NOC OPERATIONS CONSULTING CASE STUDY How INOC Enhanced NOC Performance for a Fiber ISP Through Automation and Workforce Development

Introduction

A rapidly expanding fiber internet provider delivering high-speed internet, voice, and TV services faced escalating challenges in its Network Operations Center (NOC). As its customer base grew, the NOC’s inefficiencies in incident management, staffing, and tool integration became increasingly detrimental, impacting service reliability and customer satisfaction. To address these issues, the company engaged INOC to assess its NOC operations and develop targeted solutions to enhance efficiency, scalability, and performance.

Client Challenges

The NOC faced several pressing challenges that impeded its ability to scale and manage incidents effectively:

• Manual Processes and Tool Fragmentation: The team used SLAB for incident tracking and PagerDuty for alert management, but these tools were not integrated. This required staff to manually enter and correlate incident data between the two systems, leading to delayed responses and increased human error. For example, when a critical network outage occurred, the team had to manually log the alert from PagerDuty into SLAB, which wasted precious minutes that could have been used to resolve the issue.
• Understaffing and Lack of Structured Training: The NOC was operating with a skeleton crew, where a handful of engineers were responsible for round-the-clock coverage. With high turnover rates and limited staff, the team struggled to keep up with demand. Less experienced staff members were often tasked with handling complex incidents without sufficient training, leading to frequent escalations to senior engineers. During a major outage, junior staff lacked the technical skills to troubleshoot effectively, causing delays in incident resolution as senior engineers had to step in. The absence of structured onboarding and continuous training meant that team members lacked the skills necessary to manage increasingly complex systems.
• Limited Visibility into Performance Metrics: The provider had no formal system for tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) such as Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and First-Level Resolution (FLR). Without data on incident resolution times or first-contact success rates, the company had no insight into how efficiently its NOC was operating. This lack of performance metrics prevented management from identifying bottlenecks in the incident management process or implementing improvements. Outages were often handled reactively, with little focus on analyzing patterns or preventing future incidents.

INOC’s Assessment

Over a five-week period, INOC conducted a comprehensive assessment of the NOC, evaluating its people, processes, technology, and alignment with the company’s broader business objectives.

The NOC was severely understaffed, and the lack of a formalized training program left staff unprepared for managing complex incidents. New team members were often given only basic, on-the-job training, which led to longer resolution times and frequent escalations. INOC observed that the NOC lead, responsible for both team management and incident resolution, was overstretched, further compounding the team’s inefficiencies. This lack of specialized training also meant that newer employees struggled to understand the full scope of incidents, leading to fragmented and incomplete incident resolutions.

The NOC’s reliance on manual processes for managing events created significant operational bottlenecks. Every event had to be manually logged into SLAB after being triggered in PagerDuty, which delayed response times and increased the risk of mishandling or overlooked incidents. For instance, when multiple critical alerts occurred simultaneously, the manual processes made it difficult for the NOC to prioritize and address the most pressing issues promptly. INOC noted that these inefficiencies resulted in extended outages and unnecessary service disruptions.

The NOC was also using multiple unintegrated tools for monitoring and incident management. This fragmented setup made it challenging to maintain visibility over ongoing incidents and perform effective root cause analysis. INOC found that during major network issues, the team had to manually correlate data between different systems, which slowed down the resolution process and hampered the NOC’s ability to identify patterns or recurring issues.

Solutions and Recommendations

Based on the assessment, INOC provided several key solutions:

• Automated Event Management and Tool Integration: INOC integrated SLAB and PagerDuty into a centralized ITSM platform, automating ticket creation for all events. This reduced manual input, allowing the NOC to track and prioritize incidents in real time. Automated event correlation grouped related alerts, reducing noise and speeding up response times.
• Structured Training Programs: INOC developed a formal training program with a competency matrix to upskill the team. Regular workshops and simulations ensured ongoing development, while clear career progression paths improved retention and reduced escalations.
• Centralized Tool Management: INOC consolidated monitoring and ticketing systems into a single platform, giving the NOC a unified view of incidents. Automated reporting on metrics like MTTR and FLR enabled data-driven improvements, while a CMDB enhanced root cause analysis.

Outcomes

By implementing INOC’s recommendations, the company could expect:

Faster Incident Response: Automated systems reduce manual intervention, enabling quicker resolution of critical incidents.

Improved Efficiency: A centralized platform streamlines workflows and allows the NOC to handle more incidents effectively.

Enhanced Staff Proficiency: Structured training programs reduce escalations and improve team performance.

By implementing INOC’s recommendations, the company could expect:

• Faster Incident Response: Automated systems reduce manual intervention, enabling quicker resolution of critical incidents.
• Improved Efficiency: A centralized platform streamlines workflows and allows the NOC to handle more incidents effectively.
• Enhanced Staff Proficiency: Structured training programs reduce escalations and improve team performance.
• Better Performance Tracking: Automated reports provide real-time insights into NOC performance for continuous improvement.