Are you planning on launching a business? It’s such an exciting time, full of potential and nerves. If successful, you could unlock the key to earning potential far beyond what you could make as a salaried staff member. In addition to this, you get to work with your passion, whether that’s selling goods that you love or providing services that you’re dedicated and passionate about. If all goes well, it’s a win/win situation.
However, setting up a business in most cases means setting up an office, and that office needs an internet connection and high-speed, reliable internet. This means investing in proper networking solutions. But how exactly do you set up an office network? What tools and equipment do you need? This helpful article will demystify this topic, and you’ll learn all about it so you can successfully set up your office network. Continue reading to learn more.
An Internet Connection
All the networking tools and equipment in the world won’t matter if you don’t have an internet connection, so the first step is to narrow down some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and pick one that offers good speed for good value for money. Most businesses will want a high-speed service, with decent customer service and tech support. Some providers fail on the last two factors, while others are much better. It’s worth reading some reviews and comparing ISPs to choose a company that will work for you and your team.
NBN Capable?
After choosing an ISP, you should find out if your office is NBN capable and has the relevant NBN hardware installed on the premises. This will either be a white NBN box for Fibre to the Curb or Fibre to the Node connections or a wall-mounted box for Fibre to the Premises connections. You should be able to see this when you’re setting up your office, but if you rent an older building that has been vacant for some time, you may need to arrange for a technician to come out and install the relevant equipment.
A High-Speed Router
The next step is to invest in a good-quality, high-speed router. The type of router you get will depend on the size of your business and how many connections you need to enable. This is the piece of hardware that will enable your staff and yourself to connect to the internet via either a wired or wireless connection.
All the available routers on the market will have options for both, but some only have a few ports, so if you’re a larger business, you need to ensure that you have enough ports for wired connections. Be sure to review the specifications of the routers you’re considering to ensure that you pick the right one for the job.
Ethernet Cables
Even though wireless or Wi-Fi connections can provide high speeds, they pale in comparison to the download and upload speeds provided by a wired internet connection. In order to enable this, you’ll need to run ethernet cables from the router or networking device to your team’s computers. This can be a complex job, so you might want to engage an electrician or data communications specialist provider to run the cables. Hence, everything is neat and tidy and in good working order.
Wi-Fi Extenders
However, even if your team has a wired connection at their desk, if they want to take their devices away from their workstations in order to brainstorm and collaborate, then you may want to invest in Wi-Fi extender devices. These nifty devices extend the Wi-Fi signal from the router throughout locations in your office space, enabling high-speed wireless connection no matter how far from the router your team may be located. You can install a few of these throughout the office or commercial building if you are renting or own a larger space where a Wi-Fi router may fail to provide a strong and stable connection due to distance and walls blocking the signal.
Networking Software
Depending on the size of your business and office and the complexity of your network, you may need some networking software to manage connections, monitor the network and provide security for users. For a few staff, you probably can stick with the default tools included in your router. Still, suppose you’re a larger business that holds sensitive data, such as an accounting firm or a finance broker. In that case, you should probably invest in some decent networking software that you can outsource to an IT provider to set up and maintain or hire a dedicated IT professional to keep things running smoothly around the office.
A Networking Summary
This helpful article has shared a business’s guide to office networking and what tools and equipment you’ll need to provide high-speed, reliable internet to your staff. We’ve covered ISPs, networking tools such as routers and extenders, ethernet cabling and networking software. This list should help you set up your office network smoothly.
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