A modern business uses the internet for surfing, email, access to various portals, filing returns online, making purchases…. the list goes on.
Are you sure you have the right internet connection for your business?
Many organisations take their internet connection for granted until there is a problem with it – then half of your business grinds to a halt. You can’t take orders – you can’t place orders on your supplier you can’t do online filing – which for organisations such as accounting firms is a disaster.
It’s well worth taking a step back for a minute and consider what you could not do if your internet connection was not available for an hour, 2 hours… 24 hours… or more. What would that mean to the business? How much would it cost you? Can you perform any of the online work from another location?
If not having an internet connection could cost you money in terms of lost revenue or lost reputation then you seriously need to consider having a backup internet connection at the very least. If you rely heavily on the internet for your main line of business – e.g. an ecommerce business or an accountancy practice then you should be thinking about having a dedicated internet circuit (e.g. leased line) with a standard broadband (ADSL) connection as a backup.
Take a look at the service level guarantee that you get with your internet connection – is this enough? Service Level Guarantees vary from vendor to vendor. A typical broadband (ADSL) connection has a service level guarantee that any fault with the service will be fixed within 24 hours of the fault being reported. If this target is missed the best you can expect is a small credit against your next months’ service charge.
So talk to your internet service provider and get the full terms of their service. You may be surprised!
