Chris McKie at Kaseya explains the tools and technologies that MSPs can harness to take the complexity out of running their clients’ networks.
As businesses expand their networks to accommodate ever growing numbers of users and devices, secure access and next-generation wireless technology remain hot topics. There is a clear need for speed and failsafe reliability as more smart technology is connected and new ways of working require more, and faster, throughput along with zero downtime.
Cloud-based network management has made administrative tasks easier, but the technology has not quite evolved enough to allow a set and forget approach. Instead, managed service providers, MSPs are having to carefully plan how to grow, protect and future-proof their clients’ networks, often dealing with architectural challenges, outdated components and security concerns along the way.
The demands on business networks have never been greater. On one hand, the ongoing trend towards remote and hybrid working means that organisations are having to provide secure, fast and reliable remote access to data, applications and services for a large percentage of their workforce. Video conferences have become the norm, replacing in-person meetings and conference calls and putting an additional strain on bandwidth.
Back in the office, the proliferation of devices means that more and more endpoints are connecting to the network, be it employees’ personal phones and tablets or devices used by visitors and guests. In addition, businesses are increasingly adopting smart technologies which generate and process big volumes of data in Internet of Things applications, with IT and operational technologies merging. The result: more throughput through the network and rapidly growing bandwidth requirements.
Fortunately, network technology has become simpler to use and manage over the past few years, helping MSPs increase the reliability, performance and security of their clients’ networks.
Cloud-based and remote management has made many administrative tasks significantly easier and paved the way for network-as-as-service, NaaS offerings, with a zero-touch approach to provisioning, managing and updating client networks. A growing number of MSPs are already marketing and billing their networking services this way. However, challenges remain – not least how to expand, automate, secure and future-proof networks so they can keep up with clients’ rapidly changing demands.
So, what are the tools and technologies MSPs can harness today to take the complexity out of running their clients’ networks?
Failover
One key requirement for any network is maximum dependability. Most businesses cannot function without an internet connection: If the network goes down, business stops, so organisations need some degree of failover. Self-healing, wireless mesh networks have become hugely popular. Typically used by businesses and venues with large, high-density environments, they are the perfect solution for some small and mid-sized businesses, too, for example those running warehouses with smart technology.
Mesh networks essentially work by connecting multiple access points together for seamless network coverage, extending the Wi-Fi signal across the premises and even eliminating dead zones where cables are not an option. As they can self-configure, self-optimise and self-heal, they provide a high degree of business resilience. In fact, they are designed so that there is no single point of failure: If one part of the network goes down, the rest will keep functioning.
As they are also cloud manageable, MSPs can maintain their clients’ mesh networks remotely, configure devices via templates and wizards and even monitor the network via an integration with the Remote Monitoring and Management tool.
When it comes to edge routers, these should also be designed to offer a high level of resilience. Some come with built-in 4G internet failover, so if the business loses its primary internet connection, the router automatically switches to the 4G network to maintain connectivity.
SASE
With cyberattacks continuing to surge, more mid-sized companies are now looking to MSPs to help with co-managing their network, particularly the security aspect of it. Secure Access Service Edge, SASE solutions have proven to be a true game changer: They deliver next-gen firewall functionality in the cloud, allowing more granular controls for web traffic for a growing remote workforce.
SASE technology extends networking and security capabilities beyond the office boundaries, providing remote access control and secure connectivity no matter where users are working. This gives organisations more flexibility in how they implement security policies such as zero trust, content filtering and threat prevention across locations and home offices.
Replacing virtual private networks, SASE platforms are also highly scalable. This means organisations do not need to invest in bigger and bigger firewalls as their network grows. As SASE solutions are cloud managed with easy provisioning and deployment, they allow MSPs to simplify network access for their clients and deliver improved security and connectivity at scale.
And while the small and mid-sized market is currently only in the early stages of adoption, demand will grow as businesses gain a better understanding of the benefits of SASE. Those MSPs who are offering the technology early will have the competitive edge.
Performance
Most MSPs will have encouraged their clients to upgrade to the Wi-Fi 6 standard by now, designed to work better in mesh networks where multiple devices are connected. Wi-Fi 7 will be next, with the first enabled devices hitting the market this year.
The seventh-generation Wi-Fi standard promises to deliver higher speeds with greater efficiency, lower latency and a throughput of up to 46 Gbps. There might be some pressure on MSPs to adopt this new standard, but it may be better to wait for a while as the technology will be expensive to start with, and not well supported. For those whose clients are still on older standards though, now is the time to upgrade them to Wi-Fi 6.
SASE solutions can also play a part in improving network performance through clever routing features, for example by prioritising traffic such as voice calls or critical business apps. This prevents important data from being stuck behind large file transfers.
Manageability
MSPs manage networks for many clients, so automation and easy administration are essential. Network management should be as simple as possible. Cloud-based tools with easy-to-use interfaces have made this task much more efficient.
Plug-and-play mesh networks have drastically shortened deployment times: MSPs can configure devices ahead of time through the cloud and then plug them in on-site. The ability to clone configurations means they can deploy multiple access points much faster.
With cloud-based Wi-Fi management, firmware updates can be scheduled from the cloud, while setting up guest Wi-Fi for small and medium businesses or deploying SASE is done in a matter of minutes.
True efficiencies and cost savings are gained though when the network management tools are also integrated with the MSP’s Professional Services Automation, PSA and RMM tools. RMM and PSA integrations save IT professionals switching between multiple consoles and tools. Network managers can perform network health checks and see status updates through the same interface, while synching to the PSA system makes it easier to automate the billing process.
Like everything else in technology, the world of networking is evolving fast. Most end users see the network as a utility: they take connectivity for granted until something goes wrong. This means the MSP must do all the hard work behind the scenes. Keeping up with the latest technology developments and staying on top of broader trends will help MSPs anticipate the needs of their clients – and meet them with the right solutions.
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