Today’s businesses are powered by technology, and with more and more business being conducted over the Internet, the need for bandwidth has become paramount.
More bandwidth allows you to conduct business more rapidly, increasing your efficiency, decreasing turnaround times and increasing your sales.
“If all of your sales are conducted over the phone and/or the Internet, and your connection is too slow, it doesn’t help your business,” says Dan Barlow, a sales engineer for Time Warner Cable Business Class. “Too often, companies go for the lowest price and don’t properly assess their needs.”
Barlow recommends working with a service provider to perform a technology assessment for your business.
By taking the time upfront to determine your needs, you’ll save headaches and hassles in the future, allowing you to successfully conduct your business.
Smart Business spoke with Barlow about how to assess and manage your company’s bandwidth needs.
How can a business assess the amount of bandwidth it needs?
Bandwidth is defined as the amount of data (measured in megabits per second) that can travel from point A to point Z and all spots in between.
In order to assess your needs, first determine how you are using your bandwidth. Is it just for the Internet and e-mail, or are you sending and receiving large files?
How much data are you sending, and is it getting to the recipient in a timely manner? Can it handle all the users that are currently sharing it? And what happens if you add more users to it? Is your solution scalable? How much time would it take for your current provider to increase your bandwidth?
Also, look at your company’s Web site. How many hits does it get? Are users downloading audio/video files? Are you streaming media for videoconferencing?
A complete evaluation of these activities will help you to determine your bandwidth needs.
Why is bandwidth so important?
In this modern, technological world, it’s all about how fast you can do business. So, you need to make sure that you have enough bandwidth to keep up with the needs of your business.
Having the right amount of bandwidth can mean the difference between sending a file in five minutes, five hours, or five days. If it’s taking you hours to do something your competitor can do in minutes, who do you think the customer is going to choose?
