A method and apparatus for optimizing access to a contextual network are described. The apparatus has a registration manager module, a configuration manager module, an access manager module, and an access optimizer module. The registration manager module registers business applications operating in the contextual network of a server with registration data having a set of parameters to define the business applications. The configuration manager module determines initial configuration settings for the business applications to identify parts of the contextual network relevant to the business applications. The access manager module provides the business applications with access to contextual network data based on distances between nodes in a contextual network graph of the contextual network data. The access optimizer module collects measurements of the access of the business applications to the contextual network data, and computes future optimal configuration settings for the business applications.