability ensures the reliable performance of telehealth services, monitors patient data and device health in remote clinics, and tracks the availability and usage of medical equipment.

Utilities: For utilities, it involves monitoring the performance of remote substations and power plants, detecting anomalies in pipeline pressure or water flow, and ensuring the functionality of smart meters and grid equipment.

Financial services: In financial services, observability helps monitor ATM networks and remote bank branches for performance and security, track transaction processing and network connectivity, and ensure regulatory compliance across multiple sites.

Insurance: Insurance companies use observability to monitor remote claims-processing centers, ensure reliable communication and data transfer between remote agents and central offices, and track the usage and health of telematics devices for auto insurance policies.

Retail: In retail, remote-site observability involves monitoring point-of-sale systems and network performance across store locations, ensuring the availability and performance of digital signage and in-store Wi-Fi, and tracking inventory levels and supply chain performance.

Continuous performance monitoring and DPI are essential tools for ensuring the security and integrity of networks and applications.

The Key Advantage of Packet-Based Performance Management

Advanced monitoring tools and analytics are essential for empowering IT teams to fully understand the digital streams flowing across the network and all related interdependencies. Insights gained are essential for identifying anomalies that could signal impending issues. At the core of such monitoring is packet-based performance management, which transforms raw data into actionable intelligence, thereby drastically shortening the path to resolution.

Packet data is the most accurate way to extract insights with precision, revealing the root cause of issues—even in the darkest corners of today’s highly complex networks—that if left unchecked could devolve into systemic failures. DPI, when executed at scale, empowers IT teams to peel back the layers of network traffic, offering a precise view into the operational health of remote-site connectivity. When packet data is intelligently analyzed, it delivers Smart Data, allowing IT teams to accurately assess their digital ecosystems and proactively ensure remote work experiences are optimized.  

Achieving End-Through-End Visibility

In today’s highly complex network environments that stretch across remote locations, assuring connectivity so employees, partners, and customers can collaborate effectively and perform at their best is more important than ever.

IT must ensure seamless digital interactions. To achieve this, end-through-end visibility is essential, empowering teams with the insights needed to preempt performance bottlenecks and cybersecurity threats that lurk within the digital shadows. NETSCOUT’s nGenius Enterprise Performance Management solution leverages packet-based data, generating Smart Data that IT can use to navigate the complexities of troubleshooting across expansive remote work environments.

The essence of nGenius lies in its ability to cut through the noise, transforming the arduous task of identifying performance issues into a streamlined process that prioritizes speed and accuracy. By harnessing the power of real-time performance insights, IT teams are equipped to leap into action, proactively addressing issues before they become serious problems.

With nGenius, IT teams can reduce mean time to knowledge (MTTK), pinpointing performance issues precisely and ensuring uninterrupted and optimized digital experiences for remote employees.

The more businesses rely on dispersed network connectivity, the greater the need for remote-site observability. The future of business depends on it! 

To begin implementing robust remote-site observability, consider conducting a network assessment to identify current visibility gaps. NETSCOUT offers consultation services to help you develop a tailored observability strategy.

Contact us to schedule a consultation and take the first step toward ensuring flawless network performance.