Why Cable Management Software?
As networks grow and become more complex, storing proper documentation safely, in a Cable Management System (CMS) system is becoming increasingly important. Documenting cabling connections and network components is vital to prolonging the life of a building's voice and data infrastructure. A capable CMS solution will reduce the cost of managing moves, adds, and changes and help reduce network downtime. Until recently, most organizations documented the physical network through spreadsheet software, paper based/manual systems, or relied on an individual's memory. This critical information is often lost, incomplete or forgotten. In today's business culture, there is a huge demand placed on each network. Having quick access to well documented information has never been more important. The information below will explain the benefits of Cable Management Software (CMS).
Reasons for Documenting
A CMS system will allow your internal resources to better improve service and reduce costs associated with:
Moves, Adds, and Changes (MAC)
A typical company will move approximately 25% of its employees each year, with an average labor cost of $200 - $300 per move. Knowing what you have, where it's located, and what it's connected to will make MAC's that much easier. By having proper documentation, the needed changes are understood and the team knows how best to move forward. More importantly, a CMS package that is easy to use and easy to access to will reduce the daily cost of these changes while increasing the life of your infrastructure.
Network Downtime
The costs associated with a network's MAC orders are minimal compared to the cost of a network connection failure. When important Telco or Data systems fail, investigations frequently reveal weak documentation or none at all. This common scenario is where an investment in a CMS package is well worth it. Industry surveys show that 75% of service calls are cabling related, and internal or external technicians spend 75% of their service time searching for the problem and 25% actually fixing it. It is not uncommon to realize a quick and drastic reduction in cost of repairs due to the implementation of a CMS package that allows technicians to find things quickly.
Physical Loss
Abandoning cable can quickly become a problem. In the case of many facilities, it is possible to have the entire building rewired every three to five years. When your core cabling is abandoned, it artificially depletes the inventory while it continues to take up space, requiring expansion or abandonment of closets, or the purchasing of costly new equipment to solve the capacity problems being faced. The costly expense of this equipment does nothing to improve network satisfaction. Many times it actually disturbs things due to the costly effect of several hours of implementation and the migration process. These expenses can be avoided with a CMS that allows you to know what cabling you already have and where it is located.
Disaster Recovery
In today's world, this topic is being discussed with more regularity and importance. No one likes to think about the loss of a facility due to theft, natural, or human caused disasters. But, these events can and do happen. By planning ahead and having well defined documentation, your responsible team will quickly identify those affected by a disaster that affects a portion of a building or the entire building itself. A CMS package would allow for management to quickly identify the lost resources and replace, duplicate, or re-route the connections as needed. Reporting can also take place to detail the lost network components and more. This can be sent to your insurance provider and management teams within minutes, to speed the recovery process.
Security
Another issue that should be addressed within your facility is security. When conducting business using your internal team and external vendors; the process can be simplified with a CMS package. A properly designed package will give the needed users access to the information where needed at any time with security in place to allow for proper access per user. Since downtime is reduced drastically with a CMS package in place, exposure of information loss or network penetration is minimized.
Future Growth
The only way to understand the direction of the future is to first understand the current situation. Consider how adding one more connection to a closet can eat away at your budget, especially if a new backbone has to be installed. The situation only gets worse if this happens twice or more in a single year.
Usage reports from a CMS can give you current capacities of your hardware and assets, cables, pathways, and more. This documentation can be viewed during the planning stages of an installation, thus minimizing or eliminating the costs of emergency upgrades, not to mention frustrations in schedule delays.
A CMS package will allow your team to better prepare for all situations. By understanding what you currently have and how it is being used will benefit you in all decisions required to be made for future growth. With the documentation at your finger tips and reporting capability, your team will have the tools needed in understanding how to achieve your goal for movement into the future.
Summary
Making the needed decision to implement a CMS package is only the first step. A considerable amount of time should be spent evaluating such a package. Such a solution should be designed and continue to adapt to the required and suggested needs of its end-user base. But most of all, it should be easy to use, maintain and reference.
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