In this blog post, we will explore the key server monitoring metrics, explain their significance and provide best practices for leveraging these metrics to enhance your server management strategy. We will also highlight how Kaseya VSA, a powerful remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution, can help you monitor these server metrics, driving efficiency and ensuring security.

What are server monitoring metrics?

Server monitoring metrics are quantitative measures used to assess the performance, health and efficiency of servers. These metrics provide insights into various aspects of server operations, enabling IT professionals to detect and resolve issues proactively. Monitoring server metrics is essential in the cybersecurity landscape as it helps identify potential threats, optimize resource utilization and ensure that servers operate within acceptable performance parameters.

What are key server monitoring metrics?

Understanding the key server monitoring metrics is vital for maintaining optimal server performance. Here, we discuss the most critical metrics that every IT professional should monitor:

CPU utilization

CPU utilization measures the percentage of CPU capacity currently in use. High CPU utilization can indicate that the server is under heavy load, which may lead to performance issues or server crashes. Monitoring CPU utilization helps balance the load and plan for capacity upgrades.

Memory usage

Memory usage tracks the amount of RAM being used by applications and processes on the server. High memory usage can slow down server performance and cause applications to crash. Monitoring memory usage allows IT teams to identify memory leaks and optimize memory allocation.

Disk usage

Disk usage measures the amount of disk space being used. It is crucial to monitor disk usage to prevent storage from becoming a bottleneck. Running out of disk space can lead to application failures and data loss. Regular monitoring helps manage storage efficiently and plan for expansions.

Network traffic

Network traffic monitors the data sent and received by the server over the network. High network traffic can indicate potential issues, such as bandwidth saturation or distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Monitoring network traffic helps in identifying unusual patterns and ensuring that the network bandwidth is sufficient for server operations.

Server response time

Server response time measures how quickly the server responds to requests. Slow response times can affect user experience and indicate underlying performance issues. Monitoring response time helps identify bottlenecks and optimize server performance.

Uptime and downtime

Uptime refers to the amount of time the server is operational, while downtime is the period when the server is unavailable. Monitoring uptime and downtime is crucial for maintaining service level agreements (SLAs) and ensuring business continuity. High uptime is a key indicator of reliable server performance.

Error rates

Error rates track the number of errors occurring in server operations. High error rates can indicate software bugs, configuration issues or hardware failures. Monitoring error rates helps in quickly identifying and resolving issues to maintain smooth server operations.

Server load

Server load measures the amount of work being handled by the server, including CPU, memory and disk usage combined. A high server load can lead to performance degradation. Monitoring server load helps in balancing the workload and planning for resource upgrades.

Security metrics

Security metrics include monitoring for failed login attempts, unauthorized access and malware detection. These metrics are essential for maintaining server security and protecting sensitive data from cyberthreats.

Application performance

Application performance metrics track the performance of applications running on the server. Monitoring these metrics helps in identifying issues specific to applications and ensuring they run efficiently.

Why is monitoring network traffic important for servers?

Monitoring network traffic is crucial for various reasons. It helps in identifying unusual traffic patterns that may indicate security breaches, such as DDoS attacks or data exfiltration attempts. By monitoring network traffic, IT professionals can also ensure that the server has adequate bandwidth to handle data transfers and can identify and resolve network congestion issues. Additionally, network traffic analysis helps optimize network performance and improve the overall user experience.

How is uptime calculated in server monitoring?

Uptime is calculated as the percentage of time the server is operational over a specific period. The formula for calculating uptime is:

For example, if a server was operational for 720 hours in a month and experienced 2 hours of downtime, the uptime would be:

High uptime is a critical metric for ensuring reliable server performance and maintaining SLAs.

What are the benefits of monitoring server metrics?

Monitoring server metrics offers various benefits, including:

• Proactive issue resolution: Monitoring server metrics enables IT teams to identify and resolve issues before they escalate into major problems. By addressing potential issues proactively, organizations can minimize downtime and ensure smooth operations.
• Optimized performance: Regularly monitoring server metrics helps in optimizing server performance. IT professionals can identify bottlenecks and make necessary adjustments to enhance the efficiency of server operations.
• Resource planning: Monitoring server metrics provides insights into resource utilization. This information is valuable for planning capacity upgrades and ensuring that servers have adequate resources to handle the workload.
• Enhanced security: Server metrics help identify potential threats and vulnerabilities. By monitoring these metrics, organizations can implement necessary security measures to protect servers from cyberattacks and unauthorized access.

