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Businesses know the importance of keeping up with vital documents. In the current digital age, this is primarily handled by some form of document management solution. These include some way to input documents, collate them, tag them for easy referencing, store them, and retrieve them when necessary. The same basic system is needed for your company’s network documentation management. 

What is Network Documentation 

Management? 

Network documentation management maintains the records about your company’s computer network. IT personnel or network administrators use this data to troubleshoot and repair network issues as they arise. A complete set of records allows IT professionals to quickly see how your network is built, and how it works, so timely repairs can be made. 

This network documentation will also include notations of when and where upgrades, component replacements or additions, and repairs have been made. This information, properly dated and recorded, is vital to know when new issues or problems arise, or new IT personnel are tasked with oversight. A well-documented record of how everything in the network relates together is an essential tool for making timely repairs. 

The goal of effective and accurate network documentation management is to keep your company network at peak operating efficiency with the least possible amount of downtime. 

Why is Network Documentation Management Important?

The ability to lay hands quickly on a variety of network records is vital for a number of reasons. With network documentation management, your overall goals are to:

• Make information readily available to resolve issues quickly. Every minute your network is down costs you in productivity and profit. The faster problems can be solved, the better. 
• Minimize user downtime. Network drawings can help facilitate communication. A well-drawn schematic to show your network layout can make the difference between a repair or upgrade that takes minutes, or hours trying to explore and understand written descriptions. 
• Understand the schematics of your company’s network. Knowing the layout of your network and how each part relates to the others is important, especially when making repairs or adding new components. 

What Should Your Network Documentation Management Include?

What is included in your company’s network documentation depends largely on the size of your network. For example, a small network with one switch and a firewall with a single access point needs very little documentation, and perhaps only one diagram. But the larger your network becomes, communication between teams becomes key and documentation is required for ease of handover between employees, contractors or external parties. 

Auvik, a company that provides document management solutions, suggests including the following information in your network documentation. The data is categorized as critical, useful, and nice to have, relating to an item’s importance to your network documentation management. 

Maintaining your company’s network at peak efficiency is vital to your success and profitability. Is it time to review your network’s capabilities with an eye on making improvements? MHO can provide effective solutions for all sizes of business networks. Give us a call today or drop a message through our website to ask about our networking services for businesses.