Managed Router vs Unmanaged Router: Making the Right Choice for Your Network

With the ever-expanding market, choosing between network devices may become a hard decision. There's always a new arrival. However, some of us are always skeptical of these newcomers and like to place our trust in traditional tools. 

This confidence in basic tools like unmanaged routers comes from the belief that we're skilled, and so is our team. But they may become hard to scale. That's when cloud-managed routers come into the discussion. They're like really skilled watchdogs who can also provide insight.

Explanation of Managed Routers

A managed router is a completely outsourced solution. It's nothing like the routers we have at home. Setup and configuration are much easier with them because you, the user, don't even have to lift a finger. They come already configured. 

Cloud-managed routers are a crucial tool of cloud computing. They are essential for an end to end encrypted internet access and can be configured for various services like NAT, VPN client, DHCP server, and WAN acceleration services. They also come with a built-in firewall. Which means you're also protected from malware issues. And the most interesting part is that all of it is outsourced. Yes, experts worldwide are working to keep your network safe.

Since all of this is outsourced, the burden of router management on internal IT staff eases up. Also offers operational insights and various service packages to suit a range of business needs.

Advantages of Using Managed Routers 

There are countless advantages of managed routers. They may be pricey, but they are absolutely worth it. Here's why–

• Equipment Provisioning and Management: Service providers lift the burden off internal staff for other business-critical projects by monitoring the network 24/7. This way, internal resources don't have to insert themselves in time-consuming things like configuration and management.
• Improved Response Time: Since they are managed and controlled by experts, the likelihood of misconfiguration decreases quite a lot. This improves performance and productivity.
• Cost Savings: Cloud routers can save money by reducing the time spent setting up and maintaining the network. It can also open a door for various data packs, which can help reduce costs.
• Top-Notch Security: Managed routers have everything the IT industry has to offer to keep your network guarded. By outsourcing management from third-party professionals, businesses can profit. Because this allows their teams to focus on more in-house tasks.
• Reliability: These routers are designed to perform uninterrupted. They last you a lifetime. They also reduce downtime because someone is always on the lookout for network issues. And because network issues are immediately taken care of, they're reliable.

Analysis of Unmanaged Routers

Unmanaged routers don't operate on their own. They don't have a centralized server. With unmanaged routers, you need to buy separate hardware and then patch all of the devices together. They just take data in and send them back out without any warning, monitoring, or provision. The in-house IT team takes care of these DIY setups, which means no pre-configuration.

If a network issue suddenly pops up, it can't be immediately taken care of with the unmanaged ones. This disrupts the workflow till the local network issue is brought to attention. In this day and age, where 5G is making every data processing project fast-paced, this is a big problem. Because not only does it slow down tasks, but it also brings about maintenance costs for the company. This also shifts the IT team's focus from existing and upcoming projects to troubleshooting. Overall, unmanaged routers seem like a risky investment for businesses.

Factors to Consider When Choosing

First, you need to understand what your organization’s requirements are. Only then you can make the correct decision. Know what your team is capable of and the challenges that you regularly face. Pay attention to every specific detail and consider these factors:

• Cost: Money is a big deal here. While unmanaged routers have a lower initial cost, it takes a lot to maintain them. You also need a backup for potential downtime. Evaluate the entire cost. Cloud-managed routers are expensive, but they rarely disappoint you. They save maintenance money and promptly respond to workflow disruption. 
• Resource Allocation: Consider whether your team has the expertise and internal resources to maintain an unmanaged router. If yes, then great! Congrats on having such skilled people by your side. But if you lack DIY genes, then a managed router may be a more suitable option.
• Reliability and Security: Managed routers are made to work uninterrupted. And that reduces downtime and enhances functionality. Think of the importance of network reliability for your organization. You'll need to install firewalls to keep your network secure with unmanaged routers. But managed ones have firewalls built in. VPN support is a must-have for a business. And managed routers absolutely nail it.
• Expertise: Assess your team members’ expertise in the router management field. Managed routers will open your access to networking masters. However, unmanaged routers burden your IT members with network issues. Think before putting your employees through hell.
• Scalability: Managed routers are easy to expand. Their flexible nature ensures your business’s growth.

Comparison Table

Decision-Making Process

A company with a large network needs advanced equipment, extensive monitoring, and expert management. But 24/7 support isn't possible with DIY patchwork networks. Because it's impossible to maintain them on such a large scale, that's why bigger companies use managed routers for better connectivity. 

You can't have your whole IT team just troubleshooting; they need to be focusing on business-critical projects. This extra burden is lifted off their shoulders by installing managed routers. This way, the cost of hardware and manual intervention is reduced a ton. 

On the other hand, if you own a small business or work in a home environment, you can make do with basic connectivity. This is surely a cost-effective solution, but you'd need to hire really skilled people who know their way around unmanaged routers. Since maintaining them is a lot of manual labor, it may intervene with your workflow. However, if you think you and your team can tackle it, you can opt for basic routers.

Many small businesses also have different locations or branches. Unmanaged routers make it a little difficult for those organizations to look into everything. A managed router service provider can assist your enterprise with the complete life cycle of your network. You will also enjoy auto-update facilities and various service packages. 

Conclusion 

Overall, it all comes down to affordability and the goal you want your enterprise to reach. Managed routers just make it really easy for you to grow your business. In today's distributed and fast-paced environment, it becomes very hard to keep up with manual connections. It's great to have operational insights when expanding your company. So, the choice is up to you.