Submitted By Michael Valladao, Product Marketing Manager for NetScout
This morning I received yet another message from a colleague asking me to fill in while they are on PTO. It’s the end of summer and it seems like everyone is going on vacation. There are vacant cubes all over the office and plenty of open parking spaces outside. What’s with that? Don’t people understand there is work to do?
The same thing happens when I call folks back at our Corporate Headquarters outside of Boston. Apparently, New Englanders go to “The Cape” a lot. We don’t have a Cape here in California. Even if we did, the Pacific Ocean is cold during the summer months. So it is hard to relate.
It’s hard to believe, but IT people take vacations too. That often means the help desk is understaffed or there is a summer intern covering the phones. How is a network supposed to run at peak efficiency when a key person who genuinely understands the network is floating down a river somewhere with a six-pack of beer and no cell coverage? Just another hurdle in managing today’s Modern IP Network. The most productive network teams I have ever worked with always manipulated their vacation schedules to ensure at least one high ranking network guru was available during the busy vacation season. If you planned properly, colleagues would go the same destination to scope things out and figure out the best way to pass the time. That way, when they returned, you could make the most out of your vacation.
Sorry… I was just interrupted by a technical question regarding the new v4.5 release from a SE. Although I responded within three minutes of receiving the email, I received an Out of Office reply to my response… OK, now I see a blackberry response from him. So it looks like Billy is still working during his time off…
That raises another question. Should you take a laptop with you on vacation? Whenever I do, I often get nasty looks from my wife.
But back to the IT help desk coverage issue. What else can we do to minimize vacation havoc? Well having early problem detection comes to mind, something like NetScout’s nGenius K2 offering. With the ability to quickly identify degradations on the network, you can solve problems that would otherwise bring the network to its knees before they reach critical mass and not have to scramble and try to find someone who is on vacation to help with the problem. Helps keep those co-worker relationships in good standings too.
A final thought is the simple fact that NetScout products just make life easier. Companies that properly deploy Sniffer and nGenius products have fewer issues, thus allow more time for people to go on vacations. It also makes it easier to share responsibilities among several members on the team. So if somebody has to go to Uncle Bob’s third wedding in Cleveland, the business is covered.
So, are vacations good, bad, or evil? The answer is probably a little of each. However, with NetScout on the job you can feel more relaxed and actually enjoy that vacation.
Have fun with the remainder of your summer! I’ll be out of the office for a few days, as my wife is taking me somewhere with “limited Internet access”.
If you have processes in place, or thoughts on the best way networks can be maintained during the busy vacation season drop us a line. We are always happy to hear from you.
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