As technology evolves rapidly, it is inevitable (and recommended) that you will want to bolster your company’s network infrastructure with the newest and best stuff out there. Getting the best possible network hardware and technology will mean a heartier infrastructure, better security, and speedier collaboration. Although updating your network hardware and software is best practice, it is very important that the process is done right so that your expensive network doesn’t crash and burn when you need it most.
Although it is pretty much expected that you will have some network downtime during the lifetime of your setup (varying on how complex it is), there are several things that you can do to minimize this. Especially today, when saving capital is of the utmost importance for business, preventing any network downtime will save your company a headache as well as loss of precious revenue. The following is a list of steps you can rely on to minimize the chance being blindsided by a total network blackout:
- Plan for compatibility: Just like you want to learn about a date’s likes and dislikes to see if there is potential for long term compatibility, you also need to carefully plan the integration of new and updated network hardware into your older structures. This can be done simply by doing some research on the network hardware products with good ole’ Google search.
- Testing is King : Create a near identical testing environment that mimics the network environment to give it a test run before going live. It can be very dangerous to go live with new network hardware without ‘beta testing’ any potential problems and flaws. Although it is very difficult to create a live testing environment without utilizing real-world stress, it is important to try to do this as diligently as possible.
- Stagger Your Release: Like any control-variable experiment, it is important that each addition is installed and tested individually and sequentially. If you add multiple variables at once, and something goes awry, it will be impossible to determine what caused the problem. If each step is implemented and tested against a control, it can easily be determined at each interval what is working and what isn’t.
- Be Ready for the Worst Case Scenario: Expect that on the implementation of your new network hardware there will be some downtime. Be prepared for this by creating a quick ‘reboot’ protocol, a blueprint that you can follow to get the network live as rapidly as possible. Also schedule your implementations for off-hours when it won’t have a major impact on your business users.
- Finish twice: When you think everything is up in order and working fine, go back to the drawing board and re-test everything. Usually there are one or two components that you haven’t predicted and will cause a problem down the line. Your due diligence during installation can prevent a hassle and loss of capital in the future.
Hope this helps. As you can see the important part is preparation, and as in anything, the more the better. Another important part of the equation for success is to to make sure your network hardware products are the best available on the market. This is easier said than done, especially when small businesses are trying to save every penny available due to the economic downturn. I recommend utilizing a reputable used network hardware reseller, where you can purchase equipment at a fraction of the cost. Make sure they offer a good warranty and be sure to get their customer service on the line to answer any of your questions before going forward with a purchase.
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#1 by Rocio30 on January 11th, 2010
First, I'm not a resume expert. Overall, it looks good, but here are a few grammar/punctuation things:
First paragraph: If you are going to start out in past tense (-ed), stay that way. You started with "directed and managed," so in the 2nd line put "consulted," or just put "Direct and manage"
First paragraph (2nd to last line): Put a semicolon after organization, and say "contributed to" instead of contribute (I think you forgot the word "to"). Use "contribute to" if you are going with present tense.
1st bullet point: "Develop" should be a lower case 'd' as in "develop."
3rd bullet point: Remove "where appropriate,". It's unnecessary.
7th bullet point: Use "ensure adherence to software licensing laws". Formal English still doesn't allow a preposition to end the sentence.
12th bullet point: You switched to past tense again.
13th bullet point: Since you didn't capitalize Organization in the next bullet point, don't do it now. Just use "the organization."
16th bullet point: Find something different for "heads." Maybe try executives?
17th bullet point: Same thing with Organization; pick one and stick with it.
#2 by Rocio30 on January 11th, 2010
Can't really do much with a resume without seeing it in its own WP where we can see your spacing, indents, etc. As it is on this screen, it doesn't look legible.
I can tell you, though a quick fix. You need to keep your tenses the same. You san on the one hand "DirectED and managED," then immediately go on to say "Consult."
General rule here is for the job you're currently doing, use present tense as "Direct and manage." You're still doing it, so present tense makes sense. On down in your resume when you describe your duties in earlier jobs, use the past tense.
You are also inconsistent with your capitilization. Your first bullet correctly has caps, "Plan, organize…" Then your second bullet you go to lowercase. "evaluate." Make all these caps, including your bullets below, "research…" "install…"
Even though some "experts" will disagree, it's still best, unless your older and have lots of years of experience, to have one page resume. I think you have too much detail on this one job, it's clear you're going way over one page. Remember if somebody looks at your resume, thinks it's not easy to read, they won't, you didn't get a chance even if you are wonderful. Keep it one page, get some white space on it, make it attractive. If you're running an IT shop it will be expected that you know how to make Word or WordPerfect very attractive.
I have a real readability problem with this, but as I said, without seeing it in the form your Word or whatever will give it, it's hard to evaluate.
Good luck with your job search.