Why is regular server monitoring necessary?

Regular server monitoring is essential for maintaining server health and performance. It helps detect issues early, optimize resource utilization and ensure that servers operate within acceptable performance parameters. Regular monitoring also helps maintain compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards.

What security metrics should be monitored on servers?

Monitoring security metrics is crucial for protecting servers from cyberthreats. Here are some key security metrics that should be monitored:

Failed login attempts

Monitoring failed login attempts helps identify potential brute-force attacks. A high number of failed attempts can indicate unauthorized access attempts.

Unauthorized access

Tracking unauthorized access attempts helps identify security breaches. Monitoring access logs is essential to ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to the server.

Malware detection

Monitoring for malware helps identify and mitigate malware infections. Regular scans and monitoring can prevent malware from compromising server security.

Security patch status

Monitoring the status of security patches ensures that servers are up to date with the latest security updates. This helps in protecting servers from known vulnerabilities.

Firewall logs

Analyzing firewall logs helps identify potential security threats and unusual traffic patterns. Regular monitoring of firewall logs is essential for maintaining server security.

How can Kaseya VSA enhance your server monitoring and management?

Kaseya VSA is a comprehensive RMM solution designed to maximize your IT team’s efficiency, streamline operations and enhance service delivery across your IT landscape. It provides IT professionals with an extensive toolkit to ensure servers operate at peak performance, maintain security and minimize downtime. Here are some robust features of Kaseya VSA:

• Automated monitoring and alerts: Kaseya VSA automatically monitors critical server metrics such as CPU utilization, memory usage, disk space and network traffic. It provides real-time alerts for any anomalies or potential issues, allowing IT teams to address problems before they impact performance.
• Centralized dashboard: With Kaseya VSA, IT professionals can access a centralized dashboard that provides a comprehensive view of all monitored servers. This single-pane-of-glass view makes it easier to manage multiple servers, track performance metrics and identify issues quickly.
• Remote server management: Kaseya VSA offers robust remote management capabilities, enabling IT teams to manage and troubleshoot servers from anywhere. This feature is particularly beneficial for organizations with distributed IT environments, allowing them to maintain control over their servers without the need for on-site presence.
• Patch management: Keeping servers up to date with the latest security patches is crucial for maintaining security. Kaseya VSA automates the patch management process, ensuring that servers receive timely updates and are protected against known vulnerabilities.
• Detailed reporting and analytics: Kaseya VSA provides detailed reporting and analytics on server performance metrics. IT professionals can generate custom reports to analyze trends, identify performance bottlenecks and make informed decisions about resource allocation.

Kaseya VSA empowers IT professionals with the tools they need to effectively monitor, manage and secure their servers. To explore firsthand how Kaseya VSA can benefit your organization, get a 14-day free trial now.

Understanding and monitoring key server metrics helps proactively identify and resolve issues, optimize resource utilization and protect servers from cyberthreats. Kaseya VSA offers a comprehensive solution for server monitoring, providing IT professionals with the tools they need to manage server performance effectively. To explore the robust capabilities of the solution and learn more about network monitoring and visualization, download this Kaseya VSA product brief.

The post Key Server Monitoring Metrics for Measuring Performance appeared first on Kaseya.

Whether you are looking at your first RMM investment or simply looking for tips and best practices to optimize your current solution, this blog is for you. We’ll share real-world examples of how businesses are putting RMM to work, so read on.

What is remote monitoring & management?

Remote monitoring and management is the process of overseeing and optimizing the performance and security of all devices connected to a network. This process is crucial for the success of any modern business and is performed using an RMM solution. Think of RMM as your tech-savvy sidekick that helps you complete tasks, like software updates, patch management, asset tracking, security monitoring, backup and recovery, and even reporting, painlessly. In today’s fast-paced digital world, RMM has become an essential tool for ensuring smooth IT operations and minimizing downtime. By helping businesses detect and troubleshoot issues proactively, it plays a crucial role in ensuring both IT reliability and security.

Why is RMM used?

RMM solutions offer a way for MSPs and small and midsize businesses (SMBs) to streamline and organize IT management. Prior to the extensive adoption of RMMs, IT professionals provided services on an ad hoc basis. Their clients would solicit their services only when something broke down and then pay them for that specific task. Also called the break-fix model, the system was reactive and didn’t involve continuous management and monitoring of the IT infrastructure.

