Today, information needs to move so quickly that even the slightest delay is unacceptable. So, network monitoring is essential for businesses of all sizes. That’s especially true if your workforce is not under the same roof and relies almost exclusively on a network.

Yet some owners put off this decision. They believe that monitoring means hiring a consultant to set up a system or adding another task to an overburdened IT department. But new software companies are committed to network monitoring made easy. So, you can take advantage of these benefits.

Avoid Losses

Many people spend considerable resources making their networks resistant to outside attacks. That’s a very smart thing to do. Hackers are incredibly advanced, and not all of them simply want money. Yet, most businesses do not experience serious cyber-attacks.

On the other hand, unintentional network interruptions happen almost every day. All of them lead to costly delays. Some common occurrences include:

• Broken printers,
• Website crashes,
• Empty toner cartridges, and
• Tripped-over power cords.

If these events happen offsite, your entire network may go down. You need to know about these events ASAP. First, you need to be able to address them. Second, you need to reassure partners and/or employees that the problem is well-controlled.

Easy to Use

Setting up your network is that hard part; monitoring it is the easy part. If you could do the first with little help, you can do the second with no help. Most network tomography software has a basic, Windows-based interface. Most of the technical decisions have already been made. There’s very little configuration required unless you want to customize the experience or add features.

Once in place, the software gives you a steady stream of information but does not overload you. Filtered email and text alerts are usually available as well. These messages give both all-clear signs and warn of potential interruptions.

End Manual Checkups

Most daily to-do lists include mundane chores, such as verifying that certain components are in order and then sending out updates. Network monitoring replaces these activities. You and your employees can effortlessly strike an item off the to-do list. Then, you can move onto something else with complete confidence.

Measure Trends

Almost all businesses are data-driven, to one extent or another. Network monitoring provides vital information about usage patterns. You can easily see which devices are bearing the brunt of the work. By extension, you can also see which employees are strained almost to the breaking point with work and those who have some additional bandwidth.

Peace of Mind

Installing additional sensors is about the only customization required in the aforementioned setup process. The slight time investment produces significant returns. There’s nothing like the peace of mind that comes from knowing all is well. This mindset reduces stress and enables you to focus your energy on other, more vital areas.

The benefits of network monitoring are significant. But they are only available to those who partner with a top company that provides solutions to everyday problems.

If you have been following the technology news lately, you may be aware of the pace at which companies like IBM are quickly announcing innovations in Machine Learning. For example, their new services on the Watson platform that incorporates predictive analytics, data mining, and pattern recognition are by themselves new paradigms in the business world. Machine Learning, unlike artificial intelligence, is more about the ability of machines to learn when exposed to more data.

Examples of machine learning in use

In very simple terms, what machine learning does is detect patterns and predict outcomes by using different mechanisms. These mechanisms are based on mathematical models and statistics. For example, the way search technology works. It extracts information, gathers them together, and classifies before displaying it to the end user. Behind all machine learning, there are algorithms that help the machine process and fetch information. In doing this, they could look for patterns, for example, the way Amazon predicts user preferences. Machines are trained to recognize patterns and cluster information. That is why it is also referred to as cognitive automation, it is trained to recognize traits in data.

Supervised and unsupervised learning mechanisms

In one stream of machine programming, the machines are given instructions on what actions to take and the sequence of those actions. They may also be told about expected outcomes and the machine is expected to derive the function that would achieve the result. In such instances, where the input, as well as the output, is provided to the machine, the programming world refers to it as supervised learning. The machines are actively supervised to train them on inputs and then validate the output before being put to execution. Since it is very difficult for users to predict or reasonably guess all outcomes for complex systems, machine learning emerged as an alternative that would let IT systems respond rapidly to changes. All of this, of course, is largely dependent on the machine being provided an initial set of sample data that is best suited for the purpose, determining the appropriate learning algorithms and then verifying the output. Only when the output is verified, can the machine be said to have learned the process and allowed to analyze data sets. This sort of machine learning is commonly used on structured data to solve classification and regression problems.

On the other hand, machine learning is said to be unsupervised when though there is a set of input data, there is no outcome provided to the machine. In such instances, the machine is expected to learn by looking at the data. What it does is looks at data sets and studies their structure and distribution and then identify inherent groupings. For example, it can, by studying data sets, look for common phrases. This sort of analysis usually happens on unstructured data.

