Network Support Specialist

Read ITSM career path for this role.

The following certifications are aimed at practicing Network Support Specialist and will support your development into more senior ITSM roles

- ITIL Service Operation
- ITIL Operational Support and Analysis
- ITIL Continual Service Improvement
- ITIL Practitioner

Download the data sheet.

- Network Support Specialists are responsible for designing, installing and maintaining the local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), various segments of network systems, and other computing environments used across an enterprise.

- They manage the network hardware, software, and equipment used within a company or organization, and work to ensure network availability to all users. They monitor and analyze the performance and speed of the network and make sure that it is meeting the needs of the users.

- Network support specialists typically perform data backups, troubleshoot any problems with the hardware, software, networks and systems, replace equipment and components when necessary, and assist with disaster recovery operations.

- The network analyst will also assist with research and recommend policies and strategies for the organization’s network infrastructure and be involved in developing and distributing networking best practice recommendations across the organization.

- Within a large organization, it’s likely that they will focus initially on a particular aspect of the network, and with experience progress towards network management. There will also be opportunities with the appropriate training to move within the industry, for example, towards IT project management or security administration. Network Support Analysts who find they enjoy the people side might also consider developing into customer facing roles such as service level management.

Typical Tasks
- Installing new software and/or hardware
- Setting up user accounts, permissions and passwords
- Day to day monitoring of network use
- Fixing network faults
- Technical support for people using the network
- Planning future improvements.