Management of Business Networks and the Cloud
Abstract
Industrial research focuses on two companies that represent a large and small company. McCarthy Durie Lawyers (MDL), which represents the small business, the firm uses a Virtual Private Network, which provided a tunnel for connecting all firms’ operations at a lower cost. More importantly, it reduces the costs further since it VPN does not require the hardware or software, but with cloud, the network works perfectly for small businesses. It helps in maintaining profits law while ensuring that they can improve business communications and offer security and privacy. On the other hand, Woolworths represent large companies that have a complex network due to the integration of various business units. The firm uses a WAN connection that helps integrate all the operations, including sales representative, human resource management, customer relationship management, and more.
Introduction
Currently, the network infrastructure is a critical asset in most of the industries. The main aim of business using networks is to connect with users and to enable access to various resources like the internet and other networks connected to computers. The networks are comprised of four main elements, which include hardware, software, a connection medium, and protocols. It can be deduced that the network is considered the most critical resource. It helps in improving the speed and accuracy of transactions both in small and large organizations. In the current era, network infrastructure and management play a crucial role in helping businesses create competence and achieving a competitive advantage. The hardware and software solutions are ready and available on a license basis, and companies divert their critical resources to remain scalable, secure, and flexible. There are differences in network infrastructure management in large companies and small companies that depend on the purpose and the size of operations. Large companies have resources at their disposal that they can dedicate to get the best network management. They need to store massive data, retrieve in time, and share with all parties involved. Small companies are majorly used to carry day to day activities and manage shareholders.
Large Firm- Woolworth Groups
Woolworth Group is a large company that has more than has 200,000 employees. It is an Australian chain supermarket and grocery store that was founded in 1924 (WoolWorths Groups 2019, n.p). It is regarded as the number one Australian food retailer that provides quality operations of general consumers stores, supermarkets, and procurement of food, liquor, and more. The company has been able to extend its service in New Zealand, but they have dominated the Australian market.
The company is a trusted brand that strives to serve more than 28 million customers across the nation (WoolWorths Groups 2019, n.p). The firm works under the purpose of creating better experiences for a better tomorrow. Also, they work under the values to ensure they put the customers first in all their brands. The main objectives are to ensure they have connected and convenient ways to shop, differentiate food customer propositions, unlock value in the portfolio, and making it better for customers and safer for stores and support. The key strategies of operation include building capabilities for the future, creating differentiation in their range of activities, and leveraging core platforms.
Small Company- McCarthy Durie Lawyers (MDL)
McCarthy Durie Lawyers’ firm was founded in 1978. It specializes in providing legal services and ensuring they have the right systems in place to deliver quality and efficiency to their clients. The firm has 77 employees entrusted in the delivery of quality services in different legal services (McCarthy Durie Lawyers). The two firms will guide the research through comparison on the management, use, complexity of networks and, designs of communication in the organization.
The firm aspires to deliver quality legal work and ensuring that local firm enforces legal education of its staff. Through the years, the firm has developed into the most significant legal practice through its ability to provide a wide range of services in Sydney, Brisbane, and Redlands city. The firm has nine directors who manage the conveyance services, litigation, and commercial law services in a well-respected way. The focus is on improving the satisfaction of customers with the best legal solutions. The business systems help in delivering quality and efficiency among clients and foster training for the workforce. The network connections with a specialist in all legal fields are well managed and shape quality delivery. It is a privately held company.
Business Communications and Business Systems of Woolworth
With revenue of $59.98 billion, the firm can get the network connectivity that can help in the operation of more than 3,000 stores. The importance of connectivity to a reliable, convenient, and secure network is to ensure that the branches of operations are well connected and timely sharing of necessary data. The network connectivity protocol that the firm uses is a Wide Area Network. The significant benefits that the firm gets from using WAN are enhancing internal communications across all the stores of Woolworth Groups. Through improved communication, it increases productivity. WAN is always a viable solution due to the use of standard resources in managing various branches of business across the nation and the world. Through the use of a Wide Area Network infrastructure, that improves the management roles by ensuring that there is timely delivery of information to all the stores (Rzym et al., 2017, p.48). Also, with its high profit-making capability, the firm can be able to acquire the best hardware and software that can complement the internet protocol to yield better results.
