Importance of the Internet for Cloud Services
Luckily the price for Internet services has come down dramatically over the past few years, mainly due to the introduction of the NBN and availability of fibre infrastructure.
It’s now not uncommon for some home users to have faster connections than businesses, with the average home Internet NBN plan capable of reaching speeds of 100Mbps download and 40Mbps upload, even a fixed NBN wireless service is capable of up to 50Mbps download.
However, what many people don’t realise is there are a number of differences between a home Internet service and that provided to a business. A quality business Internet Service Provider (ISP) provides a service level agreement (SLA), an account manager can be assigned to the service, and a 1:1 contention ratio is often provided. The premium business ISP’s can also offer a fully managed service and an after-hours service.
The contention ratio refers to the sharing of the Internet service with others on the same network. The lower the contention ratio the higher the quality of service. A 40:1 contention ratio means that up to 40 customers are sharing the same bandwidth at any one time. An ISP that supplies an Internet service with a 1:1 contention ratio, will ensure the best possible experience for business.
For any cloud based business service, TechTidy suggests at least a 10Mbps/10Mbps connection. This should be the bare minimum for any business accessing a cloud based system for core business tasks, such as a site-to-site VPN between offices to share company data or a Dropbox Business file system. The number of employees, the kind of system setup, and external parties accessing the internal network from offsite, will all have an impact on the bandwidth requirements.
The Internet has always been the foundation for businesses and today with everything relying heavily on this technology, it’s now expected to be available 24/7. Small businesses need to be wise when choosing their ISP to ensure they get the best service for their address and take into account their bandwidth requirements.
Please contact TechTidy for help with determining your bandwidth requirements or for advice on your current Internet service.
