Does it seem like all of your technology is running a little slow at the office? Does it take longer than it should to copy files over, synchronize your inbox, and open up documents? It might not be your computer, but your entire company network causing slowdown for your entire staff.

Slow computers are annoying, but when it starts to keep you and your entire staff from getting things done during the business day, a slow network can cost you a lot of revenue. Think about what isn't getting done by the end of the day because employees need to sit and wait... and wait... while their computer slowly chugs along at basic everyday tasks.

If you think you might be suffering from a bogged down network, there are a lot of culprits to point fingers at:

• Overtaxed network infrastructure - This is pretty common if things weren't built right from the start or if you've done a lot of growing and expanding without much upgrading.
• Viruses or Malware - One or more computers on your network could be inundated with malware that is causing a lot of network usage. It's also possible that this malware is being spread around and has infected multiple computers on the network.
• Spam - Junk mail doesn't just clog up your inboxes. In order to process all of the junk mail your mail server and network need to work harder. Employing a good spam filter or hosting your email in the cloud will help resolve this.
• Your Router, Firewall, Server, Etc. is Biting the Dust - Sometimes a lot of slowness is simply a tell-tale sign that it is time to replace something. It only takes one weak spot on your network to affect the entire system. It might mean it's time to get a new router or toss some more RAM into a server. The best place to start is a network evaluation which will tell you exactly where your bottleneck is.
• User Activity - How much bandwidth are your employees using? Is everybody streaming Internet radio? Consider equipping your office with some background music with satellite or Internet-streamed radio. Are employees abusing bandwidth and torrenting movies or software? Equip your network with a content filter to block unwanted Internet usage while still being able to allow certain users access to the sites they need to go to.

These are just a few common events that could cause your computers and network to become sluggish. Is it time to speed up your network? Contact Paradigm at (603) 647-8614 and ask about our free network audit.