Network Monitoring Without IT Expert Checklist

This document is a checklist designed for small business owners and operations leaders who lack full-time IT staff. It outlines a comprehensive approach to evaluate network monitoring capabilities, risk exposure, and visibility. The checklist is divided into several sections, including monitoring strategy and tools, visibility and data collection, alerts and incident detection, security and intrusion monitoring, reporting and review, and support and response readiness. Each section provides specific actions to be taken, such as documenting network monitoring goals, enabling device status monitoring, configuring automated alerts, and generating weekly monitoring reports. Additionally, it includes a scoring model to assess the level of risk based on the completion of checklist items, categorizing the risk into high, moderate, or controlled. The document emphasizes the importance of having a structured monitoring process and provides next steps for businesses that identify exposure through their scoring results.