However rewarding the work itself may be, the position of office IT manager is often a thankless one. The nature of IT work is such that when everything is running well, no one notices it — as soon as there is even a small problem with connectivity or technology, however, the IT department is the first to take the blame.
This is especially true in the case of insufficient Internet bandwith. Slow Internet and slow upload and download times are among the most annoying problems office workers face, and because many of them don’t understand the first thing about how digital technology works, they often treat these issues as if they are easily solvable.
The reality, of course, is that slow Internet is almost always a product of overtaxed infrastructure systems that simply cannot keep up with the demands being placed on them. This applies both to the macro infrastructure that provides service across the country, and also to the so-called “last kilometer” network that connects end users to the national infrastructure.
As an IT manager, you can’t do much about the cabling infrastructure in your country, but traffic bottlenecks can be dealt with closer to home by expanding the amount of structured cabling within your office itself. The more robust your own structured cabling network is, the better able you will be to ensure your organization has sufficient bandwith for the needs of its employees.
Upgrading cabling can be a time-consuming process, however, and the truth is that very few IT managers can spare the time to oversee a complete overhaul of your office’s cabling infrastructure. One way to expand your network cabling is to link your office with ExcelLinx Communications or any other company that offers turnkey network cabling infrastructure services.
Hiring a third party to help will not only ensure that you get the expanded capacity you need, it also takes a lot of stress out of the installation process. Instead of having to undertake the survey, source the materials, create a plan for where new wireless access points and cabling hubs will go, and install the new system with the already overtaxed resources of your team, you can bring in cabling experts who do this work professionally, and know how to get the best results in the most efficient way.
If the IT team you oversee is small, turnkey services are even more important because they handle everything from start to finish, letting you carry on with the vital work of taking care of your organization’s day-to-day IT needs.
No matter what position they are in, all IT managers need to be realistic about what upgrades they can handle with their in-house team, and what upgrades call for external help.
If you think it likely that your organization will need to upgrade its structured cabling capacity in the coming year to keep up with increased traffic, you should seriously consider whether or not you should hire a third party structured cabling company to help you with the project plan and installation.
