The system monitoring tools that you ultimately choose to manage your company’s network is a big decision that should not be taken lightly. It’s important to properly research the features that best fit the criteria your company and its IT department are looking for. Everything from tracking and managing bandwidth to keeping any eye on and defending against security threats comes into play when exploring options for the best system monitoring tools for your company’s needs. In today’s article, we take a look at some of the most important features to consider in your search. Every company has its own sets of needs and its own budget, so while we consider the following features as some of the most important, it’s critical to independently analyze your own needs and make a decision based off of them.

Often overlooked in the software world yet invaluable when it comes to important features, is a software’s intuitiveness and ability to be picked up and learned quickly. The functionality and ease of everyday use can translate into identifying issues and potential threats right away compared to letting them become deep seeded and wide spread problems. Most system monitoring tools offer some form of a main dashboard that tracks the key metrics and vitals of your network that help maintain the health and efficiency of your network as whole. By obtaining a set of system monitoring tools that are intuitive and easy to learn, you can quickly train new employees and maintain the health of your network as your company grows. Also as your company grows you run into the inevitable issue of turnover in your IT department. By having software that is easy to learn and train people on, you can ensure there is no lapse in coverage when there is an inevitable replacement on your staff.

While the security of your network is obviously your first priority, the speed of your network is often times a close second. When it comes to network speed, your company’s network bandwidth is a critical metric to keep track of. More and more employees in today’s offices have their personal smartphones and tablets connected to the company’s network. Short of having two separate networks and routers, it can become extremely important to monitor that bandwidth from a centralized set of system monitoring tools. Much of the software available today can offer custom alerts for when bandwidth is approaching a certain level so that you can make adjustments as necessary when needed. By being able to track bandwidth in real-time, you can prevent your company from having a major slow down, ultimately affecting your bottom line, and ensure that speed is always maintained.

As previously mentioned, smartphones and tablets are becoming a large part of today’s business landscape. Having the ability to offer a set of system monitoring tools that offer a mobile or tablet application can help play to the needs of the IT professional that is constantly on the go and or works remotely on a regular basis. Similar to setting up custom alerts, a mobile or tablet applications gives you the ability to deal with issues as they arise much faster than if you had to be in front of a traditional desktop. Within the system monitoring tools application, you can often times set alerts from within the software to notify you of potential security threats and bandwidth problems.

As with much software offered in today’s tech landscape, many system monitoring tools offer demo versions that let you get a feel of how the software works and how well it will integrate with your current suite of tools. After doing your research and before making your decision, it’s always a good idea to test out one of these demos before committing to the investment.