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There’s that third cup of coffee in the morning I love so much – the stuff that wakes your neurons just enough that you begin reflecting on what the biggest challenges IT has right now. Almost three decades into this game (began as a network admin in 1993, good old days of managing just a few routers and some crude multiplexers for voice and data over PSTN – anyone else?), I’ve noticed the way network operations centers — or NOCs — have changed. But they still aren’t always the right fit for the mid-size enterprise model. Enter co-managed NOCs, a mix of both that PJ Networks has recently been advocating, especially since some banks, ones it helped overhaul to zero trust, started endorsing the approach.
Consider your network the way you would an old classic you want to keep running well: your in-house team is the driver, and external expert support is the pit crew. Neither one can do it all alone well. Too frequently, companies get in over their head in one direction or the other – either they fully outsource their NOC (and lose control), or the pendulum swings all the way back toward DIY (and overwhelm their existing team).
Co-managed NOC combines the best of both worlds.
Together they are a powerhouse — a flexible and scalable one that, while quite impressive, doesn’t lose the personal touch you require in cybersecurity.
Having just got back from DefCon and still going over the hardware hacking village (there is always more to learn or forget) feels like a good time to put down some thoughts from the last year while it is still fresh in my mind. We assisted three different banks in their zero-trust architecture upgrades, and a significant amount of it was talking about how their network operations had changed along with their security posture. These were not giant multinational corporations, but DC enterprises that had to be able to balance robust security and operational agility.
What they found success in, was the co-managed NOC approach which permitted:
One bank told me, It’s like having a well-experienced co-pilot without handing over the controls. That analogy isn’t far off.
But here’s the rub: co-management doesn’t suddenly work just because you say it can. The devil’s in the details: clarity of roles, lines of communication, trust.
What often gets overlooked — and I’ve seen this one to many times — is that simply outsourcing alert monitoring is not sufficient. Co-managed is the term: it means the knowledge of your internal people expands as opposed to being replaced by expert assistance.
Here’s my favorite part. I cut my teeth pounding the trenches, fingers on command lines and wires crawling under desks, so I can’t abide the idea of letting your in-house people turn into glorified ticket-closers. It’s not a “take over” kind of approach with PJ Networks’ co-managed NOC. It’s about empowering.
Think about it: your team handles most issues as they occur during the day— no waiting for consultants. And when a thornier problem comes along, they ramp up fluidly, picking up skills in the meantime. That’s training by doing, but with no risk to uptime.
Look, I get it. AI-powered is the buzzword du jour flitting about like confetti at a tech conference. But I’m skeptical. I’ve seen too many smart systems that make more noise than signal (remember Slammer worm in 2003? Automation without context was a nightmare). Co-managed NOC isn’t about supplanting human expertise and judgment with algorithms — it’s about supplementing it.
So if you’re looking for the quick fix from the AI black box, caveat emptor. What PJ Networks offers is the kind of knowledge that only comes from experience with a smart tooling, not some AI pipe dream. The best network operations are performed by people who are familiar with your business and your network’s idiosyncrasies.
Because we’ve been there. From managing multiplexers in the 90s to protecting zero-trust environments in today’s reality, PJ Networks provides a layered, pragmatic view of co-managed NOCs.
We get the subtle dance between operational control and expert help. We make solutions that let your network teams and cybersecurity teams have superpowers and never burn out or play the blame game.
Mid-size businesses with expanding network complexity can no longer afford to fly blind or to depend on internal teams with limited 24×7 coverage. And outsourcing everything? You lose context, control and often speed.
Co-managed NOC is the best of both worlds. Your team remains in the driver’s seat — no one knows your network better — but you’ve got an experienced pit crew to call in when things get hairy.
For me, this new approach to network management is a welcomed change at the right time, but if it brings back the basics — a reliance on human expertise, transparency in the way things are done and the act of working together.
Oh and by the way, If you’re interested in catching up to discuss how co-managed NOCs might work for yourself—I’m just here sat at my desk, coffee in hand. Let’s talk shop.
