Seamless access, security, and scalability of network resources are paramount to business success in today's digital landscape. The process that takes care of these three aspects in IT operations management (ITOM) is network provisioning.
In simple terms, network provisioning means ensuring the availability of network resources for end users. In the context of ITOM, it is the process of setting up network devices (such as routers, switches, and firewalls), configuring them for performance and security, and allocating resources (such as the IP addresses, bandwidth, and storage) to meet the demands of end users.
With businesses' increasing reliance on technology, most often, business demands are network demands. From enabling a digitally functional organization to catering to the future digital demands of the business, everything starts with provisioning the end users—customers and employees—with sufficient network resources.
The definition of network provisioning has remained the same throughout the internet age. However, in this digital-first era, the way it is done has evolved so much.
During the days when the internet was not a critical arm of businesses, network provisioning was completely manual. Pushing configurations and allocating IP addresses to devices, enabling security and compliance policies, and managing bandwidth and storage demands were all performed manually. It was tedious, time-intensive, and error-prone.
With limitations like these, it is impossible for businesses to operate at scale, expand geographically, and account for dynamic network needs. Thus comes the need for automation in network provisioning.
Automated network provisioning empowers you to flawlessly configure thousands of devices efficiently. It enables you to anticipate your network needs through intelligent resource planning while also ensuring robust network security and compliance, regardless of the scale of your operations.
While network provisioning broadly refers to making a network ready for use, practically, there are multiple aspects of it:
Each device is identified by its IP address. Allocating IP addresses to devices enables them to access the network. Manually doing it entails challenges such as IP conflicts, poor subnet management, and a lack of IP address tracking, creating an inefficient network.
However, with an IP address management (IPAM) tool, you do not have to deal with these challenges. It effectively manages IP addresses, enables efficient routing, and facilitates hassle-free troubleshooting, resulting in seamless network performance.
Related to this, bandwidth determines the amount of data that can be transmitted over a network. A network bandwidth management tool helps you allocate bandwidth appropriately to ensure a smooth data flow and optimal application performance.
Configuring network devices makes them function optimally and align with the organization's operational and security requirements. Generally, configuring devices involves pushing configurations at scale, optimizing them for performance, maintaining reliable versions of backups for rapid disaster recovery, and ensuring compliance with security policies to avoid unauthorized access and data breaches.
Manually performing these operations on a regular basis is laborious and error-prone. This calls for a good network configuration management tool that helps you with effective, error-free configuration management; rapid disaster recovery; and rigid security and policy adherence.
Effective network provisioning involves not only setting up and allocating resources but also ensuring that the provisioned network aligns with established security standards, industry regulations, and internal policies.
For the security aspect, running a well-provisioned network involves determining who can access the system and what kind of traffic can go in and out of the network as well as ensuring that:
The compromise of any of these aspects can lead to consequences varying from minor security incidents to significant data breaches accompanied by costly penalties. Robust security and compliance tools tackle these intricacies, providing comprehensive solutions that streamline security practices and compliance management. This approach effectively mitigates the potential risks and their associated consequences.
The scalability of an organization is the ability of its network infrastructure to account for a rising number of users, growing data volumes, and expanding services. In the realm of network provisioning, scalability translates to the IT team's ability to plan resource upgrades proactively. Here, resource means IP addresses, bandwidth, computing power, memory, storage, etc.
A comprehensive network management solution observes the resource consumption trends and provides you with forecast reports. These reports help you make proactive, informed decisions about the level of upgrades your network needs.
Now that you are aware of the significance of a network provisioning tool in running a seamless, reliable IT infrastructure, it is crucial to choose the right network provisioning solution to make a real difference in your IT operations and yield higher returns.
From network provisioning to real-time monitoring of every layer of your IT stack for health, performance, and security, try OpManager Plus, our full-stack, AI-powered ITOM solution.