To many businesses, especially small ones, the concept of IT administration and systems management can be confusing and vague to say the least, so let’s look at what systems admin is, and how it can be approached by businesses.
IT Admin & Systems Management in a nutshell
Systems management and IT admin is the process of management and administration of all of your networked IT systems, hardware, software, and users, across your whole enterprise from a central location, minimizing the effort involved in keeping those systems updated, secure, and trouble-free, and responding to user requests, either on-site or remotely, and in a timely manner.
As with all things relating to running a business, there are a number of variables, such as:
- the ability of the IT department or IT tech that administers the network
- the size of the network being administered
- the number of computers and users involved
- the scale of the network, and whether the network is purely local, or local and remote
- the complexity of operating system and software deployed on servers and computers
The benefits of having a high-level systems management strategy vary tremendously, depending on the size and scope of the company in question. So for instance, a small company with a dozen computers, a server, and an tech-savvy user (acting as an IT admin) would not necessarily find a great deal of benefit in deploying a systems management strategy and solution, since in many cases it would be far easier for the admin person to walk to the server or computer system in question and make any adjustments manually, rather than learn a host of complex IT management tools, just to run an anti-virus update on a PC.
On the other hand, a large enterprise, with a head office and a dozen locations, it would make much more sense to deploy and use a systems management solution. More than likely, the head office would itself have a number of servers, lots of desktop computers, various software applications and a host of users to manage. And then there are the remote locations, some of which may not have a dedicated IT admin but would have their own servers, computers, and networks, so remote administration of those systems and users would be invaluable.
With this in mind, consider carefully whether or not to develop and deploy a systems management solution, since you may not always get the return-on-investment that you hope for.
IT Admin & Systems Management Tasks
In general systems management tasks can fall into these broad categories:
- Hardware management
- Server monitoring and management
- Network monitoring and management
- User administration
- Software management, install, upgrade, troubleshooting
- Antivirus and security software management
- Internet & bandwidth management
- Communications system management
Typical functions within these categories consist of monitoring usage of software, how much bandwidth of a server’s output or a network’s capability is being used, monitoring individual users and computers, running updates and upgrades, monitoring and managing server storage and computer space, and of of course, troubleshooting malfunctions and responding to the requests of individual users.
In regards to the administration software itself, Microsoft Windows Server does have a wide range of network management tools built in, as do many other server operating systems, such as Apple and Linux. A list of the biggest and most notable frameworks can be found here.
Managing your company network can be a complex process, especially for larger networks. Management and monitoring software is available to make the task simpler, but investing in the wrong system or not implementing it correctly can result in additional complexity, and a poor return on your investment.
The best place to start before looking at purchasing network management software, is to get the basics right first, so here we’ll list out a few things to put into place, and with these items deployed, you may not even need to purchase additional applications:
Create an inventory of your main systems
Knowing what you have to manage is critical to any management scenario. Create an itemized list of all of your main systems, including computers, servers, printers, routers, hubs & switches, storage systems, firewalls, software, mobile devices, and anything else that’s important to your business infrastructure.
Include things like device age, type, processor, RAM, storage size, version numbers, MAC & IP addresses, and location.
Create a change control management process
Once you have this list, you can immediately see what you have, what needs upgrading, and what needs replacing, so build out a process that allows you to regularly check on upgrades for these devices, and if a device or app approaches end-of-life status, or needs an upgrade, you can properly plan for it.
Research compliance, security, & monitoring standards
Research compliance requirements in regards to your business or network. This is particularly important when it comes to security, so make sure you know where you stand legally.
Create network diagrams
Map out your network, showing key devices, programs, computers, and locations. Make sure team members and managers have access to these diagrams, so they can be consulted and referred to as required.
Map out system interdependancies
If you have systems that are dependent on each other, make sure that you’re aware of them, so that if there’s a failure or malfunction, you know where to look.
Design a system of alerts and key response staff
All businesses have critical systems, so it’s vital to have a system of alerts and responses from your critical systems, and of key staff who are able to respond to those alerts.
Create a process and schedule for checking all system logs
Maintain a regular schedule of inspecting the logs of your main systems. This can help to identify errors before they occur.
Monitor your security systems
You should also keep a close check on your security systems. Keep them up to date, and look out for intrusions, viruses, Trojans, and any other form of security threat.
Monitor your users and traffic
Finally, make sure that you monitor your user activity, and your traffic. This will help you locate and manage any bandwidth bottlenecks, as well as making sure that users are only using the services and devices that they should be.
Once you have all of these items in place, and are following a scheduled series of processes, you may actually find that you do not need to purchase a system management program, but with a larger network it may be necessary to make the investment – we’ll discuss some of the more prominent systems in a future article – but many smaller companies should be able to manage their IT infrastructure without the additional overhead.
Contact TechPoint for help and advice on managing your network
Contact TechPoint to find out if a systems management solution is right for your business.