As RMMs became more widely used and their application broadened, that changed. IT service providers could now provide extensive, round-the-clock services to a bigger pool of clients, unlocking new revenue streams. More and more clients began to see the business value of MSPs. They invested in their services, facilitating the shift to subscription fee models that provided regular cash flow and predictable revenue to MSPs.

Today, MSPs are integral to the growth and evolution of the IT industry. They have been a boon to cash-strapped SMBs, bolstering them with enterprise-level infrastructure at a price they can afford. All this was made possible with RMM, allowing MSPs to grow at an exponential rate.

Beyond performing IT tasks, an RMM solution directly affects an MSP’s capacity for customer acquisition, operational costs, profits and even the work-life balance of technicians. Here are some ways MSPs leverage RMM to drive growth:

• RMM empowers MSPs to win more clients without being burdened by high customer acquisition costs.
• It provides a higher endpoint-to-technician ratio, allowing MSPs to manage more clients without expanding their technician base, thus saving on resources.
• RMMs that integrate seamlessly with other critical tools, like PSA and documentation solutions, help MPSs improve client service, collections and overall business operations.
• Automation also helps reduce operational costs since technicians no longer need to perform tasks manually. It also reduces errors, making it easier for technicians to provide better customer service.

Here’s a case study of how RMM can be a game changer for businesses. Jacobs Engineering Group had a very manual process for updating computers and was struggling to maintain systems. They leveraged Kaseya VSA to automate software updates and patch management, which made their systems secure. VSA turned out to be highly cost-effective, enabling them to replace multiple ineffective products with one very efficient solution at a lower cost.

How does RMM software work?

No two RMM solutions look the same, but how they generally operate is quite similar. In this section, we will broadly cover the steps involved in deploying, configuring and using an RMM solution.

Step 1: Deploying an RMM agent

As with any software, you begin by downloading an RMM software of your choice and configuring it to communicate with the RMM server. An advanced RMM solution, like Kaseya VSA, provides multitenancy so that you can manage thousands of endpoints and client sites from a single software instance.

Step 2: Agent configuration

While the main RMM platform acts as the all-seeing eye into the IT infrastructure of your clients, the information is delivered to it by an RMM agent installed on all managed devices. Therefore, correctly configuring the RMM agents is an important step that must be performed carefully. Once configurations like login credentials, communication frequency, access permission, security protocols or any plugins or features that you want to use are in place — do a test run. You can also add new agents as needed or remove old ones.

Step 3: Device discovery and inventory

Once the RMM agent is installed on an endpoint, it begins the process of device discovery and inventory. It collects essential data like operating system version, applications installed and hardware details to add to the RMM database. This comes in handy whenever an issue needs to be resolved or when action is taken on an endpoint. The agent also monitors the health and performance of devices, sending notifications to the RMM in real-time so technicians can take immediate action.

Step 4: Remote and real-time monitoring

Once deployed, advanced RMMs, like VSA, hit the ground running and start unlocking performance efficiencies from day one. Even for devices located remotely, technicians can address issues like patching, software updates, low disk space, password resets and connectivity from their RMM. For example, an RMM agent can detect when a device’s memory is running low and alert the MSP, who can then remotely provision additional memory. RMM agents also collect and transmit system logs to the RMM so that the platform can detect and nip potential issues proactively. RMMs also assist MSPs in identifying out-of-warranty devices, helping them take action on time.

Step 5: Automating and scripting

Top-of-the-line RMMs, like VSA, come loaded with advanced automation capabilities that help MSPs save time and money by streamlining mundane tasks. For instance, MSPs can automate patch deployment and software updates, making sure patches are applied to hundreds of devices in a matter of minutes. Automating tasks minimizes the possibility of human error, which can otherwise lead to service disruptions and security risks for businesses and their clients. MSPs that use automation enjoy more streamlined operations, higher customer satisfaction rates and better time and cost savings.

Step 6: Alerts and notification

The RMM agents work tirelessly to send real-time alerts to MSPs on everything from warnings about failed backups to system vulnerabilities that require a response. MSPs, on their end, leverage their RMMs to triage alerts so they can begin addressing issues based on criticality and importance.

Step 7: Policy enforcement

MSPs leverage RMMs to set and enforce policies. These policies can include security, data protection or other administrative policies. This proactive approach not only safeguards against potential threats but also ensures that devices not in use are promptly disconnected from the network.

