Firewalls are one of those technology terms everyone has heard, but not everyone really understands.

In this episode of The Technology Translator, we break down what a firewall actually does, what “allow” and “block” really mean, and how things like default allow and default deny work in practice.

We also look at what this means if you’re a small business with a laptop, Wi-Fi and mostly cloud-based applications, how firewalls have evolved as businesses have moved into the cloud, where CASB fits in, and why having a firewall absolutely does not mean your cybersecurity is sorted.

Because the bigger question isn’t just what we let in and out.

It’s what happens when the person using the technology makes a completely human decision.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to The Technology Translator.

If you found this episode useful, please follow the podcast and share it with someone who has ever been responsible for making a technology decision.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriaccole/

Instagram - @thetechnologytranslator

Email - vic@thetechnologytranslator.au

Remember:

You don't need to become technical.

You do need to become informed.

Ever wondered what actually happens when you hit send on an email — or why your house and office are full of little boxes with blinking lights?

In this episode of The Technology Translator, we break networking down into plain English. From Wi-Fi and Ethernet to routers, switches, IP addresses, DNS, bandwidth and even why LAN parties were once the ultimate nerd event, we follow how information actually gets from A to B.

No networking degree required. Just a simple explanation of the invisible communication system behind almost every piece of technology we use.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to The Technology Translator.

If you found this episode useful, please follow the podcast and share it with someone who has ever been responsible for making a technology decision.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriaccole/

Instagram - @thetechnologytranslator

Email - vic@thetechnologytranslator.au

Remember:

You don't need to become technical.

You do need to become informed.

You use technology every day. You open your laptop, click on the F drive, jump into SharePoint, open your CRM and get on with your job.

But have you ever stopped to think about what's actually happening behind the scenes?

In this episode of The Technology Translator, we're going back to basics and looking at how business technology evolved from paper and filing cabinets, to individual computers, centralised servers and eventually the cloud.

We break down what a server actually is, why businesses needed them, what local storage and shared drives really mean, how applications can run on servers, and why the rise of cloud fundamentally changed the way businesses operate.

We also get into the stuff business leaders actually need to understand: on-premises vs cloud, cost models, Azure and cloud spend, security and shared responsibility, reliability, scalability, virtual machines, hybrid environments, backups and end-of-life infrastructure.

You don't need to know how to build a server or architect a cloud environment. But if you're being asked to approve the investment, you should understand what you're paying for — and the questions you need to ask.

In this episode:

• How business technology evolved from paper to PCs, servers and cloud
• What a server actually does
• Local storage and shared drives explained
• Why servers became central to business operations
• What "the cloud" actually means
• On-premises servers vs cloud
• CAPEX vs ongoing cloud costs
• Why cloud isn't automatically cheaper
• Cloud security and the Shared Responsibility Model
• Reliability, scalability and internet dependency
• Virtual machines and virtualisation
• Hybrid environments
• Backups and server end-of-life
• The questions business leaders should be asking

Next episode: Networks & Firewalls — how all of this technology actually communicates, and how we control what gets in and out.

Support the show

Thanks for listening to The Technology Translator.

If you found this episode useful, please follow the podcast and share it with someone who has ever been responsible for making a technology decision.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriaccole/

Instagram - @thetechnologytranslator

Email - vic@thetechnologytranslator.au

Remember:

You don't need to become technical.

You do need to become informed.