Cognitive automation

Though mostly used in the context of IBM’s Watson system, cognitive automation systems are increasingly being deployed across businesses in multiple forms. Such systems essentially use the machine learning algorithms to be able to acquire knowledge from data sets they are provided with. As they keep looking for patterns in the information and process the data, machines are increasingly able to anticipate probable new problems and derive appropriate models based on what they have learned. They are then deployed in many applications that include artificial intelligence (AI) applications, neural networks, robotics, and virtual reality systems.

Cognitive computing is increasingly being recognized as the next stage in the evolution of computing capabilities. It is all about making computing systems more user-friendly and that can interact with the end user based on understanding from signals, what a user wants to do and contextualize the output to deliver personalized outcomes. Be it your car, or your refrigerator at home, applications like Siri, that understand context is becoming the norm of the day.

Are you a socialite by today’s standards? Do you have the numbers that would qualify you to be counted as one? Well, not the traditional yardstick of how many at the local club know you or how many of the networking sorts in your niche or industry recognize you. But, today how socialite you are is determined by the number of followers you have in social media. Offline networking or social activity is no longer a parameter to judge your socialite nature but activities in the social media are. To get a steady number of followers you have to have done a number of things on online social forums – you have crafted and posted unique content, expanding your social presence on a continuous basis by engaging with followers that matter and, in some instances, buying real Instagram followers to boost your social circles. Even then, at times you still feel that the numbers are just not there, and you keep striving for the obvious, a little more engaging number. There are some very small but unique measures that can do wonders for you.

Timings

Not only the content but the time of your posting is crucial. A post at the wrong time may not get the right response. Your followers may receive hundreds of social media messages throughout the day from different sources. Nobody wants to spend his precious time by surfing old post. The choices are dictated by convenience and not just quality. Research shows that afternoon to late night is the best time of posting as more people are active at that time. Possibilities are greater that they will follow your post. Likewise, Thursday and Friday are two days when people spend more time on social media. So in a nutshell, be careful with your timing.

Follow trends

To get more followers one has to follow the trends and do some trendy posting. If the trend doesn’t match your style of posting, then you can limit yourself by making some quotes or comments. Your comment should be witty with a touch of humor. For example, any post or comments on food will get more response on Friday though it may not be your subject.

Image

An image can say a thousand words. That’s very much relevant when it comes to social media also. An image or a video can generate three times more views than content. You don’t have to create the video or image, you just have to tag it in your platform. Choose carefully to get the right quality. Millions of images and videos are posted every week. Your selection should be the mark of your stature. If you share something from your followers’ post it will be productive.

Rewards

More than 50% followers of any brand are looking for offers and freebies. So take advantage of this consumption insight and offer them something interesting and let them spread the word for you. You can start a campaign by offering a competition that involves retweets and sharing and the more numbers one gets for you, the greater the incremental rewards.

Know your competitors

Spend some time to analyze your competitors’ page. Learn what makes them popular and what kind of posting helps them to get more followers. Initiate some changes to transform your social media accordingly but don’t lose your own identity.

Responsive

Respond to questions, comments, and complaints of your followers in a timely manner. Make them involved with your platform and encourage them to share it with others. Everybody wants to connect by sending comments, questions or suggestions and your timely response will provide additional motivation for them.

Link your social media

Link your social media account to your newsletter, email signature, blog, Instagram etc. Print your social media details on the reverse of your visiting cards. Once they get in touch through of your mediums, they should know about every platform where you are available. Use the social occasion to promote your social media presence by distributing those cards.

Response time

Not only your response but your response time in equally important. If you attend your followers’ queries pretty quickly they will feel rewarded and help to promote your social activities. Research shows people like to get a response within one hour. So whatever is their posting time, just be ready to get involved as soon as possible. Waiting can play a spoilsport in your venture.

Avoid bulk posting

Until you make your defense rock-solid you can’t go offensive. Similarly, to increase your followers you have to be sure that your existing followers stay with you. Don’t try their patience by posting bulk mail. Nobody likes to get bulk emails that just bloat their mailboxes. You shouldn’t post more than one post at a time. Make a schedule to post across days, weeks, or even months instead of posting multiple times, all at once.

Be authoritative

History proves that most people like authority. People who identify themselves as an authority have many more followers than people who don’t. So, don’t be humble in your profile. Identify yourself as who you are in the best possible light, just like you would on your resume. You are bound to raise curiosity and thereby more engagement.