Network Support: The Backbone of IT Infrastructure

Be it Wireless, Ethernet or even Internet, a business’s IT Systems rely on the performance and effectiveness of the networks they use. A good computer network will be responsive, reliable, secure and extensible. A poor one will result in the slow performance of any computer hardware using it, may be sensitive to changes, be expensive to maintain and difficult to expand. It may also result in security vulnerabilities that could seriously damage your business and it’s reputation.

These are some of the reasons why your choice of network support provider is critical in ensuring your organisation’s ability to deliver customer service, at the minimum cost possible.

The responsiveness of TCP/IP based computer networks depends on a variety of factors that must be understood by your IT support function. The specification and configuration of computer hardware such as Network Interface Cards (NICs), used by devices to attach to a network, hubs, switches and routers that provide what can be thought of as junctions in the network, are critical decisions when administering a computer network. Your configuration of network software such as DNS, DHCP, WINS and others is also important. You should also consider the quality and performance of devices attached to the network such as file servers, where disk throughput is critical.

Information security is often considered to be of secondary importance by business managers but it is vital to protect your business’s information assets through the appropriate use of network hardware and other controls. Data can be personally or commercially sensitive and the ramifications of security breaches can be wide reaching. This does not simply apply to computer data but also includes any information a business handles.

Extensibility of your computer network allows your business the flexibility it needs to respond to its changing environment. As your business changes or grows it’s communication requirements will change and a well designed and configured network will allow for these changes.

All this configuration means a relatively low skilled computer technician can get a network to work, but it takes an extremely high level of skill to deliver a computer network that performs well and is a secure over the long term. At Surrey PC Support we have the skills required to properly configure a wide variety of computer software and hardware.