Don’t Knock the NOC: Misperceptions Endure as Application Performance Responsibilities Increase
Core Facts
NetQoS Study Indicates Evolving Role of the NOC Demonstrates Need for Next Generation Integrated Operations Centre
NetQoS Customer Symposium, AUSTIN, Texas and READING, UK, 21 April 2008
· An increasing emphasis on application performance is changing the role of the Network Operations Centre (NOC) and leading to the need for an Integrated Operations Centre (IOC), according to the results of a study commissioned by NetQoS® Inc.
· The Next Generation Network Operations Center study, written by Dr. Jim Metzler, vice president of Ashton, Metzler & Associates, surveyed 176 NOC and non-NOC IT professionals in U.S. and global organisations.
The NOC’s Role Is Changing While Dissatisfaction and Confusion Persist
· NOC and non-NOC personnel have disparate views regarding where NOC staffs spend their time: NOC personnel revealed they spend the greatest amount of time on applications (39 percent) and WAN (23 percent). However, non-NOC respondents believe NOC personnel spend the greatest amount of time on WAN (48 percent) and servers (22 percent), while only 17 percent believe NOC personnel spend significant time on applications.
· In addition, managing applications was identified by NOC personnel as the area with the greatest increase in time (45 percent), making it a relatively new phenomenon.
· While respondents were generally positive about the value of the NOC, more than 25 percent of respondents indicated the NOC does not meet the organization’s current needs and only 58 percent believe the role of the NOC is understood by the entire IT organisation.
· More than two thirds of respondents indicated that their organisations would attempt to make significant changes to their NOC processes within the next 12 months.
A Move to the Next Generation Integrated Operations Centre (IOC)
· 75 percent of the respondents indicated that NOC personnel now have a broader responsibility, performing some functions that were previously considered to be Level 2 or 3 engineering functions.
· “Ensuring acceptable performance for key applications” is the top driver of change in the NOC (more than 80 percent).
· To meet these challenges, the study asserts that organisations should move to a next generation Integrated Operations Centre that is highly automated, has very effective processes, and is responsible for managing the performance, availability, and security for all the components of IT.
Quotes
Dr. Jim Metzler, Vice President, Ashton, Metzler & Associates: “Within 18 months the primary objective of the typical NOC will be managing application performance, adding to the host of factors driving change in the NOC as indicated by the survey. In an ideal world, to address these challenges IT organisations would move to an Integrated Operations Centre that has common tools, goals, language, and effective processes independent of geographical or organisational boundaries. While an IOC may not be realistic for all, IT organisations should move immediately to capitalise on NOC trends such as process improvement, skilled staff, intelligent tools that are integrated, and a focus on performance, applications, security, and proactive management.”
Joel Trammell, CEO, NetQoS: “The days of NOC personnel sitting and monitoring management consoles all day waiting for green lights to turn yellow or red are over. The focus has moved from pure fault management to network and application performance, and as the survey reveals, NOC staffs are increasingly engaged in higher-order problem resolution, not just problem identification. IT organisations and vendors alike need to adapt and facilitate the move to an Integrated Operations Centre.”
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