OPINION
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29
magazine
Nolan Braterman of Frontier Voice and Data explains why it pays to have back-up
How much money would your business
lose if you lost all connectivity?
Connection to the internet has become
an essential part of any business.
According to a recent survey, only
25% of those who were hit by internet
outages last year were able to mitigate
their down-time by undertaking tasks
that did not require internet access.
Of course, there are various ways to
get by when the internet fails. There’s
the Costa down the road (other coffee
shops are available) or tethering off your
mobile data if you are lucky enough to
have unlimited 4G.
But these are short-term solutions
that won’t cut the mustard during
major outages.Which is where a second
internet connection comes in – the
overall idea being that if your main
service provider cuts out for whatever
reason, your secondary connection is
ready and waiting to take over.
First steps
In order to mitigate the chances and
impact of an outage, businesses should
carry out a number of simple actions:
1
Check that all your routers have been
configured properly;
2
Check that you are using internet
connectivity that is suitable for your
business purposes (this tends to be a
common pitfall for many businesses,
many of which opt for residential
connections as they are cheaper);
3
As your company grows, it’s vital
that you carry out regular internal
checks and audits to ensure all IT
and telecommunication systems are
able to deal with increased volumes
and are safe from outages and cyber-
attacks. You can review the scalability
and resiliency of your systems by
checking that your bandwidth is still
suitable for the size of your business. If
your business has grown beyond your
bandwidth speed and size, then it’s time
to upgrade – before it falls over!
5
Regularly review the market to see
if there’s anything available that your
business could benefit from. In a rapidly
evolving industry there are always new
features that can make working life
easier and more protected.
Unfortunately, a connectivity issue
will sometimes arise despite your (and/or
your provider’s) best efforts. This is where
the back-up connection comes into its
own. Rather than wasting time moving to
a temporary office space or rinsing your
mobile data dry, a better option is to
implement a backup internet connection.
What may seem like another unnecessary
expense today could save you a lot of
stress and money in the long run.
Your options
Depending on the size of your business,
there are a handful of solutions available
to help your business battle a broken
broadband connection:
1
A step up from your mobile phone
data, a 4G router or MiFi device will
connect to the 4G network in the event
of an internet outage, meaning you can
continue to carry out small tasks that
require internet connection, such as
taking PDQ payments and sending email.
The cost of a device like this is around
the £130 mark.
2
For businesses in which a large chunk
of the workload depends on an internet
connection, a second ADSL line is a more
reliable option. Before taking this step it’s
important to choose a different supplier
to the one used for your main broadband
connection, so that if your main service
provider encounters a major issue, your
secondary connection will be able to
kick in.
Carry on as normal
With the cost of a second connection
for a micro business starting at £12.95
per calendar month and the average cost
of an outage reaching £1,287 in 2016, a
secondary connection represents good
value for money, especially as there are,
Why every business needs
two internet connections
on average, four outages per organisation
per year.
New prospects and existing
customers are key drivers in sustaining
and growing your business. If neither can
get through to you, will they call your
competitors? By adding a second low-
cost connection you can be confident
that your business will carry on as
normal in the event of an outage. The
figures really do speak for themselves.
For more than 30 years, Frontier Voice
and Data (FVD) has provided businesses
with working, flexible, bespoke and
price competitive communications
solutions. FVD is an independent supplier
and carries a comprehensive suite of
business-grade products to suit any type
or size of company.
/
Nolan Braterman
What may seem
like another
unnecessary
expense today
could save you
a lot of stress
and money in the
long run
Sources:
business-broadband-outages.html.
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