Expert explains how improving connectivity can drive success

Connectivity is growing in importance, as the traditional business hours of 9 to 5 are stretched and customers expect to engage with a business at any time.

The always-on mentality means that businesses have to rise to the challenge to be able to stay ahead of the pack and that considering whether you have the network infrastructure and can support it as connectivity demands grow.

Having the best channels available means that a business can keep operations running smoothly and enabling teams to continue to reach further and sell more.

When an organisation fails due to inadequate systems, brand, reputation, customer engagement, and revenue are all at risk.

Mr Shelton said: “For any business looking to avoid connectivity pitfalls, my first suggestion would be to oversize your connection.

“It’s not unusual for businesses to spend more than 80 per cent of their bandwidth with cloud computing for CRM, accounts, HR, banking, and email.

“The smallest connection to consider is 100mbps but it’s not that more expensive to go to a 1,000mps leased line.

“Robustness is vital, so look for a supplier who can get as close as possible to the five nines rule: 99.999 per cent availability of the service.

“If you are worried about this and it’s vital to remain connected, ask your supplier for a diverse carrier and exchange resilient backup line of say 100mpbs with auto failover.

“Network security is of course essential, and it’s really vital to deploy a secure firewall and ensure your downstream switches, hubs, routers are capable of running at top speed.

“Check, because a 100mpbs router or switch on the network is not going to make the best of a 1,000mpbs connection.

“Also, ensure you have a strong service level agreement (SLA) with your supplier with realistic response and resolution times and multi-channel support, such as email and telephone, and a client portal for logging incidents online.

“Prioritising your channels is a good idea. If you are using your connection for both voice and data, prioritise a dedicated VLAN for voice calls.

“This will take far  less bandwidth than you’d imagine and will improve the quality of your calls without compromising user speeds when working online, uploading or downloading files, or collaborating in Teams/Zoom video calls.

“Consider lead-time and excessive construction charges when choosing a supplier and don’t be surprised if it, and required speeds, varies from supplier to supplier.

“Typically allow 21-90 days. It could be much quicker if you are in a serviced office or business park where the incumbent should be able to achieve a live date within 7 days.

“There may be excessive construction charges if you are far from the nearest cabinet or exchange, and this  could include traffic management and or road closures- all of which are expensive and could push you well over the 90 days for estimated delivery date.”