Reliable connectivity provides the basis for how we now live and work whether you’re in the office, at home, or on the move. For business, it is the difference between a productive and motivated workforce and one that’s not. It can give your business the edge and ensures that you can operate effectively and without disruption.
With more and more organisations opting to use cloud-based applications connectivity demands are increasing. Gartner has predicted worldwide public cloud spend to grow 18% in 2021, with 70% of organisations using cloud to increase cloud spending in the wake of COVID-19. Consequently, the onus put on the reliability and quality of your connectivity solutions becomes even greater. In fact, by 2025, it’s projected there will be 75.4 billion connected products worldwide.
It’s also evident that while COVID restrictions are relaxed many workforces will continue to operate remotely. Just another reason why you need to think carefully about your connectivity solutions and ensure that they meet your business needs both now and in the future.
We have put together this handy buyer’s guide to Business Connectivity Solutions to ensure you’re on the right track:
What are the top considerations when procuring a business connectivity solution?
Business Needs
The starting point with a business connectivity solution is to consider your organisation’s needs. Where is your workforce based, what are their demands? What are your staffing levels and usage? Can you categorise your users depending on their needs? What is your budget?
A futureproof solution
You need to consider your longer-term goals – is your business going to grow significantly? If it is you will need to ensure that your connectivity is able to scale with that demand? What about technology? You need to ensure that all your users can reliably connect and integrate with any interface. By the end of 2025 BT will permanently switch off all copper-based lines so you need to ensure that you have a solution in place in preparation.
Your provider
Connectivity solutions require specialist expertise. When considering which provider you will work with, understand if they already work with businesses who have similar requirements. How efficient are their customer service teams and are they UK-based support teams? In addition, how do their prices compare? Are they competitive? This is a crowded marketplace so choosing the right provider is essential for such a fundamental business service.
What options should you be considering and why?
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SoGEA/high-speed fibre to the cabinet
This solution provides connectivity to a cabinet located outside of your building but that serves your premises. SoGEA uses a single line (no PSTN) and enables you to save time and simple to install.
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Fibre to the premises (FTTP)
As the name suggests connectivity is via fibre and is connected directly to your business premises. It is the next generation of broadband and delivers speeds of up 330 mbps but is not available everywhere so you will need to check with your supplier.
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Leased Line
Considered the ‘Rolls Royce’ of business connectivity solutions. leased lines are delivered via a dedicated ethernet connection right into your building. It provides outstanding reliability and delivers all the speed and capacity you will ever need. Prices typically start from around £200 per month (Subject to Availability)
What is the typical implementation time for a connectivity solution?
This depends on the desired product. SoGEA and FFTP connections have a lead time of between 8-12 working days. Leased lines have a lead time of 30-65 working days, depending on the results of a site survey. More accurate timescales for all products will be specified at the point of order.
What improvements should you expect to see once your connectivity solution is up and running?
Your largest improvement will be connectivity itself so no lagging when connecting to business-critical cloud-based services, web access, video conferencing, hosted voice solutions and so on. Knock on effects will also include improved productivity among your team. With connectivity central to the working day drops in connection can have a huge impact on the well-being of your team.
Are you interested in learning more about how a connectivity solution can benefit your business? Get in touch today via hello@calteq.co.uk.