The Connectivity Gateway to Better Business Growth

One of the ways it has done this is simply by suddenly becoming so affordable. Whatever your business size and budget, there is a relatively inexpensive and adequate connectivity solution out there for you. That’s not something that could have been truthfully reported just a few years back.

During the ‘copper’ years, it was far too expensive for most businesses to afford robust, reliable and fast enough (never mind ultrafast) bandwidth. Only large corporates could afford the bandwidth that would allow large numbers of employees to be on multiple systems with no delay or disruption to service.

Nowadays there is a broadband solution for every size of business, covering every requirement, connecting employees from different geographical locations, not only to each other and their customers, but to important business systems needed to fulfil their role and delivered on any device the business requires.

Great connectivity allows business to grow, both physically – because staff numbers are no longer an issue – and geographically because employees can work anywhere and still have access to each other and the data that they need. This allows employees to work remotely and flexibly and businesses to locate their offices and people in the right areas to prosper.

Cloud-based solutions are not the be all and end all, but they categorically allow businesses of any size to afford scalable and flexible solutions to increase efficiency, security and productivity at a fraction of what they used to cost.

With today’s available broadband, businesses can choose not to invest in any hardware – which was traditionally costly to purchase, manage and maintain. They can simply pay per month for a host of managed cloud solutions that they can access over the internet. Once integrated, they really don’t have to think twice about them.

These can range from storage, to back up, to CRMs, to IP telephony and email solutions. Whilst poor broadband maybe used to be able to access these services, it could not be relied upon to do it seamlessly, delivering things like crystal clear calls and quick upload and download speeds on a regular basis. This is because every solution requires a certain amount of bandwidth and most businesses simply didn’t have enough to go around to make calls over the internet, access online files and deal with web traffic etc at the same time.

Speaking to customers and other employees was originally potentially quite a costly, inflexible affair, with just traditional telephone lines and mobile devices. The benefit of good connectivity means that VoIP (voice over internet protocol) has really turned that around. This is particularly the case for internal calls from office to office which can be free when calling over the internet. Not only are VoIP’s crystal-clear calls halving phone bills, they also offer a wealth of functionality like call forwarding and diverting to other people and devices, or to different platforms like messenger and of course, video conferencing. VoIP increases employee collaboration, because it’s easy to get together, improves customer service because customers aren’t kept hanging on in the dark, and is good for employee wellbeing because they are able to work more flexibly without missing important calls and meetings. But it’s only made possible with decent, secure and reliable access to the internet.

Another massive benefit of better broadband is its impact on marketing. Attracting and engaging with customers now relies so heavily on the internet, that for the first time, businesses are spending more money advertising on the web than on television. Be it through social media, email campaigns, online blogs, e-commerce sites, or online chat facilities, it’s quite clear that slow, unreliable connectivity is the kiss of death.

If you are a business in 2019, you have a wealth of opportunities open to you that technology can deliver. It doesn’t matter your business size, function or area, reputable providers can get you connected to suit your budget in any location, including blackspots where businesses have traditionally had to suffer. Finding a provider you can trust to deliver what you need can sometimes be a chore, but once you do, everything from there onwards should be pretty much plain sailing.