YOUR BUSINESS AND ITS NETWORK

Hey, I know wireless networking is what’s popping now, but not everyone has the luxury of using a wireless network. So, I’ll be telling you about how to use networking cables in your business.
For the basic business network where every computer system can communicate with the others, you’ll need two basic things; a network (Ethernet cable) and a networking device (see tutorial for more info).

Suppose you have ten employees, each using a computer system, you’ll need yards of Ethernet cable and a router. Now when I say ‘yards’, I don’t mean just get really long cables without measuring your business/office space. It’ll be good to note that the longer the cable, the more money you spend. Also, the networking device you get depends on your budget. A router is more expensive than a switch, which in turn costs more than a hub. I suggested a router because of its capabilities, but if your hands are a bit tied, a few switches would equally do a great job.

If the computer systems are in different offices, you might want to place your networking device at the center of the whole network so as to reduce the length of the networking cable used and the distance between the devices and the computer systems.

YOUR BUSINESS AND ITS NETWORK

YOUR BUSINESS AND ITS NETWORK

In this post, I'll be introducing you to networking your business according to its structure.

As a  start-up owner, by now you must have considered the location and the kind of business you want to go into. The kind of business will determine how you'll set up the IT structures within. You also should have considered your budget, the kind of people you are working with and the kind of person you are. If you have employees that forget to turn of the lights after a work day then you know you'll have problems with your power management. If they are the kind that are addicted to the internet, you'll definitely have problems with productivity and work ethics, especially if your business is the type that has little to do with the internet. If this is the case, then I guess you might want to enroll such employees into a training course on, "The Internet-phobic Personnel and How To Become One." 

Whatever the business, you'll need to consider the business structure with respect to its departments and how you want your "intradepartmental" and "interdepartmental" communication to be via the networked computers.

Of course, employees within a department should be able to share files with each other without having  to move from their seats. It now depends on whether you want different departments to be on the same network. For example, you might want the sales department to be connected to the marketing department and not to the research department or the transport department to be connected to the sales department and not the human resources department.

Another thing to put into consideration is the number of employees you have and wish to have in the next few months. This is necessary because it will determine the number of computer systems, the kind and number of networking devices you need to get. Learn more about departmental networking in the upcoming network devices and subnetting tutorials.

Coming in my next free services: Basic network design for a small office. You don't just mount computer systems in an office and connect them, you have to take cost into consideration. See the different ways computers can be arranged in an office to reduce cost and increase performance.

YOU CAN DO IT TOO

Dear CEO,
As you requested, I'm writing to present to you my quotation for my services as your network administrator. After my previous consults for your feasibility report , the cost of purchasing the office networking devices and the network configuration of your computer systems, I'll be charging xxx,xxx....

Take it or leave it, a good network administrator who knows the value of his service would not collect anything less than  a six-figure salary, depending on the size of the company and the magnitude of his service. Therefore, as the owner of a business start-up, considering all other expenses you have to make in order to get the business up and running, do you have that kind of money for starters?

You might say, "oh, if that's the case, then I don't need to have my computers networked." If that's your mentality in this day and age, throw it away. Which do you think is better; your employee running from one end of the building to the other countless number of times just to deliver some documents to you or she just staying in her office and sending the documents via the computer. The latter would save a whole lot of time and as the saying goes,"time is money."

Getting an insider to do the job for you would save you a lot of money. That insider doesn't have to be a professional networker to do the surface networking for your company. He/She just needs to know the basics. In the following posts, I'll be giving you insights into the kind of network your business can have depending on its nature, its arrangement, configuration, and more.
You really don't need some professional zapping cash from your account when you can equally do it yourself.