While computer networks have played an essential part in our lives for quite a while now, when one reads about their role in the 80s or 90s, it sometimes feels like you were studying ancient history. And vice versa, no sci-fi writer could have predicted our way of life today.
However, most of these changes came into life due to the growing importance of computer networks. At the same time, everybody agrees that they are a crucial part of modern life, but many people do not realize just how crucial they are. Here are just a few ways they shape our way of life.
Education
Computer networks open new educational avenues, making them more accessible and universal. Students do not just get access to vast amounts of information when writing their coursework and homework.
They get a cheap and easy way to communicate with instructors and peers from all parts of the world; they can access the courses and classes of educational institutions that are otherwise unavailable for them (via their websites), and they can choose the best courses rather than the ones they can access based on their geographical position.
The COVID-19 pandemic made the importance of all these possibilities significant – with many countries and communities in a state of lockdown. Computer networks are virtually the only way to maintain any semblance of normalcy in education.
Many educational institutions, especially IT-oriented ones, even spread their teaching efforts online, creating Java, Python, and Matlab courses.
Business Communication and Collaboration
Communication has always played a crucial role in business processes. The larger a business gets, the more difficult it becomes to maintain timely and regular contact between its employees and leaders. Online communication has completely changed the business landscape.
Not only does it make it possible to maintain huge international organizations. With its help, a team can effectively work on a project while its members are in different parts of the world and multiple time zones.
People from different countries can simultaneously work on a single document, share their opinions, and suggest changes and corrections without delays.
Many business models widely used today would have been impossible without computer networks.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing brought a significant change in all spheres of life, including increased storage capacity available to businesses and individuals, decreased software costs, and other advantages.
The idea of software as a Service (SaaS), currently widely used in many different industries, ranging from statistics and programming to management and accounting, is only made possible because of computer networks and their ubiquitous role in our lives.
As a result, organizations and individuals can significantly decrease software and hardware costs; many previously unavailable services and solutions are for most potential users because of their prohibitive costs.
Entertainment
Any talk about computer networks would be incomplete without mentioning their impact on the entertainment industry and our overall approach to entertainment. If you stop to think about it, millions of pastimes are only possible because of computer networks.
Online gaming, video streaming, and podcasts are just a drop in the ocean of digital entertainment, with new kinds appearing every year.
Distributed Processing
This area of knowledge remains largely unnoticed by the general public, but it plays a huge role behind the scenes. Distributed processing refers to the systems whose components exist on different computers as part of a single network.
These computers communicate and exchange messages, working towards a common purpose.
Big businesses, research organizations, and substantial international initiatives heavily depend on distributed processing. More importantly, many of the scientific achievements of the last couple of decades would have been impossible without it.
Cost-Effective Resource Sharing
Computer networks can decrease costs without resorting to large-scale solutions like cloud computing. A business or another organization can quickly achieve this by effectively sharing resources.
For example, if an organization regularly has to print out documents, one solution is to equip every computer with a printer, which can be costly. Another is to use a single printer or a limited number of them.
However, without networks, employers would have to copy their documents to USB drives and physically carry them to the dedicated computer with a printer, probably waiting in a queue.
When an organization’s computers are united into a network, anybody can access the printer and print out the document they need to pick it up later. The same goes for file sharing – sharing a file takes seconds and makes for the most effective use of existing resources.
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It is time to ask yourself, “What do computer networks mean for me and my life? Am I interested in them enough to build my future career around them?
Is it a viable area of expertise to specialize in?” As you can see, while it may not be the most accessible discipline to study, it does open up many potential avenues for further development.
Wrapping Up
With the world going digital faster and faster every year, you can be sure that a specialist in computer networks will not stay out of a job. It is not an oversaturated sector like law or management, so you may be better off majoring in it than pursuing an MBA.
If you choose this career, you may find yourself struggling with an assignment now and then while you study, but you can always hire a computer network assignment help specialist to explain to you how and what you are supposed to do.
And eventually, you will secure yourself a stable and lucrative career. The future is digital – and it is in your best interests to make yourself a part of it.
