The promise of big data is that it will lead to greater insight. But for that to happen, organizations need a network that is capable of handling real-time communications and the influx of traffic that accompanies big data. It’s important for organizations to plan for big data now to prevent extra costs and time-consuming implementation delays.

 

What Big Data Means for the Network

It’s difficult to predict big data’s exact impact on the network. All that’s known is that the network will have more traffic and require more capacity at a greater cost. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, data growth will rise 350 percent above current levels by 2019. This will mean a respective increase in network traffic across most major networks.

Real-time data delivery is essential for real-time processing of big data; otherwise, the data itself will already be out of date for many time-sensitive applications. This is especially important in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), location tracking, security alerts, and other rapidly changing business functions and conditions.

Impact of Operations on Network Monitoring

It’s becoming more and more common for operations departments to bypass IT with their own technology rollouts. The additional—and sometimes unexpected—IoT traffic can cause an unforeseen impact on the network and the accuracy of traffic predictions.

These factors make it all the more important to monitor network traffic conditions in real time with the proper rapid traffic analysis tools.

The Importance of Network Monitoring Strategies

Network monitoring is an essential part of operations, providing organizations with the ability to deal with a broad spectrum of functions. Handling configuration data, overseeing major changes, and providing solutions for failures are just a few examples. As a result, network monitoring often becomes a purveyor of big data and organizations will need to analyze this influx of data. Here is a comprehensive list of effective monitoring strategies:

• Effective monitoring tools that collect network information and produce detailed statistical representations
• Usable dashboards that alert users to traffic changes beyond the statistical norm
• Short-term and long-term reports that allow users to track traffic changes that could potentially impair network operation
• Real-time delivery of traffic data from the cloud, enabling a quicker decision-making process to prevent problems
• 15-minute interval reporting of network performance measurements and service level agreements (SLAs)

The ability to gather and decipher the vast volumes of information that big data brings is integral. Organizations must understand the impact that big data can have on networks and how to best manage that impact through specialized network management and monitoring strategies.

Contact us today to learn how eXemplify can help you with your big data needs.