High-quality broadband is now essential for the vast majority of businesses. Without a fast, reliable connection to the web, it can be difficult for organisations to perform a variety of essential activities, from financial reporting to communicating with suppliers and customers.
So, if you’re looking for broadband for your business, you’ll no doubt want to make sure that you choose the right package. To help, here are some of the important features you should look for.
A fast connection
Speed is very much of the essence when it comes to business broadband, so it’s important to choose packages that offer fast connections. For most commercial organisations, a standard copper ADSL line just won’t do the job. Instead, superfast fibre services tend to be the preferred option. Look out for services that offer good upload speeds as well as download speeds, especially if your business needs to send large files or relies on services like cloud storage.
Bear in mind that a number of factors will impact on your ability to receive the advertised speeds, including the quality of lines in your area and the distance from your nearest cabinet. You can use line checker features on the websites of providers such as POP Telecom to get a realistic idea of the speeds you can expect in your area.
Impressive reliability
Reliability is also key. Any broadband outages could cost you big in terms of reduced productivity and lost sales, and it could harm your reputation if it means that you’re not able to respond to your customers when they need you. When you’re looking for a broadband provider, make sure you go for one that has effective processes in place to ensure reliability, and take a look at their stats when it comes to uptime.
Strong SLAs
Even the most reliable broadband services can experience occasional outages, and in these situations, you need to know that your provider will respond quickly and provide you with the support you need. With this in mind, make sure you pay attention to the service level agreements (SLAs) that broadband providers offer. Many will commit to fixing problems within a specified period of time, and will offer compensation if they don’t deliver on this.
High levels of security
Although security is important to all internet users, it’s especially vital to businesses. Any breaches could have major financial and reputational consequences. So, look out for broadband packages that offer a greater level of protection against security threats than standard consumer services.
Static IP
An IP address is the unique number that relates to your location on the web. With standard consumer broadband, you’re normally assigned a new dynamic IP address whenever you go online. However, businesses often need static IPs – in other words IP addresses that are reserved only for them. This is particularly important for organisations that host their own websites or email servers, or need to access their PCs remotely. If you think a static IP would benefit your business, add this to your checklist when searching for broadband.
A suitable contract length
Broadband contracts tend to last for between 12 and 24 months. You’ll need to decide whether you will benefit from the added flexibility of a shorter deal or you’d prefer the stability of a longer term arrangement.
Getting the right broadband package could be crucial for the success of your business, so don’t rush your decision. Consider all of these issues carefully, and only agree to a particular deal if you’re sure it’s right for you.