Step 8: Reporting and analytics 

This incredible feature, found in premium RMM solutions, empowers users to create personalized reports using diverse parameters, such as device health, performance trends and security status. These reports serve multiple purposes for MSPs, from helping them demonstrate the value of work to clients to aiding in compliance management and strategic planning.

What does RMM software do?

In this section, we’ll explore key RMM functions and discover the incredible ways in which it can supercharge your business.

Maintenance automation

Embracing automation is crucial for MSPs to achieve greater efficiency, diminish manual labor and optimize processes. A case in point is VSA, which equips MSPs to automate a range of everyday IT responsibilities, like patch management, the creation and response to tickets based on policies, routine server maintenance and even the auto-resolution of ransomware-level threats. This not only streamlines operations but also saves MSPs substantial time and costs.

Patch management

Safeguarding your systems against ransomware and other cyberthreats hinges on effective and timely patch management. VSA 10 offers a robust solution by enabling the auto-remediation of software vulnerabilities through a fully automated, sleep-proof patch management system. With an extensive library of over 200 third-party titles integrated into VSA, you gain the ability to patch all devices, whether on or off the network. This applies to all devices, regardless of whether they operate on Windows, Mac, or Linux platforms. Furthermore, VSA is engineered to allow rapid deployment of patches even in low-bandwidth networks, thus ensuring optimal performance.

Real-time monitoring and alerts

Visibility is key to effective monitoring. VSA 10 meets this crucial need by providing comprehensive insight into your IT environment. The user-friendly network topology map within VSA offers direct visibility, presenting a detailed breakdown of asset information for all endpoints (both agent and SNMP) on any network. Additionally, the solution incorporates monitoring/alert-driven ticket creation, email notifications and the auto-remediation of vulnerabilities through agent procedures.

Reporting and analytics

For MSPs, showing the value of their work to clients has always been a challenge. VSA delivers enterprise-grade, client-ready reports right out of the box, enabling you to demonstrate the real impact of your efforts to both non-technical clients and executives. The platform streamlines the entire reporting process, automating preparation, approval and delivery, allowing you to allocate your time to more high-value tasks. Moreover, VSA is crafted for seamless bidirectional data flow with industry-standard business intelligence solutions like Tableau and PowerBI. This integration facilitates easy reporting on the overall health of your IT ecosystem.

Curious to know what else an RMM can do for you? Check out our checklist of 11 things you should monitor and manage using your RMM.

What are the benefits of RMM?

When choosing an RMM solution, it’s important to consider features such as scalability, security, price and ease of use. It is also important to evaluate how the solution fits into your overall IT strategy and how it can help streamline operations.

Scalability

• With the right RMM in the toolkit, MSPs can seamlessly scale their operations and take on more clients without compromising on quality.
• By automating common tasks, they can make the most of their resources and ensure quick, consistent service delivery without increasing costs.

Predictability

• An RMM should help MSPs optimize their operations, enabling them to move away from a break-fix model to a subscription model.
• This approach simplifies the payment process for clients, offering them clarity on their expenses while also providing MSPs with a clear understanding of anticipated monthly revenue.
• With better visibility into the future, MSPs can make informed decisions, make strategic investments and manage costs in ways that drive growth.

Productivity

• An RMM should help facilitate a shift in IT management strategy from reactive to proactive.
• By leveraging automation, RMMs can make better use of their resources and relieve stress on their technicians, significantly boosting their capability to provide effective tech support.
• By providing improved support and security, MSPs can ensure that they meet service level agreements (SLAs) in a timely manner, which will translate to better revenue.

Sustainability

• Besides minimizing the time spent on repetitive and redundant tasks, RMMs are capable of identifying the root cause of potential problems and nipping them in the bud before they snowball into larger problems.
• Proactive maintenance means clients and end users enjoy minimal downtime and optimal service at all times.

Profitability

• RMMs help MSPs manage clients remotely, reducing the need for site visits and associated costs.
• Since most manual tasks are automated, MSPs can onboard more clients without hiring more technicians, which aids cost-effective growth.
• As RMMs can perform multiple functions like patching, monitoring and ransomware detection, MSPs can eliminate the need for individual solutions and slim down their tech stacks, boosting their profitability.
• Streamlined and consistent service delivery increases customer satisfaction, which leads to higher revenue and profit.

