Tech Terminology: Network

Network is a word that’s commonly seen in the office environment in many different ways. In particular, you’re likely to hear about network security, network maintenance, social networking, and network switches, but what does it all mean? In this week’s tech term, we’re going to address what a network is and how it works to tie your business together.

Defining a Network
A network can be many things, but it’s generally a group of computers or hardware devices that are connected. These devices share information and communicate over this network, allowing resources to be shared between them. Networks are used for different purposes, but the most commonly found one is for a collaborative office environment.

A network can accomplish all of the following:

• Files to be shared among users across the network.
• Users to share access to additional hardware devices, like a network-attached printer.
• Software solutions to be shared among the network’s users.
• Information to be accessed by any user with network permissions.
• Simplified communications through internal tools like email and instant messaging.

The Biggest Network Out There
Perhaps the most well-known and accessible network out there is the World Wide Web. The Internet is the largest network out there, and it shows what can be done with enough computing and enough devices.

Keeping Your Network Safe
No matter how you use a network--whether it’s the Internet or your business’ internal network--security is a key point that needs to be addressed. Thankfully, keeping your network secure doesn’t have to be challenging. A quality IT provider like BNMC can make it much easier to manage IT security for your organization. It all starts by thinking about network security in a proactive way.

We offer several solutions that can help you secure your business, including methods to keep your employees well-informed of basic security best practices, regular password updates, infrastructure updates, software implementation like firewalls and antivirus, and implementing a virtual private network.

BNMC can help your business optimize network security. To learn more, reach out to us at (978) 482-2020.