When you’re running or launching your startup with limited funding, one of the first things you seek to save money on is your internet service. Contrary to this usual move, you should actually invest heavily in a good internet connection. Aside from rent and paying your staff, making sure that you’re always connected and online is the most important thing you can do for your business.
How do you know that you have a good internet connection?
If you aren’t that tech-savvy, you may not know how to differentiate internet subscription plans. Just looking at the bandwidth and speed isn’t enough. You also have to look at the kind of connection, the data limit (if any) and the performance of the service provider in your area.
You need to get a connection that doesn’t have a data limit or doesn’t limit your speed once you’ve hit a certain cap. Some service providers say that you have an unlimited connection and they don’t monitor your downloads or usage, but be wary. When you hit a certain data cap, they may still let you use your connection but at reduced speeds. Also, ask them what the minimum bandwidth for your connection is, not the maximum. Other service providers don’t fix your connection speed and simply let it adjust to local usage.
Things you can enjoy when you get a good internet connection
So now that you have a great internet service at your fingertips, here are the things your enterprise can use:
- File sharing and storage
In case you didn’t know, you don’t need expensive IT infrastructure and experts to store your files. You can still go the old route where you set up servers and several hard drives, but there’s a better way. You can engage companies like Dropbox, Box or SugarSync to allot you space on their own servers which you can access at any time and from any computer. If you’re running a business with a lot of home-based employees, creating a central location for your files is the best option. You can even try their services for free first if you want some time to decide. Some of these companies even let you go through your files on their mobile apps.
- Hosted VoIP PBX
A VoIP PBX or VoIP private branch exchange is a great telephony solution for any startup or business that isn’t centralized in a single office. If you have branches or employees in other locations, using cloud-based solutions for communication is cheap and reliable as long as your internet connection holds up. Instead of actual phones, you use your PCs and an internet connection to make and receive calls. You can use one computer or account as your switching unit and all the other branches in the PBX can be accounts on different devices like smartphones, tablets or laptops.
- Internet fax
Aside from a private branch exchange, you can also use your great internet connection to send and receive faxes as if you had a dedicated fax system. You use an interface not unlike an email app that manages your faxes. You input the fax number instead of the email address and the service provider is responsible for transmitting your document as a fax. You also get your own fax number that people can actually dial and get a fax tone. You receive your faxes much like emails from the service provider’s fax app.
