Your business lives and dies by the strength of its network. If it’s not running well, your entire organization will feel it, and it could have serious implications for operations. You might end up with sluggish software or data transfers, among other issues. Here are some of the common holdups on your network that might be holding your business back.

Both the router and modem are crucial components of any wireless network, yet many people are unsure about the distinct roles they play in a personal or organizational Internet connection. Let’s break down the function of each device and how they work together to support your network.

Your network is a crucial part of your business, insofar as it is quite literally what powers your operations and enables you to work productively… at least, most of the time. Unfortunately, there is always the risk of a network bottleneck, or a limited capacity for data to move due to a lack of available bandwidth. So, how can these bottlenecks be avoided?

“I just wanted to take a second to thank the sponsor of this video, [insert VPN provider here], for supporting the channel!”

If you’ve been on YouTube in the past few years, this message likely sounds pretty familiar. Virtual private network providers have been taking advantage of the trend of influencer marketing to spread awareness of their largely obscure product—often, offering an enticing deal. While we have and will continue to promote the use of a VPN for business purposes, we wanted to clarify something here: these are not the VPNs we’re saying you should use.

So much goes into proper network security that it can be daunting to know where to start. Thankfully, there are plenty of great ways you can, and probably currently are, protecting your business, even if it’s on a basic level. You can consider this a checklist of crucial network security tools that are important to have for your company’s success.