Ever watched the legendary British sitcom Fawlty Towers? Hotel proprietor Basil Fawlty was a great one for enjoying ‘false economies’. You may know others who follow the same path, proudly declaiming how much they saved buying a cheap product or service. Before long, however, they are complaining about poor performance or the disintegration of that item!
This isn’t far from the situation many businesses have found themselves in when choosing cheap internet connectivity – and then suffering from unacceptable service or downtime, something that today can send shivers through the calmest of souls. Remember the old adage that you get what you pay for: with internet services, or network speed / uptime, on which we are increasingly reliant in the workplace, that rings absolutely true.
Check out these five top tips for a better connection for your business IT solutions:
1) Choose a business grade IT service.
Amazingly, even some quite substantial companies believe they can get by with a domestic connection. That’s akin to buying a basic home microwave and expecting it to perform in a busy commercial kitchen. Ain’t gonna happen; business grade internet is more reliable and typically backed by an SLA which assures uptime and repair times. These factors are crucial when considering your IT disaster recovery and cloud backup – whether you’re using managed internet services or otherwise.
2) Invest in swifter options.
The general rule for internet connectivity is this: choose the fastest option you can afford. With increased availability of fibre, far better options are available (at far more accessible prices) than ever before. Even ADSL has seen an upgrade as technology has marched on; the availability of VDSL and even wireless options could deliver a much needed throughput boost which can get your company connected far better to take full advantage of services which rely on connectivity.
3) Invest in a corporate grade internet router.
Business internet and a better connection should be paired with a device designed for business and which delivers reliability and speed for the ‘last few metres’. A corporate-grade router is more reliable, delivers better signal distribution for WiFi and includes features such as remote access, security and scalability to grow as your business needs increase.
4) Get a redundant connection.
If your primary connection goes down, a secondary one can be a real godsend. A good choice is a mobile failover; by adding a 3G/4G SIM card to a router, it can automatically switch to an alternative network should any interruption affect the ‘landline’ connection.
5) Create a contingency plan.
Finally, as a backup to your backup, establish a simple contingency plan to access and use a public Wi-Fi source. This implies some level of disruption, but if your team knows what to do in a scenario where the connectivity is compromised, you can keep things ticking over.
Leap Consulting is often asked about internet problems – and in our time, we’ve seen a lot of them. We’re also routinely quizzed about problems resulting from poor outsourcing decisions. Check out our free ebook offer below – ‘8 Mistakes Businesses Make When Outsourcing Their IT’. Of course, you can also call us on 1300-532-748 to discuss how to improve your internet connectivity. We’ll provide a swift response!
