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More complexity, fewer results. This is the general consensus among IT teams everywhere. IT infrastructures have evolved into a Frankenstein of servers, access points, applications, and mobile devices. To throw another wrench in there (pun intended), the tools we implement to control complex business networks end up increasing complexity due to the lack of integration between all of these tools. What you get is a tangled mess of solutions that only complicate matters.

If you do any security monitoring, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of events you need to track. You can start by doing longer hours, but eventually you'll end up in a swamp — sucked in to the point that workflow comes to a standstill.

Michael Roth, senior systems engineer, at the University of North Georgia (UNG) is proud to tell his tale about how his team chose automation over IT complexity by changing a manual network inventory process across the school’s 5 campuses.

Data transfer has come a long way. From 110-baud modems from the late 1950s to 56-kbps technology used at the turn of the century — and finally more familiar broadband and Wi-Fi — one thing is clear: Speed is an obsession. And while Wi-Fi has enjoyed significant adoption even as telecom companies fight for top spot in the mobile device market, there's still a drive to find newer, faster ways to move data and increase connectivity.

Most IT teams don’t have the budget or resources to satisfy the growing demands of their users. The demand comes in many forms, such as bandwidth consumption, Wi-Fi access, power utilization, and storage capacity; just to name a few.

If data is the lifeblood of a company, bandwidth is the diameter of the veins through which this data travels. Cheesy medical analogies aside, a blockage or high-pressure bandwidth usage results in issues that compromise the integrity of your office wall to wall.

The future of IT will be molded not just by technology, but also by changing expectations and attitudes toward support's role within the organization.

IT pros know all too well the old "have you tried turning it off and on?" trick - but there are some help desk stories that are stranger than fiction.

Human error is responsible for more than half of all security breaches as of last year, making employees the biggest cyber threat of all. Shadow IT, on the other hand, is the deliberate installation of software that is not authorized by IT. The reasons for it? They vary, but generally include tools to make your tickets easier — which should already be available in a centralized company repository.

Some say this is the year of BYOD management. Great news for businesses seeking to reduce costs and further enslave employees, but a little biased perhaps?

What's on your IT wish list?

The plotline for a data center's Big Data story is still being written, and already there is no lack of twists and turns. The Internet of Things (IoT) is just the latest in a multi-episode drama that'll spawn as many shark-jumping forecasts as processes.

Most people in IT, especially security, have worked with some form of code. Whether it's for automating system tasks, performing network monitoring or developing full-fledged applications, understanding certain scripts is necessary to keeping support running every day.

Want to specialize in designing, managing, configuring and troubleshooting both wired and wireless networks? CompTIA Network+ certification is an easy and affordable way to get ahead (sorry for the plug, but it's true). It shows employers tangible proof that you know your stuff, even when they know next to nothing about IT. Once you're certified, you're on the path to positions like network support specialist, network field engineer, helpdesk technician and network administrator.

IT is a pretty thankless job; long hours to deploy technology that's often invisible to the average user isn't exactly an ego boost as you leave work every night. But for every moment of sheer frustration — and they are many — there's a much lighter side to support, affectionately called "information technology humor." Cue canned laughter.

If network infrastructure is the backbone of modern business, the servers it connects would be the brain. Enterprises rely on these machines for data storage, processing and associated business apps. It comes as no surprise, then, that maintaining server health is one of your highest priorities.

The Super Bowl is over and hockey playoffs are still weeks away, but many Americans will still get their interim fix during March Madness. The prelims went underway on March 15th, and a huge cross-section of the American workforce faces a challenge: making sure they don't miss a single foul shot, even during business hours.

As Isocrates once said, “It’s important to know where you’re going than to get there quickly.” If you’d like to integrate WhatsUpGold network reporting software with Google Maps, here’s how you get there. And it hopefully shouldn’t take you long to do it.

Today’s IT teams are under a heck of a lot of pressure to support multiple directives. They need to deliver IT infrastructure performance that can support defined business goals, strategies and operations. And very important to their success is complying with their commitments to a defined SLA (Service Level Agreement) with their business owners.

"The IT Crowd" (Image Credit: Channel 4 Television Corporation)