A quick introduction to ultrafast broadband
Chris Petty, managing director of Cornerstone Business Solutions, continues his regular Tees Business advice column
What can you actually do with Ultrafast Broadband? Cornerstone has been working closely with Virgin Media Business to roll out their ultrafast broadband service to Teesside businesses, with the first phase, across Middlesbrough’ s Riverside Park, just going live.
So what are the benefits from having ultrafast broadband and how can it affect your business? Let’ s be honest, everybody wants things faster, whether it’ s emails, web pages, online backups or whatever else. We all know how frustrating it can be with slow bandwidth. If you run a small business that struggles with a sluggish broadband connection then this is going to revolutionise your business.
Offering up to 300Mbps, ultrafast broadband provides improved download and upload speeds, as well as providing a more reliable service. As a result, this is certain to provide better opportunities for businesses in Teesside.
A good broadband connection for your business means the obvious – it has a greater capacity to send and receive data electronically faster.
Ultrafast broadband also has the potential to significantly improve business performance. It may lead to the development of a new business model, provide access to new markets, improve customer relationships and operational savings, or give an organisation a unique selling point that leads to a competitive advantage over others in the market place- the list is endless! Here are just a few of the benefits:
• Remote working: Faster broadband allows a workforce to work more flexibly from home, or another office, which can lead to increased productivity. Greater employee satisfaction, reduced travel and, importantly, saving money in the long-term. Many organisations allow employees to access their networks via a Virtual Private Network( VPN) and, in this situation, an employee’ s experience at home, or in a remote office, would be exactly the same as working at the main office.
• Cloud computing: This is probably one of the most discussed applications in IT. Cloud computing is a relatively simple process that basically means that an organisation’ s data and software applications are hosted remotely in a data centre. Many cloud-based business applications are now available, ranging from office software like Office365( email, calendars, word processors and spread sheets) to more sophisticated business software like customer relationship management( CRM) systems such as Salesforce.
• Communications: Ultrafast broadband can revolutionise the way a business communicates with customers and colleagues. Telephony bills can plummet using your new connection for VOIP or using SIP trunks, as well as using video communications like Skype and Apple’ s Face Time, which also have the capacity to offer good quality video conferencing facilities. This could mean far less travelling for business meetings, with the time
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and money saved leading to greater profitability.
• Social Media: Businesses can use all social media and add value- using competitions,‘ how to’ videos, fan pages and review sites.
These are just a few examples of the benefits you can get from using ultrafast broadband, if you’ d like to discuss the potential of your business receiving ultrafast broadband, when it may be available in your area or any of the above benefits then please do not hesitate to contact us.
Superfast broadband is set to revolutionise Teesside businesses. We’ re coming to your business park soon.
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