As covered in Part 1, a slow network will cost your business money, time and productivity. Before investing in a costly infrastructure upgrade, consider other causes of poor network performance. Part 2 will discuss Employee Education, Malware, Updates, and VLANs.

Employee Education

When employees take a lunch break, they may end up staying at their desk and surfing the web. Unfortunately, some may take advantage of your company’s broadband to play video games or stream a movie. They may also be unnecessarily emailing massively large files, instead of sharing them on the cloud. You may have to release a memo regarding limiting computer usage and file sharing that may be slowing the company’s network.

Malware

Malware is capable of interfering with workflows and slowing down networks. If either of these two symptoms are detected, a virus could be the cause, so contact an IT specialist to perform diagnostics as soon as possible.

Upgrades

Hardware and software are not always in sync. Your business may have new applications running on outdated machines, and old applications running on newer machines. They won’t integrate well with each other, and may affect network performance. It may be time to upgrade your hardware and software so that they are both compatible and using current technology.

VLANs

Implementing Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) is a proven method for improving network performance. They are used to partition network resources, assigning the highest priority to the most crucial data traffic. Basically, VLANs give an organization all the advantages of a totally separate network, but it won’t be necessary to rewire its whole facility.
Even if located in different areas, VLANs can be organized in specific groupings based on computer functions. Security is improved because systems are segmented from one another. If a portion of a network becomes compromised, other VLANs can protect the rest of the network by acting as barriers.
Alpha Engineering Business Support
Choosing an expert computer technology-support provider is an important decision for your business. Alpha Engineering Associates has been a trusted partner of many companies in the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis areas since 1990 and offer:
• 24/7 Managed Services for Business Computing Systems
• Network and Mobile Computing Support
• Disaster Recovery Planning
• Software Development
For affordable client-focused network consulting services and solutions, please call Alpha Engineering Associates today at (410) 295-9500.