CAFM & IT A need for speed…
…but what about broadband reliability? Peter Gradwell, Founder and Managing Director of Gradwell, discuss how businesses are being held back by unreliable broadband connections, and explains how facilities managers can help
mitigate against costly problems. Figures
published by the Federation of Small
Businesses (FSB) in February this year delivered both good and bad news for UK business. On the plus side, following several difficult years of struggling through, the majority of firms are now looking to grow and expand. However, the research also highlighted a number of barriers that are preventing them from doing so. The stalling economy is, of course, the significant and ongoing issue, however a considerable number of businesses – 16% in fact – cited inadequate broadband as a threat to their future success.
Developing their online presence, in a bid to engage with the ecommerce market was reported as a priority for over half of the FSB members who responded to its survey. But a continuing lack of broadband coverage and slow speeds are hampering firms’ plans. I would actually go one step further and suggest that inadequate broadband is not only preventing business growth, but is causing firms trouble in terms of their day-to-day operations.
We recently conducted research into the impact of broadband problems on businesses across the country. The results revealed that firms are seeing their broadband service fail on average, once a month – which in turn is having a direct and significant impact on their bottom line. Much of the issue here stems from the fact that the vast majority of companies don’t have a back-up plan for dealing with ‘down-time’. While I wasn’t surprised by the regularity with which
38
connections are failing businesses, I was taken aback by how few have a strategy in place for dealing with what is clearly an ongoing problem.
The main problem is people placing their whole business hopes and dreams on one line, creating a single point of failure. Thinking ahead and investing in more reliable services is quite easy. For example, EFM Leased Line services provide in-built failover systems to keep businesses online when problems occur. There may only be one connection, but that connection is made up of two or four pairs of bonded wires, meaning that one line can fail, without taking your whole operation offline.
However, a second service serving as a backup is recommended and is becoming easier to implement than you think. Many high-end routers are now coming with 3G failover systems, so you can access the internet through a wireless connection should your wired connection fails. Plus smartphone and tablet users are becoming used dual-connection devices, using a mix of WiFi and 3G. And with 4G on the horizon, promising speeds between 25Mbps and 50Mbps, having a mobile network backup to your fixed connection could soon become a reality.
Interestingly, much of the media and political debate around business broadband is focused on speed. This is largely driven by the Coalition’s plans to invest in superfast broadband infrastructure and Ofcom’s upcoming auction of the high-speed 4G spectrum. However, on a day-to-day basis, those who responded to our survey placed a greater importance on reliability than speed – with over 63% citing a reliable connection as being of most value to their business. This compares to 22% who would prioritise a fast connection.
While discussions of digital infrastructure improvement in the UK revolve primarily around the ‘need for speed’, reliability is equally important for businesses – particularly smaller firms, which are more likely to be hit financially by down-time.
www.gradwell.com
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