Computer Networking Tips For Small Business Owners Who Want To Expand

Do you own a small business? Are you currently thinking about expanding and hiring some additional employees? In order to facilitate your teamwork, it's important to have all your computers on the same network. If you've never dealt with computer networking before, here are some things you should keep in mind while making your plans:

What is your budget for this project? Although seemingly simple, many small business owners can get excited at the prospect of expanding, resulting in overspending. If this happened, taking money from another part of your budget could result in potentially disastrous consequences for you and your company. Even if sticking with your budget means that you'll end up with less powerful computers or a router that can only handle a few computers, remember that future success for your business means that further upgrades will be possible. Should you find out that your current budget is way too small to implement everything that you want to do now, work on making a 3-6 month plan that will allow you to roll everything out in stages.

What is the purpose of the network? While the exact details may seem confusing if you're not computer savvy, deciding on your network's purpose is extremely important. Will your computer networking setup be used mainly for sharing files in the office or will people need to access files from home or on the road as well? For now, you don't need to know how to accomplish this; simply make a list of exactly what you want your network to be able to do and how it should behave.

Who is going to maintain the network and security? In the future, you may want to have a dedicated IT person on staff. Right now, however, it may be cheaper to hire a computer networking company, such as Advanced Business Systems, on a per-issue basis. They'll be able to help you set up the network and provide you with instructions on how to keep your computing safe. Since you'll have several computers to keep track of, they'll help you make sure that they all get updated with the latest security patches and bug fixes. This will help to ensure that both your data and your clients' data are kept secure and out of the hands of computer hackers.

Although computer networking can seem confusing if you're not experienced in such matters, it doesn't have to be. Making lists of what your expectations are, along with a realistic budget for your plans, can help you when you discuss your needs with your chosen IT professional. 


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