Besides, WAN can connect computers in a wide area, cites, states, and even countries. The choice of network connectivity fits the Woolworth Groups since it can help in the future needs of further expansion into the global market. With extensive coverage and connection to a variety of computers, the firm uses Multi-Protocol Label Switching to reduce the traffic in the network (Minei and Marques, 2019, p.3). The ability to reduce network traffic improves the efficiency in management due to quality, flexibility, and its fast nature (Sinha 2018, p.923). Also, the firm is running different branches that make the whole group, giving rise to the need for Multi-Protocol Label Switching that quickens the transmission of latency-sensitive applications to support communications with virtual teams. The communications for Woolworths to the branches and other stores requires a network that can support voice and video communications. The significant benefit that Woolworths is enjoying from Multi-Protocol Label Switching a Wide Area Network protocol is the ability to connect all the services, data and hold a meeting with virtual teams.
The Wide Area Network can connect three discrete sites that are crucial to the management and operation of the company. Woolworths has three separate places, which include branches, remote users, and data centers. In the branch offices, the company requires moderate bandwidth for computing resources at the local and global levels. The remote users with limited requirement connectivity need to be accommodated and able to access the data that they want. In this case, customers represent the remote user who wants to access products online. All these have been achieved through the use of WAN by the Woolworth’s Groups.
Also, the ability of the connection to update data is better than the Local Area Networks. Mostly, Woolworths has a complex network system incorporating various business systems like supply chain management, human resource management, administrative operation, financial issues, and others (Sinha, 2018, p.921). All these are integrated, and they are used frequently by the managers to improve decisions or to plan. Therefore, the ability of the software to update data is essential, and through the WAN, it is more reliable since it can use less time in updating data in all the business units.
Business Operations that use the Network infrastructure of Woolworths Group
For a large company, the need to drive the desire to have a network infrastructure is to help achieve efficiency. Several operations that run through the network include customer relationship management, sales representative management, and human resource management. The Woolworths’s priority is to give the customer experience with their products. More so, they have more than 28 million customers served in their store. Therefore, the network improves its coverage by ensuring customer relationships are well managed, thereby giving them the best experiences. Customers can access products in their store, send testimonials of loyal customers, and make inquiries. Through that, they develop customers’ intimacy and loyalty. Through customer relationship management, it becomes easy to retain customers and to increase the volume of sales.
Further, Wide Area Network (WAN) it helps to manage the sale representatives who communicate the company’s product to potential consumers. Woolworth’s desire to differentiate their products which will require salespersons to deliver to the consumers. Therefore, the team will be required to research the market to give feedback for proper management and design. Woolworth being a parent company to three branches, require inter-branch resource sharing. The network infrastructure plays a critical role in facilitating sharing and enhance better project understanding within branches.
Also, human resource management is another operation that requires the firm to have a better network. The company has more than 200,000 employees in Australia and New Zealand. Manual control of the employees’ data as well as monitoring their performance can be hard for the management. It becomes more comfortable and efficient when all these are conducted in the right channel and from a single source. Additionally, a significant human resource role includes recruitment and selection, talent management training and development, and performance management. When all these are connected in the network of the company, it becomes easier for the human resource to manage and update employees’ information and retrieve it when needed.
Business Communications and Business Systems for McCarthy Durie Lawyers (MDL)
It is also necessary that the small business has network connectivity that helps in the operation of the company. The reasons they need for a network in a small scale firm is different from that of a large firm. The significant differences arise due to the ability to raise revenue, the amount of workforce being managed, and the costs of network infrastructure. McCarthy Durie Lawyers has been in operations for years, but the rate of expansion is low. More so, the firm provides legal services in three cities where they have their activities. The need for network infrastructure is to connect the team of specialists that are used in enhancing their legal services. Also, since they have operations in their cities, they are enough to develop a network that helps integrate and share information with the branches.
Business communications
Communication is vital for any business, either small or big. With separate offices and a workforce of 77bemployees, the company does not require a Wide Area Network. But there is a necessity to ensure they have a network where they can gather and secure the data of the company as well as give a better platform to communicate with specialties that the firm consults in different legal fields. The connection of WANs requires huge capital; thereby, it is not advisable in this firm. But the use of Virtual Private Networks that help the business operations to run over the internet can help the firm in communication. Through VPN network connectivity, the management can ensure that they send emails via VPN internet connection in case they want to pass the information. It becomes the professional quickest method since all the operations of the firm will be done online, and the message directed to employees can get to them instantly.
The VPN in business create a tunnel between private and public network. It helps the public to send and receive data as they were connected with the company. Focusing on the case of McCarthy Durie Lawyers, they connect with consultants in legal matters often. Through VPN connectivity, it will help the business to have a private as well as connecting with clients and specialists (Derksen and Schwabe, 2017, n.p). Further, the market has several units like branches and different departments of the firm that require network connectivity to improve the daily operations. With the use of network connectivity exploding over the past five years, the considerations of security arise on the remote connections of the firm.
