Businesses need robust and feature-rich internet to grow.
When a business is still small and starting up, usually with just one or two people, regular “home” internet covers the basics. Employees can send and receive emails, join video calls, and use online services.
But as the business grows, it will start hitting the limitations of its current connection. As more employees join the company and more devices connect to the network, a basic residential internet connection will struggle to keep up, not to mention provide business-grade support and advanced features such as static IPs.
Soon, uploads that took mere minutes now require hours to complete. Services become slower, leaving users frustrated as they wait for important pages to load. Video calls start looking unprofessional as they stutter, lose picture quality, and even drop from the meeting. Customers get frustrated as slow connections lead to poor customer service.
How to evaluate your internet connection
Is your connectivity still suitable for your business? Every business has differing connectivity requirements, based on a range of criteria. Here are some points to consider:
- Number of users: How many people are in the office and using the internet connection?
- Upload speed: Is your upload speed as fast as your download speed (symmetrical access)? Home Internet often features fast download speed for streaming but slower upload speeds as home users hardly upload large files.
- Number of devices: How many devices connect to your office internet, from phones to printers and smart televisions?
- Mobile requirements: Are you or your staff often on the road or working from different locations?
- Office services: What office services, such as Microsoft 365, do you use, and for how many people?
- Backups: Do you make frequent backups to cloud services?
- Speeds: Do you experience slow or erratic speeds during business hours?
- Support: Have you struggled to get support from your internet service provider, especially during a critical moment?
- Infrastructure providers: What are your local choices for internet service providers (ISPs)?
- Cost vs. capacity: Are you getting full value out of your internet plan?
- Future plans: What are your growth expectations for the next few years,? This includes headcount increases, new branches, adding CCTV cameras that require a fixed IP address and additional internet services.
Choosing the right internet connection
By looking at the above questions, you’ll define your company’s current and future internet needs.
If you run one location, but with multiple staff and a significant reliance on cloud services, video calls, backups, and connected devices, a symmetrical fibre connection with equal speeds up and down is an ideal choice.
But what if you’re not near a fibre network? Business Connect is an ideal solution that delivers stable, unshared connectivity with symmetrical upload and download speeds and built-in assurance, using the most feasible access at your location. With a standard SLA, LTE as a backup safety net, and delivery over fibre or wireless connections, it provides predictable performance for critical operations. Choose an uncapped option with no monthly usage limits, and high speeds with a package that suits your requirements and budget.
The scenario can lean in the other direction: perhaps you are frequently on the go, working remotely at different locations, or you need something simple yet convenient for your retail location. For such scenarios, 5G*/Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is an excellent choice. Simply take your router to use at any location, you’ll just need a power source to plug it in.
Your business can have very specific requirements, such as strict security and control standards to protect sensitive data, or providing secure mobile connections to authorised employees while maintaining full control over costs. In such situations, a business-grade APN with full data management will deliver the most value.
What if you’re a medium to large enterprise and absolutely cannot afford for the internet to go down? Then look at Dedicated Internet Access from Vodacom Business, a managed service that uses multiple types of internet connections to ensure reliable, high-speed connectivity.
An internet plan isn’t just about speed. Vodacom’s Business Internet options can include additional services such as dedicated voice channels/VoIP and Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) for additional security and control.
