It would be ideal if every network device you managed across all your client sites was from the same manufacturer, but for most MSPs that’s not the case—over 75% of MSPs manage four or more network vendors for their clients, and some manage upwards of 20. Even though taking care of diverse networks is standard procedure for most service providers, managing gear from multiple vendors is still, well, complex. It means handling different operating systems, different languages, and more.

To fully understand what NetFlow is and why it’s used for network monitoring, we first need to know what a flow is. When computers need to talk to one another they establish communication channels, commonly referred to as connections. (Technically speaking, these communication channels can only be called connections when the TCP protocol is involved.) A flow refers to any connection or connection-like communication channel.

Nearly 70% of businesses have digital transformation as their top IT priority in 2019, according to the 2019 TechTarget IT Priorities survey. But what does that mean? Digital transformation is a loose term, used by different people in different ways, to encompass the initiatives businesses undertake to modernize their IT operations.