Chapter 3 • Telecommunications and Networking 61businesses are also more dependent upon communication
than ever before, and developments such as LANs, cellular
telephones, and increased functionality of the public wired
telephone network have helped fill this need. Internal
needs and external competition and innovation combined
to create a latter-twentieth-century communications
revolution that is continuing into the new millennium. The
aim of this chapter is to help you become a knowledgeable
participant in the communications revolution.
The Need for Networking
Let us be more precise in justifying the need for networking
among computers and computer-related devices such as
printers. Why do managers or other professionals working
at microcomputers need to be connected to a network? Why
are small computers often connected to larger machines?
Why are laser printers often attached to a LAN? Why is it
critical for most businesses to be connected to the Internet?
In our judgment, there are five primary reasons for
networking.
Sharing of Technology Resources
Networking permits the sharing of critical (and often
expensive) technology resources among the various users
(machines) on the network. For example, by putting all of
the PCs in an office on a LAN, the users can share a
variety of resources, such as a high-speed color printer
that is a part of the network. The users can also share
software that is electronically stored on a file server
(another computer designated for that particular
purpose). All these devices are connected by wiring (or a
wireless network) and are able to communicate with one
another under control of a LAN software package called
a server (or network) operating system. When a particular
user wants to print a color brochure or a color transparency,
it is sent electronically from the user’s machine to the
network printer.
Sharing resources is also important for larger
computers. It is quite common for mainframes or
midrange computers to share magnetic disk devices
and very high-speed printers. Further, wide area
networks (WANs) permit the sharing of very expensive
resources such as supercomputers. The National Science
Foundation has funded several national supercomputer
centers across the United States, and researchers from
other universities and research laboratories are able to
share these giant machines by going through their local
computer network into a national high-speed backbone
network such as Internet2 (more on this network later in
the chapter).Sharing of Data
Even more important than the sharing of technology
resources is the sharing of data. Either a LAN or a WAN
permits users on the network to get data (if they are author-
ized to do so) from other points, called nodes, on the
network. It is very important, for example, for managers to
be able to retrieve overall corporate sales forecasts from
corporate databases to use in developing spreadsheets to
project future activity in their departments. In order to
satisfy customers, automobile dealers need to be able
to locate particular vehicle models and colors with specific
equipment installed. Managers at various points in a
supply chain need to have accurate, up-to-date data on
inventory levels and locations. Accountants at corporateNetworks will Change Everything
In the early 1990s, Paul Saffo, a fellow at the Institute for the Future, developed a fascinating set of
forecasts about the effect of information technologies on the way we would work, play, and conduct
business in the years to come. So far, his projections have been right on. “The short answer is that
networks will change everything,” said Saffo. “In the next five years, networks will be supporting a shift
to business teams from individuals as the basic unit of corporate productivity. In the 10-year time frame,
we’ll see changing organizational structures. In 20 to 30 years, we’ll see a shift so fundamental, it will
mean the end of the corporation as we know it.” According to Saffo, organizations have started down
the path to a pervasive interconnectivity of workstations that will result in an entirely new “virtual”
corporate structure.
[Based on Wylie, 1993]