Broadband for businesses
Broadband for businesses
Business needs have evolved. Current business-specific ADSL broadband simply isn’t fast or robust enough to facilitate the multiple services that a business needs to access reliably.
In addition, more people now expect higher quality connectivity and IT. In fact:
- 75% of employees rank workplace flexibility as their most important benefit
- 75% of the workforce in 2024 will be made up of the millennial generation (born between 1982 and 2003)
- Over 70% of UK organisations have adopted flexible working
- Improved productivity was the number one driver of Unified Communications adoption in a PwC survey of UK small-to-medium (SME) sized businesses.
It’s important that your business broadband now reflects this.
Upgrading your business phone systems
Workplace experience
Video conferencing, collaboration tools and SaaS applications all require reliable internet connection to perform optimally and prevent downtime for staff.
Security
Hacking is big business and can be extremely damaging to an organisation. While no connectivity solution is completely secure, choosing the right connection for your circumstances can help to prevent unauthorised access.
Customer experience
If your business relies on its internet connection to join customers with your products, then a robust service that guarantees 24/7 operation, is required.
Ultimately, a business’ internet connection is vital to day-to-day operations and by limiting that service, you may be doing more harm than good to your business, even if you think you’re saving money.
Businesses expect more from their broadband services
Mobility
Better infrastructure means that flexible working strategies are now far more effective than before and can make a positive impact on your employees.
Reliability
- Downtime doesn’t just mean lost sales. A business’ reputation is affected, and depending on its regularity, may also increase both customer and staff churn.
SaaS adoption
As Cloud computing has become more cost-effective, businesses are leveraging multiple SaaS products on a regular basis, which puts extra pressure on the network.
Broadband connection types
Broadband
The bandwidths supplied may be affected by peak usage and connections are incredibly cost-effective for small businesses and start-ups.
SOGEA
Single Order Generic Ethernet Access (SOGEA) — broadband without the landline.
SOGEA is provided over both fibre optic cables and copper whereas FTTP is completely provided over fibre cables. FTTP can achieve speeds of up to 1Gbps download, whereas SOGEA can only offer up to 80Mbps.
Fibre
Using tiny glass cables to transfer your data, Fibre connections are more resilient, have lower latency and are faster than broadband services. They consist of two types:
FTTC
Fibre to the Cabinet is perfect for budget conscious businesses. FTTC lines still use low-bandwidth copper lines between your site and your closest cabinet.
A Fibre to the Premise service runs a fibre cable all the way to your site, meaning you can take advantage of faster speeds and lower latency compared to FTTC.
Fibre or copper?
Fibre cable
Pros:
Superfast, reliable bandwidth and highly scalable
Cons:
Can be costly, hard to bend and specialist installation required.
Copper cable
Pros:
Cost-effective, quick to install and highly accessible.
Cons:
Lower average speeds and greater speed fluctuation.
The benefits of dedicated internet access (DIA)
Uncontended
100% of the bandwidth is paid for. 50Mbps means 50Mbps not 20Mbps.
Security
Network security is increased because there is no need to share connections.
Scalable
Only purchase the data and speed needed with the option to upgrade when business requirements grow.
Reliable
DIA comes with a Service Level Agreement covering the standards that should be expected at all times from the service.
Small business broadband
Depending on the number of staff and budget, a fibre-based connection would likely be most beneficial for a small business, while still providing exceptional value for money.
Enterprise
Without performing a detailed technology and operational audit, it would be hard to advise one particular solution. But private connections are most suited to large businesses that rely on their connectivity for their day-to-day operations.
Key features of connectivity
Cost
Price is important for any business, but the initial cost isn’t always the best indicator. Think of the TCO across the foreseeable future; investing in a scalable solution proves more cost-efficient in the long term.
Speed
The faster your connection, the more your team can juggle at once. Bandwidth-reliant video calling and collaboration services will be affected if your service is too slow, plus you’ll notice that loading wheel far more often.
Latency
Broadband speed is crucial for businesses working from home, or with dispersed sites and global operations, as there is fewer breakups on video calls and smoother, faster collaboration.
Reliability
Businesses depend on their connectivity and an outage can mean lost revenue and downtime. Our disaster recovery services minimise any disruption to daily operations.
Security
We offer managed routers and firewall services with all of our business broadband packages for added peace of mind.
Are you ready to upgrade your business’ broadband service? Contact us today.