What to look for in an RMM solution

Choosing the right RMM solution from the hundreds available in the market can be a tricky job. We have identified three key features that you should look out for that are hallmarks of high-quality RMMs.

Simplified deployment and administration

The RMM should score well on both the device-centric and user-centric metrics. It should be able to perform complex tasks and have all the functionality that an IT professional needs to manage a modern IT infrastructure while being easy to use. VSA fits the bill. Designed with the end user in mind, it has an intuitive user interface that reduces the learning curve. VSA has a checkbox graphic user interface (GUI) approach that is implemented at the global or customer organization level without the need to manually recreate policies, thereby ensuring quick and consistent deployment of configurations. The solution is also highly scalable and can monitor tens of thousands of endpoints, with one instance enabling MSPs to scale and grow freely.

Centralized management

Effective centralized management is essential for streamlining operations and reducing overheads. For instance, having a centralized system for tracking customer inquiries and issues can help address customer concerns quickly and efficiently. Using VSA, you can monitor, manage and secure endpoints from one central location. It also provides real-time analytics and insights, allowing you to make informed decisions about your network.

Seamless integration

Having your RMM integrate seamlessly with your core IT solutions gives you the ultimate competitive advantage when it comes to efficiency, customer service and scalability. Legacy RMMs are often more difficult to integrate with other core IT solutions, resulting in higher costs and more time spent on implementation. On the other hand, VSA, being part of Kaseya’s IT Complete platform, provides seamless integration with a solution for every need of the DO-IT-ALL IT professional. Whether it’s solutions for IT operations, security, audit and compliance, business services or networking, we have you covered. With each solution’s interface mirroring the other, technicians need not master multiple solutions to build integrated workflows for maximum efficiency.

Remote monitoring and management with Kaseya VSA

VSA is a true unified RMM solution that can monitor, manage and secure your entire IT ecosystem. It is unified in terms of bundling powerful features like remote control, software/patch management, executive reporting and endpoint monitoring into a single, easy-to-use solution. This means you can manage all your IT assets from a single platform, saving you time and money. Moreover, it makes IT management much easier, as technicians no longer have to switch between multiple systems and programs.

Add to it cutting-edge automation, and you will experience a remarkable 50% boost in technician efficiency, leading to significant cost savings, complete customer satisfaction and a boost in overall productivity. Security on your mind? VSA offers best-in-class security with native ransomware detection and seamless integration with advanced solutions like endpoint detection and response (EDR) and access to one of the best-managed security operations centers (SOC) for complete protection.

Even with all of this said, we’ve barely scratched the surface. Simply put, VSA is the most powerful and easy-to-use RMM solution on the market today. Dive into the power of VSA now and make your IT management a breeze! Click here for a FREE demo!

The post What Is RMM? Remote Monitoring & Management Definition appeared first on Kaseya.

The report emphasizes that even a small business that estimates the cost of downtime at a modest $10,000 an hour, will rack up outage fees of $167 per minute for a single server.

Today, more than ever, server uptime is crucial for any business to operate smoothly. Let’s take a look at what server uptime is and why it is so important to digital organizations.

What Is Server Uptime?

Uptime refers to the time a system runs without a shutdown or restart. Server uptime is the total duration for which a server is fully functional and running. It is a metric used to denote the performance of a server. Server uptime is monitored and measured by server monitoring tools.

What Is the Difference Between Uptime and Availability?

Uptime and availability are quite often used interchangeably even though they are not the same thing. Uptime is the amount of time a server works properly and is expressed in years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds. However, availability is the percentage of time, in a specific time interval, during which a server can be used for its intended purpose.

In mathematical terms, Availability % = Uptime/Total time (Total time = Uptime + Downtime).

What Is a Good Server Availability Percentage?

When a company’s IT department or managed service provider (MSP) provides IT services either to the business or to its clients, it often commits to meeting what is known as a service-level agreement (SLA). The SLA defines what the end users should expect in terms of things like system availability, among other details of service delivery. An SLA is important for a service provider to drive its internal processes by setting clear and measurable performance standards.

A server availability SLA specifies the maximum amount of downtime a server can undergo during a certain period of time, such as a year, for example. While achieving 100% percent availability may not be possible, a target of four or five nines (99.99% or 99.999%) of server availability could be a reasonable goal.

