Networking

As computers have become accepted as the common office tool for generating and processing information, the requirement to share office resources and communicate this information has grown. Today networking has become part of everyday life with both mobile and landline access to the Internet.

A network provides the mechanism by which computers and peripherals (printers, scanners etc) can communicate with one another and consists of two fundamental parts - hardware to facilitate the connection and software to control data flow over the connection. Networks vary considerably in complexity from a simple network consisting of two computers connected by a short cable to the sophistication of the global Internet.

Find out more about the advantages of networking:

What is a Network ?

A network is a set of computers joined together by cable. This enables them to communicate with each other, share data files, printers or faxes. A Local Area Network (LAN) links computers together in an office or a building. A Wide Area Network (WAN) links computers at different sites, perhaps hundreds of miles away.

Networking Benefits

Networking allows you to:

share hard disk drives and computer peripherals such as printers and scanners
share information such as a customer database
communicate via email
share software programs, such as word processing or spreadsheet packages.

Request a copy of our Booklet:

'Networking - A guide for small business'
Designed to give a short, practical overview of the things you should consider in setting up a network for your business. It also defines the operational and financial benefits of networking.