A top research university was looking to expand its research capabilities and needed a reliable, secure Network Operations Center (NOC) to manage and safeguard critical data. With their existing IT team struggling to keep up with day-to-day operations and handle frequent outages, the university sought an experienced partner to take over the network monitoring, allowing their internal team to focus on strategic initiatives.

Customer Background

The university is known for its leading research programs and innovative projects that drive advancements across multiple fields. However, to support its growing research ambitions, it needed a robust NOC solution that could handle real-time monitoring, proactive incident management, and rapid response to network issues.

The Challenge

The university’s internal network team was stretched thin, overwhelmed by daily operational tasks and constant alerts. Key challenges included:

• Lack of Proactive Monitoring: The existing setup lacked real-time visibility, making it hard to detect and resolve issues before they escalated.
• Inefficient Communication During Outages: Without a structured communication flow, outages resulted in confusion and delayed resolutions.
• Limited After-Hours Support: The absence of a dedicated 24/7 support model meant that after-hours incidents often went unaddressed until the next day, impacting research productivity and collaboration.

Our Approach

D2D IT Services stepped in with a comprehensive solution designed to address these issues and transform the university’s network operations:

1. Implemented a 24/7 NOC Model: We set up a dedicated Network Operations Center with round-the-clock monitoring and support. Our team was able to respond to any alert within 15 minutes, significantly reducing downtime and improving overall network reliability.
2. Optimized Alerting and Communication: We collaborated with the university’s service owners to refine alert thresholds, reducing the noise from over 100 false alerts a day to actionable notifications. We also established clear communication protocols and facilitated bridge meetings to streamline incident resolution.
3. Established Redundant Monitoring Centers: To ensure maximum coverage and reliability, we set up multiple redundant monitoring centers with diverse “polling” locations, enabling continuous monitoring even when certain parts of the network experienced disruptions.
4. Enhanced Network Visibility: Our team conducted a complete network discovery to identify previously unmonitored segments, ensuring that every critical component was included in the monitoring scope. This gave the university a clearer picture of the up and downstream impact of any issues that occurred.

The Results

With D2D IT Services managing the NOC, the university saw immediate improvements:

• Faster Response Times: Transitioning from an on-call model to a 24/7 NOC allowed us to respond to every alert in under 15 minutes, no matter the time of day.
• Significant Reduction in False Alerts: By fine-tuning the alerting system, we minimized false alarms, allowing the team to focus on real, actionable incidents.
• Optimized Communication: With a structured incident management process and dedicated communication channels, we reduced the time required to identify, escalate, and resolve issues.
• Continuous Monitoring: Our redundant monitoring centers ensured that network visibility and control were maintained even during partial network outages.

By partnering with D2D IT Services, the university was able to regain control over its network operations, eliminate inefficiencies, and support its ambitious research projects without worrying about network stability or downtime.

Conclusion

D2D IT Services provided a scalable, reliable NOC solution that not only resolved the university’s immediate network challenges but also laid the groundwork for future growth. With improved network stability, the university can now focus on its core mission of driving innovation and advancing research without being held back by operational bottlenecks.