The Pros and Cons of Computer Networks

Computer Networking has changed the way businesses run and store their information. Networks have created an entirely versatile set of actions that previously could not be performed off site. This has saved valuable time and money. However, with all of the positive aspects that networking has created, there are still some strong disadvantages. The pros and cons must be weighed for networking to be truly successful.

The Pros of Networking

Networking in the business world has many advantages. It lets companies communicate with employees more efficiently and cut staffing costs. It also allows employees the ability to use company software and applications in almost any location, creating the ability to work just about anywhere. Also, by having access to a large portion of the network, you can communicate with multiple departments within a company much easier and monitor employees to make sure that they are performing their tasks, stream lining the management process.

Networking also allows the management of a building's security, lighting, and temperature control systems if they are integrated into a web accessible interface. This software gives individuals with code verification the ability to control and monitor a facility without being there. This significantly cuts down on staff and maintenance costs.

The Cons of Networking

The biggest problem with networking is that you open the doorway to potential piracy and invasion of your network to outside sources. Because many networks are available through a web server for the ease of a company's employees, security becomes very complex and expensive. Protecting the server that networks all of a company's computer sources together can be time consuming and is a very serious job. This also brings to life the IT departments standard employee service that helps other employees with technical issues, most of which tend to be simple, but still require a staff to answer and figure out the issues. This, in turn costs a company more money.

The greatest issue with the networks that are present today is their size. Everything companies do is backed up digitally in electronic files. This requires a lot of storage space, which if the computer systems cannot handle, need to be upgraded. This can be tough to perform because it has to be done after typical business hours and if there are issues to work out, may have entire departments devoted to reconciling the issues. Without this information, data resources are much harder to produce on a day to day basis.

Other Networking Considerations

One aspect of networking that is often not discussed is the ability to communicate with virtually anyone. Networks allow the CEOs of companies to communicate with general employees if they want to. They can even compare annual statements with competitors instantly. This was not possible in past years and has given management more tools to evaluate employees, and company position in their prospective market, and overall company health. This in turn, stream lines the decision making process when it comes to the every day happenings of a company.