According to TechTarget:

• Five nines or 99.999% availability amounts to to 5 minutes and 15 seconds or less of downtime in a year.
• Four nines or 99.99% availability amounts to 52 minutes and 36 seconds downtime per year.
• Three nines or 99.9% availability amounts to 8 hours and 46 minutes downtime per year.
• Two nines or 99% availability amounts to 3 days, 15 hours and 40 minutes downtime per year.

What Is a High-Availability Server?

When a server is capable of remaining available and functional for a very high percentage of time, it is called a high-availability server. This type of server is typically used for business-critical applications in an organization.

A server with 99.999 percent availability, which translates to approximately 5 minutes of downtime a year, is considered to be a high-availability server. The ITIC 2020 report mentioned previously says “… 87% of respondents consider 99.99% — which equals to 52.56 minutes of unplanned per server/per annum downtime — to be the minimum acceptable level of availability for mission-critical servers and applications.”

What Is Server Maintenance?

Server maintenance is the process of keeping a server updated and running at peak performance. Servers are the backbone of IT infrastructure in any company, with crucial processes depending on it. Server maintenance ensures all servers work at their optimum level and are free of security risks. A few common server maintenance tasks should be performed periodically:

• Keep the operating system (OS) up to date
• Check disk usage and stay under 90% of disk capacity
• Check server utilization (e.g., CPU, RAM, and network utilization)
• Check logs for hardware errors
• Verify backups working properly

Server Uptime Monitoring

Server health can be optimized by monitoring server uptime. Monitoring helps minimize costly downtime with alerts and reports.

How Can I Check Server Uptime?

Windows device uptime can be checked using the Task Manager:

• Right-click the Windows taskbar and select Task Manager
• Once Task Manager is open, click the Performance tab. Under the Performance tab, you will find the label Uptime.

You can also see the last boot time for Windows machines from the command prompt by typing:

> systeminfo

You’ll see something like this in the output:

For Linux servers, uptime can be checked remotely by opening the terminal window and then typing the “uptime” command.

Server Monitoring Tools

Server monitoring tools monitor the performance of the system by tracking CPU usage, memory consumption, disk usage and more. These tools enable IT teams to monitor and identify performance-related issues and perform routine maintenance to optimize server uptime.

Kaseya VSA, an endpoint and network monitoring and management solution, monitors all aspects of network-connected devices, including servers, desktops, laptops, hypervisors, routers, switches, firewalls and more.

Kaseya VSA’s server management capabilities enable IT professionals to proactively monitor all servers — including physical and virtual servers — to see real-time information in order to maintain server availability and keep the business running smoothly.

Learn more about Kaseya VSA.

The post Server Uptime Monitoring for Successful IT Operations appeared first on Kaseya.

Since then, there has been no looking back. The second wave was that of the smartphones, followed by the tablets, and now the wearables. These devices are becoming more deeply ingrained in our day-to-day lives at home and at work. We are currently tipping 17 Billion connected devices worldwide and this number is expected to touch 34 Billion by 2025. While the proliferation of this increasingly connected world provides an opportunity to be more efficient in how we do things, it raises some strong security concerns for  users that cannot be ignored.

Take a look around

An average person is expected to use around 6 network connected devices by 2020. Even the most technically challenged person use at least two — namely, laptop and cellphone. A major chunk of this number gets fueled by trends like bring your own device (BYOD) and work from home.

For most people, work starts at the office desk but ends at a coffee shop or the subway. Thanks to cloud computing, which gives you enough horsepower to carry your work around, irrespective of your location or device.

However, before expanding into this new digital frontier, there are certain things business leaders and decision makers should understand. Every new device being added to the network creates another potential loophole for cybercriminals to exploit. A recent study highlights the severity of these security threats as 42% of the respondents agreed to have experienced a breach, and 42% of those respondents had been breached on employees’ personal laptops.

The risk involved

Remember, your general security is only as strong as your weakest link. In this case, it’s endpoints. Your phones, laptops, wearables, smart homes and IoT devices are all connected to the same network. If someone is savvy enough to get access to your network — what are the odds that they will not be able to get access to your devices?

Your laptop might have the best security features, but what about that smart system in your home? Is it equally tough to break into? The moment a hacker gets access to one of these devices on the network, it opens the floodgates of attacks on every other device accessing that network. Also, as data is being extracted from small devices to large projects — threat comes not only from individual attackers but also from larger companies trying to get access to the data generated by your IoT devices for commercial gain.

