Information and communication are two of the most important strategic
issues for the success of every enterprise.
While today nearly every organization uses a substantial number of computers
and communication tools (like telephone or fax), they are often still
isolated.
While managers today are able to use applications like wordprocessors or
spreadsheets, not very many of them use computer-based
tools to communicate with other departments or information retrieval
programs.
To overcome these obstacles in an
effective usage of information technology, computer networks are necessary.
They are a new kind (one might call it paradigm) of organization of
computer systems produced by the need
to merge computers and communications.
At the same time they are the means to converge the two areas; the
unnecessary distinction
between tools to process and store information and tools to collect and
transport information can disappear.
Computer networks can manage to put down the
barriers between information held on several (not only computer) systems.
Only with the help of computer networks can a borderless communication and
information environment be built.
Computer networks allow the user to access remote programs and remote
databases either of the same organization or
from other enterprises or public sources. Computer networks provide
communication possibilities faster than other
facilities. Because of these optimal information and communication
possibilities, computer networks may increase
the organizational learning rate,
which many authors declare as the only fundamental advantage in competition.
Besides this major reason why any organization should not fail to have a computer network, there are other reasons as well:
If you also want to know about the economic effects of networks, read the essay
The Economics of
Networks .
This educational multimedia title will give you the basic information to understand and to deal with experts in computer networking.