Running a modern communications network means that operators must be able to monitor the traffic and operations that are required to deliver that traffic. This means that the numerous interfaces in the control plane must be covered effectively if they’re to gain access to an end-to-end view of operational performance and maximise network visibility. And they recognise that it’s vital to do this – because having a detailed, real-time view of network operations including traffic analysis is critical to optimising how the network actually functions. And that, in turn, is a foundation of commercial success.
Beneath the over-arching headline, though, what are the direct benefits of real-time telecoms network traffic monitoring? In this blog, we’ll look at four but first, a quick definition. Real-time monitoring involves deploying tools or applications to track and record the overall performance of a network as events happen. It allows the business to gain granular insights into different network activities and then to enhance both security and to address potential performance issues.
Optimal network performance is, as already noted, a bedrock for long-term commercial success. Having a complete picture in real-time means operators can access (and act on) multiple actionable insights related to inadequacies and glitches that can then be addressed. This means nipping issues that may otherwise negatively impact end-customers in the bud.
Examples of problems that real-time monitoring can help resolve include latency issues (consider the number of game players today, and how latency can ruin their experience), bandwidth usage problems (which might, for instance, result in the overloading of a pipe), network speed problems (knowing actual vs. expected speed is critical to maintaining satisfactory performance), and availability issues (an awareness of uptime is critical to meeting Service Level Agreements).
With real-time network monitoring, operators are put in position to accurately optimise their networks, resulting in far superior performance levels across the board.
For operator IT teams, it’s critical to understand network performance in real time to identify and then react to issues as they happen. Only a Network Performance Monitoring solution makes this possible because monitoring an entire network and all of its traffic flows without such a solution would be both unwieldy and unrealistic. The advance alerting an NPM solution delivers allows operators to scan an entire network, in real-time, all the time. It can also enable operators to avoid overwhelming their networking teams with empty alerts and instead focus on legitimate alerts that may otherwise be overlooked or missed altogether.
In an age where fraudulent activity is growing exponentially, real-time network monitoring can play a key role in combatting and minimising financial loss. By analysing traffic flows, NPM solutions allow operators to detect suspicious activity quickly and react in minimum time frames. Considering the reality that security is now a multi-billion-dollar problem for the communications industry, the availability of real-time traffic analysis should be a vital component in the operator’s arsenal to detect and block questionable transactions.
For the operator, the ability to deliver best-in-class customer experience should be the root of a competitive advantage and the foundation of commercial success. The raw material required to deliver better customer experience is data.
With Network Performance Monitoring, operators can collect key data from points across the network. They can then use it to visualise how their customers interact with the network, to analyse their behaviours using a variety of different parameters (for instance, location or time) and to better understand how network performance and service delivery then impact retention and churn. NPM solutions increase the operator’s insight into the complete customer experience they are delivering and ensure they benefit from an enhanced understanding of what is impacting their customers in real-time, enabling them to offer a more responsive and tailored experience.
Utel provides a complete solution to help operators in all the areas above (and others), based on a combination of virtual and physical probes, analytics functions and dashboards. Together, these elements help telcos to gain greater control of how their networks are performing, improve service assurance, and benefit from an enhanced ability to deliver the best possible experience to their customers. If you’d like to learn more, please get in touch directly by clicking here.