In today's business world, reliable and efficient access to information has become an important asset in the quest to achieve a competitive advantage. File cabinets and mountains of papers have given way to computers that store and manage information electronically. Coworkers thousands of miles apart can share information instantaneously, just as hundreds of workers in a single location can simultaneously review research data maintained online.

Networking allows one computer to send information to and receive information from another. We may not always be aware of the numerous times we access information on computer networks. Certainly the Internet is the most conspicuous example of computer networking, linking millions of computers around the world. Smaller networks play a roll in information access on a daily basis. Computer networking technologies are the glue that binds these elements together. The public Internet allows businesses around the world to share information with each other and their customers.