Successful Virtual Network Deployment Starts With a Plan

Deployment of anything new in the corporate environment is set to fail if you don’t have the right steps in place to ensure success. This is true whether the plan is to change your Internet Service Provider, select a new font for all communications, or implement a virtual network. After all, the simplest change can have far-reaching implications.

For instance, did you know that selecting a new font could drastically hurt your brand if you don’t have a clear plan in place for identifying all communication channels, points of interaction, and even an inventory of all print materials? Without careful planning, the resulting change can turn into a significant mess.

The same is true for the deployment of a virtual network. You’re making the change for all the right reasons, yet those benefits will soon be overshadowed by confusion, frustration, or outright refusal to use the new system if you fail to keep four key things in mind.

The Plan

While it seems like a given that you need to map out a change like this, a number of companies start the process without thinking about key factors:

  • Do you understand user behavior and how it will be impacted by the change?
  • Has your team been communicated with so they understand the value of this change?
  • Have you determined all processes and functions that will be affected and developed a strategy for how they will be handled during the transition?

The Team

When implementing a virtual network, there’s too much to do for one person. You need to have a team in place who can map out the plan and ensure everything that needs to be considered is included in that plan. The team will determine the desired outcomes and outline how those outcomes will be achieved, as well as drive compliance with the set timeline. Be sure to include security specialists, network administrators, server and storage admins, application development engineers, and even end-users on this team.

Use What Works

In an implementation or change, it’s important to determine what works and stick with it. It is possible to deploy a virtual network while still relying on existing systems. You don’t always have to start from scratch and can save a lot of heartache, time, and other resources by investigating opportunities to keep some of your current technology when building out the plan. Just be sure in the process that you’re also planning for the future. If what you have won’t sustain you a few years from now, it doesn’t make sense to keep it.

Monitor

While it’s critical to monitor the virtual network deployment process, it’s also important to track the health of the network in order to identify problems. Additionally, there is significant opportunity in mining network traffic for valuable business insights. Consistent monitoring should be part of the virtual network implementation process as well as the ongoing management of the network.

Making the move to a virtual network has the potential to be very beneficial. To ensure success, have these four elements in place and talk to our experts at Infinium Communications.

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