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Early networks focused on sharing expensive hardware resources such as large mainframes, laser printers, and sizable hard disks. The physical network, coupled with a network operating system, allowed organizations to increase the availability of these resources and spread the cost among many users. However, system owners soon realized that the real value of a network was not hardware but the data and information stored in the files on the hard disks. Soon operating systems were enhanced with network capabilities to enable users throughout an organization to have easy access to centralized information resources. The first of such development was the network operating system, followed by the more powerful distributed operating system.
In the course of time information replaced hardware as the main concern when it comes to network systems.