Your Internet provider should protect your network, increase your uptime, and maximize your network performance. If they don’t, you could be leaving money on the table by paying for excess bandwidth, putting your network at risk without security, or missing out on bundled services from other providers like Zayo.
To get the most value from your network, you need to consider what your network needs are, what you are currently getting from your Internet service provider, and what options are available to you. Here are some things to consider when evaluating your network needs.
Ask yourself the important questions
Most companies just use the Internet for basic business functions like emailing clients, but some businesses have more complex issues like storing large amounts of data in the cloud, connecting hundreds of devices that communicate with each other or connecting multiple locations via a private network. Some businesses rely on their network in order to do business and need 100% uptime to function properly.
To determine if you are getting enough value from your network provider, ask yourself several questions regarding your network:
- How important is your network to your day-to-day business?
- If your network is keeping your entire business afloat, you will need reliability, redundancy, and protection to keep it online at all times.
- Which of your business functions rely on the Internet?
- To help determine how important your network is to your business, ask yourself if you use your network for basic things like accessing the public Internet or if you are sending large amounts of sensitive data to other locations.
- Is a slow network detrimental to your business?
- If your business requires predictable and fast internet speeds, you may want to consider looking into providers that offer Dedicated Internet Access.
- How much would a data breach cost you?
- If a data breach could leak sensitive information or cause a massive network outage, the small cost of cyber security would be worth the money in the long run.
- Does your business store data in the cloud?
- Cloud fees can be very expensive, so it’s important that you know the ins and outs of your cloud needs before making decisions about your network.
- Are you prepared for growth?
- What network features may have fulfilled your needs as a sixty-person company may not support you as well now that you have two hundred. It’s important to make sure your network is future-proof so that you can scale efficiently.
Having a standard shared Internet connection for basic tasks like accessing the public internet or responding to support tickets might be fine for you. However, if your business requires any level of security or reliable capacity, you need to evaluate what you’re getting from your network provider. You may need security and dedicated access to the cloud, or you may need a simple Dedicated Internet connection with a team of professionals that are on call 24/7 to help you through any issues.
By gathering how your business uses your network, you can write out a list of needs, wants, and pain points that you need to address. That will better guide you to the products you need to buy and top priority factors.
Know the hidden costs
Not every cost is going to show up on your ISP invoice. For example, not only can cyber-attacks and network outages cost you money to get back up and running, but you have to consider the costs of not being able to process orders, accept payments, or provide services while your network is down.
Additionally, cloud companies often let customers upload data for free while charging them for accessing it, known as data egress fees, making it expensive to download your own data from the cloud. If your business frequently downloads data from the cloud, it may make more sense to have a dedicated connection to the cloud via a product like Cloudlink to bypass those expensive egress fees. A single busy month where you pull a large amount of data from the cloud or a single mitigated cyber attack could make up for the cost of extra security measures and cloud connection.
Consider your time as an asset
With a shared broadband connection, you could be getting less than what you paid for. With dedicated fiber, you get all of your bandwidth at all times, allowing you to reliably perform high-volume activities like transferring data, updating software, or streaming audio and video feeds with little variance and latency.
If a different type of connection results in a software update taking three times as long as it should, you could be extending your downtime, resulting in the inability to communicate with customers or send invoices. Additionally, slow systems and high latency hinder productivity and agility in your business by slowing down your business functions every step of the way.
Treat your time as an asset and make sure you’re getting Dedicated Internet Access through fiber so that you have the fastest Internet speeds while getting all of your subscribed capacity.