Time is a funny thing, when you think about it. We are the only species on the planet who pays attention to it, and not only that, we basically let it run our lives. Time is money, they say, attempting to put value on that precious thing that seems to slip away too easily, partly because we’re obsessed with it, and partly because the majority of society does not use it wisely. Of course, that depends on your interpretation of how time can be spent wisely, but when you take a step back, cramming as much as one possibly can into one day might not be the best use of time.

Regardless of your position on what constitutes proper or worthy use of time, the fact remains that human beings are constantly in search of ways to be in control of it. While some attempts are not quite as successful as others, the relatively new network time clock servers are rather helpful in keeping multiple people synchronized in time based tasks.

How do network time servers help businesses succeed?

A network time server allows all of the connected computers in a network to operate on the same time, synchronizing each of the clocks. Network time servers have been known to use NTP, or Network Time Protocol, or PTP, which is Precision Time Protocol. Network Time Protocol has been around since before 1985, and is still a reliable Internet protocol that continues to be used today. Precision Time Protocol is newer, having first been standardized in 2002. Being the newer protocol, and as the name suggests, it is much more accurate than NTP. Keeping a business’s network on a synchronized time server helps to keep operations running smoothly and efficiently. A business with an accurate time server can keep precise records and timely communications.

Time throughout history

It’s all a matter of time, as they say. While we all understand the meaning behind this phrase, it could also be applied to the fact that time seems to run everything, and everything ties into time in some way. Our earliest ancestors were not bothered by the concept of time, but it was quite early on that human beings started to keep time. In fact it was about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago that ancient Egyptians used obelisks as basic sundials, making them the first to keep track of time. The first of the mechanical clocks that are a bit more familiar to us today were invented in the 1300s in Europe. And of course, timekeeping has continued to evolve to what we know today, digital displays in our pockets and network time servers synchronizing computers.

Perhaps time, or our understanding of it, will continue to evolve. Perhaps it will be the technology we use to keep track of it that evolves. Whatever the case may be, every one of us would do well to spend wisely the time we do have.