Nerve Center Tech Tip 2: Evaluate Your Network & Wi-Fi Health
Why Network Health Is a Foundational Priority in 2026
Modern business operations rely on a stable and efficient network more than ever. With cloud platforms, video conferencing, remote work, VoIP systems, and connected applications all competing for bandwidth, the network has become the backbone of daily operations. If it falters, productivity drops, customer experience suffers, and the risk of security incidents increases.
Evaluating the state of your network at the start of the year gives you clarity on vulnerabilities, hardware limitations, and performance bottlenecks before they escalate.
Understanding the Age and Capacity of Network Hardware
Many organizations continue using routers, switches, access points, and firewalls long after their intended lifecycle. As hardware approaches end-of-life or end-of-support, performance declines and security exposures become more likely.
A thorough review should consider not just the age but also the capabilities of your equipment. Devices installed five or six years ago may not support modern throughput requirements, advanced intrusion-prevention tools, or next-generation security features. Firmware should be current; logs should be reviewed for anomalies, and manufacturers’ lifecycle databases should be consulted to ensure that devices are still supported.
Conducting a Performance & Coverage Assessment
A performance evaluation tells you how your network behaves under real conditions. This involves analyzing bandwidth utilization, latency patterns, roaming behavior between access points, and potential interference from nearby networks or devices. Issues such as intermittent connectivity, overloaded APs, and misconfigured VLANs often emerge during these checks.
Wi-Fi coverage should also be mapped to uncover dead zones, signal degradation, or areas where device density overwhelms access-point capacity. Businesses relying on hybrid work benefit from ensuring that meeting rooms, collaboration spaces, and remote-access systems are properly optimized for the demands of 2026.
Nevtec provides in-depth network and Wi-Fi analysis, including heat mapping and performance diagnostics.
Reinforcing Wi-Fi Security in a High-Threat Landscape
Wi-Fi remains one of the most commonly targeted entry points for attackers. Weak encryption protocols, unsecured guest networks, outdated authentication methods, and unmonitored access points all contribute to preventable breaches.
A robust security review should include an evaluation of WPA3 enforcement, removal of deprecated legacy protocols, segmentation between internal and guest networks, certificate-based authentication, and an examination of DHCP and access logs for unusual behavior.
Reviewing Firewall and Remote Access Controls
With remote work now a permanent fixture, VPN and firewall configurations must be consistently maintained. Holiday periods often introduce irregular login patterns or delayed updates that require attention once teams return.
A January review should include authentication methods, anomaly detection, MFA for VPN access, geo-restriction policies, and a review of intrusion detection/prevention events. This ensures that your perimeter remains secure and that remote employees access company systems safely.
Nevtec provides comprehensive firewall hardening, monitoring, and configuration support:
Make This the Year Your Network Runs at Peak Performance
Book a 2026 Network & Wi-Fi Health Assessment
Nevtec’s engineers will evaluate your hardware lifecycle, analyze your Wi-Fi coverage and performance, assess firewall and VPN security, and provide strategic recommendations to strengthen your infrastructure for the year ahead.👉 Schedule your assessment.
