Things a Network Manager Needs To Know

Your company probably has a network manager to oversee things like the integration of new hardware or software upgrades. This manager will need to have at least a basic understanding of how a computer network functions, as well as a working knowledge of things like analytics, security systems and critical thinking. Brushing up on these things and working to continually improve your skills can make you a better manager and problem-solver.

Analytics and Data Wrangling

Data wrangling, also called data profiling, is determining how good your data set is before analyzing it for reports. The right tools can help you sort out anomalies and explore frequency distributions across your spreadsheets, giving you a better picture of your processes, information and needs. With the right visualizations, your network and data manager can quickly find actionable insights for your projects and save valuable time previously devoted to generating the charts and reports himself or herself. When you have the right tools for the job of profiling data, you can generate better reports, have a good visualization of the systems and processes in question, and make more innovative solutions to problems.

Hardware and Software Networking

A network manager is responsible for configuring all the hardware as well as choosing which software and updates to use for the system. He or she may have team leaders working on these things, but the final decision rests with the manager. This means that a working knowledge and understanding of network functions, processes and parts is an important aspect of the job. You do not have to know how to completely do every job on the networking team but understanding what those jobs entail and what proper solutions should look like will make the work easier.

Security Setup and Testing

The security of your business’ network is integral to being able to get all your work done, make sales and avoid lawsuits. The right security setup can help keep your data, and that of your customers, from the wrong hands and should be tested on a regular basis. Having a basic understanding of the security system and its features can help a network manager better secure the firewall, train employees on proper password maintenance and much more.

Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking

Like most managers and employees, problem-solving and critical thinking skills are important for a network administrator to develop. He or she will have to look at the reports from data wrangling to see where things can be improved or eliminated, be able to effectively evaluate the work done by subordinates and solve problems as they arise. Researching and analyzing problems is more effective than using personal feelings and biases to approach developing action plans.

Innovation and Communicating

Network issues can be even more complex than the systems they are part of. This means that a network manager needs to be able to think outside the box for an innovative solution. He or she needs to be able to take the initiative to either adapt the current connectivity options or find inventive new ones. This goes together with the ability to communicate those ideas effectively as well as actively listen to how employees explain the issues. Good communication skills are a must for any manager but working with highly technical language and personnel from many different departments, can make this job tougher for a network administrator. Listening to problems and solving them can involve as much soothing frustrations as it means designing action plans.

Some of the things that a network manager needs to know can be intuitive such as having a working knowledge and understanding of the hardware and software on the network. Other things, however, may surprise you like effective data wrangling, communication and innovation skills. Whether you are new to the job of manager or have been doing it for decades, brushing up on these things can help you be more effective at administrating a network and managing your team members.