Your employees are just trying to do their jobs with the best intentions, sometimes working on the go and sometimes working after-hours. But in the process of doing so, they are sharing highly sensitive information over non-secure devices and applications. The threat of your personal and official data falling into the hands of a competitor are both frightening and real. The worst thing you can do is to deceive yourself into thinking that you are not vulnerable to such attacks.

Monitor Devices = More Monitoring

As people spread their work across these devices, they want round-the-clock access to applications and services. And to provide that, your network needs to be up and running 24/7 This is where network monitoring comes in.

Network monitoring is your first line of defense against any sort of abnormal behavior in your infrastructure. Your network monitoring tool correlates data from different parts of the IT infrastructure, drilling-down to identify the underlying technical components, determining the sources of performance degradation, and then where applicable, rapidly making the configuration changes to remediate the problem.

Traditional network management solutions are bogged down by disparate monitoring and configuration tracking capabilities with no correlation between them. Unexpected configuration changes can result in major network outages, which can then take an extremely long time to track down. This drives up costs for the enterprise and affects overall business performance.

VSA’s advanced network monitoring addresses these challenges by providing business service monitoring, IT performance management, and flexible configuration management in one unified integrated system, right within VSA. The innovative service container technology enables IT personnel and management to create unique virtual views of discrete IT services, making the alignment of infrastructure technology with business performance a reality. To know more or book a free demo.

The post Monitoring 101- The Basics appeared first on Kaseya.

Today, you not only need to manage laptops and devices used by a highly distributed workforce, you also need the capability to do your job away from the office by managing remotely. Let’s look at the challenges to properly monitoring and managing your mobile workforce (sometimes called off network monitoring), and how to overcome those challenges successfully and efficiently.

The Challenges of Off Network Monitoring

In today’s global and cloud environment, leaving the office and network doesn’t mean leaving behind corporate data─your job doesn’t end when your workforce leaves the office. Nor does your leaving the office mean your work is done. You are still responsible for the security and monitoring of all your systems.

IT managers need to be able to access and manage devices anywhere in the world, at any time. Routine maintenance, updates, and patches all need to be done in a timely manner for security and compliance. This can be a problem when it is not possible to wait until the employee – or you – are back in the office.

If you are worried about issues caused by remote and mobile device usage, you are not alone. A recent Information Week Strategic Security Survey revealed the following results:

• 64% were concerned about sensitive data being accessed when the device is lost or stolen.
• 59% felt that it was likely that infected personal devices would be connected to the corporate network.
• 37% were afraid of malicious apps being downloaded by a user.

It’s a serious, and potentially costly, issue. It is estimated that over $7 billion was spent in 2015 for desktop and mobile solutions. Unfortunately, that money was often spent on programs that did not integrate IT functions, nor solve the problem of how to manage a device that is not in-house.

How Kaseya Addresses These Challenges

Kaseya comes from a Sioux Indian term meaning “to secure, to protect,” and that is exactly what Kaseya’s Virtual System Administrator (VSA) does. Kaseya VSA allows you to manage security, compliance, auditing, and more, from one centralized console, even if your users – or you – are remote and off the corporate network. You simply install an agent on the devices manually, or let VSA detect devices and automatically install the agents. No other software, no extensive installation processes, and no further action needed for Kaseya to work.

Kaseya gives you:

• Control of all IT assets – network, desktop, peripherals, and mobile, whether they are local or remote, on network or off – through one central console
• Geographical independence with the ability to work anywhere at any time – even if you or the user you’re supporting is off network
• Automatic patching and updates for equipment and software, including third-party applications – even if the device is sitting on a counter at home. You no longer have to rely on users or wait until the end of the work day to keep devices up-to-date
• Near instantaneous remote connections – reliable even if the device being accessed is in an airport or on the employee’s kitchen counter
• Separate corporate from personal data by placing it in an encrypted area on mobile and remote devices, keeping it secure and giving you the power to locate and wipe data from stolen or lost devices, or from devices of de-provisioned users, wherever they are – without disturbing personal data

Now that’s remote!

No matter what market segment you are in, Kaseya VSA will work for you just as it has for thousands of mid-to-large enterprises, financial services, healthcare providers, education systems, government and military institutions, and over half the top MSPs.

Learn more about how Kaseya gives you peace of mind through effective centralized management by downloading The Time-Strapped IT Pro’s Guide to Getting More Done – Manage Remotely and Seconds Matter: Resolve Issues Quickly with Remote Desktop Management today!

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