Firewalls are normally pieces of hardware that sit between your Internet Connection (normally a Broadband Line) and your internal network. They serve a vital role in "policing" use of the connection. The primary purpose is to make sure that attackers cannot get "inside" your network and do this via a combination of "rules" that control what you expect and allow, and can then include clever software that can identify and block attacks dynamically.
More advanced firewalls can also help police what people do with your business connections - for example stopping staff spending all day on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter, or actively monitoring the downloads they do looking for viruses that could attack your systems.
Making sure the wrong people can't get in is essential for our business - we store all sorts of sensitive information for our clients. Having no firewall would be like leaving our offices unlocked at night.
WHAT DEPENDENT "ON A RELIABLE IT SERVICE" DAN WOULD SAY
Firewalls come in all sorts of sizes - they're essential for any business which has any servers or systems "in office" that they want to control access to from the outside world. They're also great for any business that wants to start managing access for staff.
Firewalls come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with different features - so the cost varies quite a lot. Fortunately if you talk to our team on 01392 950 950 we can recommend the right level of firewall to meet your needs. Some of our services (such as some Managed Broadband include Firewalls too)