For most organisations, a reliable internet connection is essential for day-to-day activities, ranging from basic communications to a reliance on cloud services.
As a managed service provider, our main office has a dedicated leased line as the primary connection, a backup ADSL2+ connection, a 3rd backup in the form of a 5G mobile router and a 4th backup connection on a different mobile network.
We posted an article recently that covered the best broadband for organisations, which you can view for more detail on the different types of connectivity, associated speeds and definitions.
How much downtime can you afford?
Internet downtime should be analysed as part of your business continuity planning. If you decide that you can only afford a limited amount of downtime (or as close to zero downtime as possible), then you should already have a backup internet connection.
What should your primary internet connection be?
Depending on your size, the ideal internet connection for SMEs is a leased line. This not only guarantees that your bandwidth is not shared with other premises, but it should also include an SLA for restoring services if your connection develops any faults.
However, not all organisations have leased lines available. If this applies to you, the next best connection would be fibre to the premises (FTTP), followed by Fibre to the cabinet (FTTC).
What should your backup internet connection be?
Your backup connection will depend on a number of factors: your size, geographic location and the number of processes that rely on the internet to function.
As with our own head offices, you can consider multiple backup connections to ensure that you can keep running in almost all scenarios.
How can we help?
As a managed services provider, we manage internet connectivity for a variety of organisations. You can get in touch today for impartial advice on your internet connection and any upgrades you might be considering.