The vast majority of small and medium businesses in London say that they now need a reliable broadband connection to operate successfully.
This is a requirement echoed in businesses across the country, with more companies of all sizes and across all industries now reliant on the internet, software and digital tools to work effectively.
Whether they have employees working from the office, or working from home, having fast connections and broadband that can deal with transferring large amounts of data without delays is critical.
When it comes to broadband, many businesses still rely on ‘home based broadband’.
These are connections which are available commercially to private households, but many of which aren’t built with the bandwidth of a business in mind.
Businesses use much higher volumes of data, need faster speeds that can operate over greater distances, and must support a much greater number of devices than an individual homeowner who needs the internet for a few devices.
Business broadband provides the kind of reliable connections that you’ll need, but what exactly is business broadband, and what does it provide to your company that ‘home broadband’ doesn’t?
That’s what we talk about here.
What is business broadband?
Business broadband is a dedicated internet connection that is set up in a commercial space or for commercial purposes.
While it operates the same way as home broadband – in the sense it provides an internet connection – business broadband typically offers a much better, stronger and more comprehensive connection and security than home broadband.
It typically comes with higher standard speeds, capable of handling larger amounts of data without delays, or handling larger sized file transfers, or carrying more cloud based operations without lag.
So, why would you consider business broadband for your company’s office or home base?
Get more prioritised connections
One of the problems with using ‘home broadband’ in business, is that you’re usually competing with other customers using the same fibre connections, which can reduce the available bandwidth on the network and cause slower speeds.
So you’re not only competing with your own devices for connections, you could also be competing with the homeowners around the corner who are downloading or streaming videos and other content.
During peak periods, you could see even bigger reductions in speed, which can seriously impair your business’ ability to operate to its highest level.
With business broadband, you get a dedicated connection to your company’s internet connection, so you aren’t competing with other users.
Plus, you’ll have your connections prioritised so you never need to worry about losing a connection or slower speeds.
Get more secure broadband
Cyber threats to businesses are far more common, and more severe than those made against individual homeowners.
The risks are extremely real for businesses when it comes to cyber threats.
More than four in 10 cyber attacks are made against small businesses, and they cost small and medium businesses more than $2m a year.
Being the victim of a cyber attack as a business doesn’t just put your data at risk, it also puts your clients’ and customers’ data at risk too.
Which is why you need a more secure connection.
While security for home broadband is high, it doesn’t meet the same levels as that installed on business broadband.
Business broadband can provide high speed connections, while also providing better security.
Get static IP addresses
IP addresses for residential broadband are dynamic, which change every time you connect to the internet.
While this is fine for your home broadband when you’re typically connecting to the internet from the same devices, it doesn’t meet the needs of a business.
Business broadband can provide you with a static IP address, which is more efficient for a business.
A static IP address allows you to host your own business server and receive larger files and enables simpler connections to that server.
You can host your own domain name server, which can be better if your business has a website, and it makes it easier to connect to your business computer from another device and enables employees to access your server remotely – which is essential in today’s world.
Get better router coverage
When you’re only connecting a few devices to your home broadband a standard router will be able to handle the demands you put on it because your employees will never be too far from it.
However, if you operate a larger business or employees need to connect to your broadband over a greater distance, a home or residential router won’t be able to meet those demands.
Business broadband routers provide much better coverage, meaning you can provide more reliable connections for your employees and reduce the risk of creating WiFi blackspots in your office.
Get better support
When your WiFi goes down at home, it can be highly inconvenient and annoying.
But when you’re running a business and rely on your broadband so employees can work and you can make a profit, having your broadband go down – or not work properly – can be devastating.
When this happens you need to get back online as quickly as possible, and you can’t spend hours waiting for an engineer or customer service support on the phone – or to go through a 15 stage process to turn your WiFi back on yourself.
Business broadband providers have dedicated support for their business users so you can log requests quicker without getting stuck in a queue waiting for help.
When you need to get your broadband working again quickly, this kind of support is essential.
Get your business broadband from Communications Plus
If your business is in need of a faster, more reliable level of internet connection, then getting your business broadband from Communications Plus can be the answer to your problems.
We can provide the kind of fast, secure and support broadband connections that allow you to operate an efficient business and enable your employees to connect to their critical business network from anywhere.
Check out our business broadband deals or get in touch for more information.
