Because IT is at the heart of every business and every organisation needs IT that works to operate efficiently, AMJ UK has decided to put together some information on IT essentials business owners need to know during our next blogs topics.
On this first article we will focus IT Networks or computer networks including choosing the right hardware for your organisation’s needs and ensuring efficient IT Support of your network.
Network Components
A network is defined as a group of minimum 2 computer systems connected together. There are many types of networks but the two most commonly used in business environments are:
- LAN – Local Area Network where computers are geographically located in a same building and connected together.
- WAN – Wide Area Network where computers are farther apart and connected using phone lines or radio waves.
A typical network include key hardware components such as routers, switches, servers as well as the connectivity components such as cabling and bandwidth.
- Router – is a device that forwards data packets along networks and connects different networks together and can also connect a network to the internet. Routers can include Wi-Fi features.
- Network switch is a computer networking device that connects devices together on a computer network and process and forward data to the destination device. Choosing the right switch will involve considering the organisation’s routing, port speed and number of ports requirements.
- Server – All businesses need to store and share their business data across users PCs. A server is the most reliable, secure and efficient way to store, manage, protect and share business data through your network. More specifically it is a device (computer) that processes requests and deliver data to others devices part of the network. A server is defined by a number of components such as Processing, Memory and Storage Capacity that will impact of its capacity. Choosing the right server for your organisation will involve looking at your current and future business requirements including remote connections, space, services and application used as well as security aspects.
There are a wide range of manufacturers, product models and pricing in the market. In order to ensure efficient purchase for your business, we would recommend carrying out a thorough analysis of the organisation’s requirement and purchase from high end manufacturers as they are key components of your IT network
Network Maintenance
Once purchase and installation is completed, it is important to ensure efficient maintenance of your network in order to prevent any potential issues through ongoing monitoring and be ready to troubleshoot in case a problem arises to minimise downtime.
One of the first advise we would give is to ensure hardware warranty apply to your equipment. There is generally a minimum of 1 year hardware warranty on such equipment with the possibility to extend for up to 3 years. Don’t try to save cost and this and purchase the warranty extensions – It would save your organisation time and money in case of hardware issue.
Whether outsourced or carried out in-house, we would also recommend to put in place an IT maintenance service allowing efficient monitoring and troubleshooting of your network. This would offer its users efficient IT Support whether carried out remotely or onsite and favour an optimised IT environment.
AMJ UK has been providing IT Support in Kent and London to businesses, professional organisations, charities and public organisations for over 16 years and can assist you with your IT requirements. Get in touch with us!