05 September 2025
Martin Saunders, COO of Highlight
In today’s digital-first businesses, network performance is vital for operational stability and success. If the network falters, so does productivity, communication, and in many cases, customer experience. Having an effective tool to monitor and deliver full oversight across the whole network is essential.
Prioritise a user experience that matches your use case
The interface of a network monitoring tool is not just about aesthetics, it’s about functionality. An intuitive, clean user interface (UI) helps network managers to access the right information quickly, make informed decisions, and take action without delay. With key metrics and alerts presented clearly, network teams can respond faster and with greater confidence.
The best platforms bring high-priority issues to the forefront, eliminating noise and reducing the time spent digging for insights. In addition, the latest tools offer dark and light modes, along with compliance to WCAG 2.0 Level AA accessibility standards. This ensures that network and IT professionals with disabilities can interact with monitoring dashboards effectively.
Embrace AI for anomaly detection and predictive insights
AI is revolutionising network monitoring and observability. By incorporating machine learning, AI-driven platforms can now detect unusual patterns or step changes in network performance that human eyes might miss. These anomalies, distinct from normal spikes, could indicate security threats, bandwidth constraints or faulty hardware.
AI doesn’t stop at real-time alerts. Sophisticated platforms also analyse historical data to forecast future trends. For instance, they can predict when a broadband or Wi-Fi connection might hit capacity, allowing managers to plan upgrades in advance and avoid unexpected costs or outages.
Maximise the power of APIs for scalability and efficiency
As networks scale, manual configuration and monitoring can become inefficient and error prone. This is where APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) shine. By enabling automation of deployment, configuration and performance tracking, APIs streamline network operations and reduce human error.
Through APIs, network and IT teams can automate everything from provisioning new services to pulling real-time performance data across distributed environments. For instance, API access can instantly report whether a branch location is online, how many devices are connected and current throughput, all without manual checks.
Support for IoT and remote infrastructure is a must
With the growth in IoT (Internet of Things) devices, network teams need to manage more endpoints than ever before. These devices, ranging from smart cameras to air quality sensors, require the same level of oversight as traditional infrastructure.
Modern platforms must unify the visibility of traditional networks and IoT devices into a single pane of glass. This means consolidating device health, connectivity status, and sensor data across all locations. Real-time alerts for power issues, Wi-Fi drops, or cloud disconnections are essential to ensure operational reliability. Additionally, knowing that a device is “online” is not enough. Managers must verify that it’s powered, connected, and fully functional. With integrated IoT observability, IT professionals can quickly diagnose and resolve issues, minimising downtime and security blind spots.
In brief: Choose platforms that treat IoT as first-class citizens in network infrastructure and support proactive, remote management.
Adopt platforms that offer unified, rapid deployment
The future of network monitoring and observability lies in simplification, standardisation, and speed. Traditional tools can be clunky and slow to deploy, requiring weeks or months to configure. Modern observability platforms provide a unified “first pane of glass” view across multiple vendors and technologies, with rapid deployment and intuitive self-service capabilities.
By standardising data presentation and integrating AI, APIs, and IoT visibility, modern platforms allow businesses, whether global enterprises or SMEs, to scale with confidence. Network and IT teams gain clearer insights, faster responses, and better alignment with external vendors and internal stakeholders.
In brief: Look for platforms that balance robust functionality with ease of use, enabling instant observability and reduced onboarding time.
In a world where digital infrastructure underpins every facet of business, network monitoring and observability must give network and IT teams clear, actionable insights and provide comprehensive visibility across both traditional networks and emerging devices.
