5 reasons why your business needs to leverage DNS

Is your organization looking to improve your network environment within the next few years? Whether you are a busy IT executive or someone who works with one, our recent webinar with Mathew Chase, is a must-watch.

In this webinar, “A Busy IT Executive’s Guide to Leveraging DNS” Chase discusses how some in IT are ignoring DNS at their own peril. Chase believes that an organization that leverages DNS will lead to success.

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?

1. Your organization only focuses on DNS when there’s an issue

While this isn’t advisable, it’s somewhat understandable. A couple of decades ago, working with DNS used to involve a conscious effort and a strong understanding of BIND. Nowadays, if you have Active Directory, you probably have Microsoft’s DNS as a by-product – simple as that. However, this new mentality of DNS being a given often leads to neglect, and organizations only pay attention to it when there’s an issue.

By focusing solely on DNS when a problem arises, there is a whole host of power that isn’t being harnessed – especially when DNS is running on a disparate system. How is DNS powerful? Isn’t it simply the Domain Name System that takes care of IP addresses? Nope. And an organization without a strong DNS – like Adaptive DNS – is missing out, because…

2. Your DNS problems are holding you back

An outage can often result in downtime, which can mean lost revenue. Dealing with issues also means that you’re spending more time putting out fires, instead of being able to focus on bigger problems or innovating. If you’re constantly trying to solve problems with a troublesome DNS, you’re holding your organization back.

Simply put, a DNS solution that causes issues is a massive weight on your business. Ideally, your teams should be able to focus on something big like automation, and leveraging that for security. Adaptive DNS is a key enabler of automation and offers security through visibility into the network, control over policies, and smart analytics. Because a business affected by a security problem needs to find patient zero, stat.

This is why it’s important, as Chase mentions, for executives to work with their cybersecurity teams to discuss current issues and future plans: “How can we get smarter and identify threats in our organization?” he says. “That’s the icing on the cake after you’ve solved operational issues.”

3. Digital transformation is in your future

As mentioned above, the ideal scenario is that IT teams are free to work on projects for the betterment of the business. However, it’s common for IT executives to be placed in a scenario where explaining the merits of DNS is a struggle. As Chase explained:

“As you begin to do more sophisticated things, as a technology executive, you’re not being provided extra staff to run DNS… It’s very hard to have these conversations with the CEO and say ‘Hey, I’m going to go spend a bunch of money on a new DNS and a new DHCP system’… It’s super challenging to explain this foundational component that most people will never see, or hear of, but is critical to our success in providing good quality service to our end users, our customers, our applications.”

In order to achieve the desired outcomes, it’s necessary to make it extremely clear that all of these things that are great for business rely on a bulletproof infrastructure. Typically, according to Chase, these are “…redundant, highly available, geographically dispersed, secure, etc.” A business that can experience positive growth is built on a solid foundation, and that foundation is Adaptive DNS.

4. Your customers expect a flawless product

Mathew’s work with Cirque du Soleil gave him a very unique perspective. It meant needing a system that could keep track of everything from performer health to lightbulbs. With a complex product like worldwide circus performances, it’s key to have one central point of control to ensure that everything goes as it should.

You might be thinking at this point that a circus is a pretty specific circumstance, and that this isn’t as big of a deal for other businesses. This isn’t the case, however. It all comes down to individual business needs and how DNS can be leveraged for them. For example, “Thoughtful, redundant DHCP servers, call centers rely upon that for VoIP satellites.” Mathew was also careful to note that when businesses ignore DNS, they’re doing so at their own peril.

5. You want to run a smooth business

While “peril” might seem like an intense word to use, it is quite fitting. Given what we know about DNS, ignoring it is like building a house and disregarding the fact that there’s no foundation. Nowadays, we’re taking DNS for granted to the point where we look at it like electricity – we just expect it to work reliably. So when something goes wrong, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise for organizations that only treat DNS as a utility instead of an investment.

When your organization isn’t operating with a more robust DNS solution, time and money are the first things to go – not to mention productivity. With Adaptive DNS, the IT team is equipped with a more robust solution that becomes a key participant in digital transformation initiatives. On top of this, they can now genuinely focus on driving said initiatives.

So, how exactly can a busy IT executive leverage DNS? The simplest approach is to make it clear to the C-suite that DNS is a critical base function of business. Furthermore, the potential for future innovation moves closer to reality when your network is optimized. Given that cyber criminals are gaining new skills every day, anyone who isn’t monitoring their DNS is essentially a sitting duck.

And there’s no need to go about it alone. With DNS, it’s best to not DIY if you don’t have to (or as Chase says, “You probably shouldn’t be in the ‘I’m building my own DNS space’.”) So, what can an organization do to help themselves and the future of their business? Talking with the Adaptive DNS experts is always a great place to start. At the very least, you’ll learn something new – at best, you’re the office champ who revamped the business with DNS.