First, McCarthy Durie Lawyers considers using the VPN due to the heightened security offered by the network connection. Nature and activities performed by a law firm require data security from access from unauthorized people. Resources in the cloud allow traveling users. It is very likely since lawyers may move from places as they meet their clients and through legal proceeds. Also, despite being in the line of duty as they travel from place to place, they need to be connected to the office, thereby making it essential to have a VPN connection (Lacković and Tomić, 2017,p 466). Since the firm uses cloud and has remote travelers, that makes it the best choice to use the connection since it is more secure when logging.
In combination with cloud computing, there is no need for a data center. The data are stored in the cloud, which requires the IT staff to do some remote access fabric without using an expensive networking gear (Lacković and Tomić, 2017, p 487). Also, the fact that it is geo-independence makes it suitable for use in the law firm. Even when the employees are outside the country and cannot access the public internet may due to state restrictions. It helps to use the internet as if someone was in the office. That works better when dealing with specialties in different legal fields. These people better are not termed as employees but consultants to the business, When the VPN tunnel is connected to them, it helps them to work from any location and to help MDL with the knowledge that is required.
The issue of affordability determines the kind of network connectivity for each business. Companies making huge profits can get expensive network connectivity to serve a wide range of operations. Having a small workforce and only three services in different cities does not require a complex system. Therefore, as less complexity in the business systems, the better to go for cheaper and affordable network connectivity. As long as security and privacy are guaranteed, there is no need for the law firm to have deep tech budgets. So, the VPN service makes a good option when there is a need to save.
With the high rate of security and privacy required by the law firm, they cannot afford to link any information about their operations since it can cause a problem with clients. So, the best protocol that the firm has used to boost security and enhance privacy is the Layer 2 Tunnel, which does not have privacy out-of-the-box (Pandey, 2017, p.2). The protocols paired with a security protocol IPsec (Chandana et al.,2017, p.361). The combination of the two has extreme security with no vulnerabilities. The choice of these protocols was as a result of its extensive use and improved speed. The advantages that the firm has gotten from VPN and the accompanying protocol is that the firm did not incur a lot of capital, ensures authenticity and confidentiality of the firm’s information (Fujikawa et al., 2016, p.123). Further, the data is secured since the network is private. Remote offices can use the head office intranet with ease, which improves data central application and repository in the company.
Use of Cloud Computing
Besides, due to the small size of the law firm, the acquisition of software and hardware to support the management of network infrastructure may not be necessary. Comparing this firm with the operations of Woolworth’s’ the firm does not require extensive software and hardware for data management (Rittinghouse and Ransome, 2016, p.62). Therefore, that raises the need for the use of cloud computing. The profits need to be channeled to the right operations, which improve the competitiveness of the core businesses. Unless the firm wants to expand into other regions and countries, the use of cloud competing is adequate in managing the operations. Cloud computing is increasing demand in businesses, particularly those that are a small scale for data storage and computing power. The user does not require management by the use.
The use of cloud computing, in this case, helps in reducing the cost of investment by cutting expenditures. Network management infrastructure like serves; they term that as a capital investment, and it necessary for a firm with extensive data and operates globally. The clouding computing provides software that monitors email archiving tools, helps in backing up data, and an anti-spam device that MDL acquires through a license basis (Rittinghouse and Ransome, 2016, p.59). The software purchase is not required; therefore, they do not have to incur capital investments but rather software expenses. Cloud computing is easy to manage since there is not much to worry about space and power requirements. The technology does not require a team of experts or alt of efforts to maintain and upgrade, which helps in saving time. In case the firm expects to expand, with cloud computing, it becomes easy since they will need to add more licenses for the technology to cope with the changes. It is fast in deployment since no hardware and software that is installed.
The need for a network infrastructure for the company is to ensure they coordinate the information sharing between the remote workers and the offices. The employees who work away from the head office of the law firm are termed as remote workers. Employees’ management is required that they are connected with the office to be updated on the progress and what they are required to do. It helps even the control of the worker more effectively, mainly through the VPN connection over the internet.
Conclusion
Network connection in today’s business world is a necessity and a factor for success to companies. It is a source of competitive edge, particularly for a large organization operating or wishing to go global. For small businesses, they require to consider the affordability and the need to have a network connection. Since such firms have inadequate resources to invest in capital network structure, they need to get other favorable networks that improve efficiency and daily operations. They can get the software and hardware through the licensing cloud, mainly and direct the rest of the funds to other core activities. In contrast, for large companies, things are different due to the complexity of systems. The firm requires an elaborate network management structure to help serve customers and integrate the operations.
References
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McCarthy Durie Lawyers, 2019. McCarthy Durie Lawyers
https://au.linkedin.com/company/mccarthy-durie-lawyers