How important is internet access to your office’s operation? Today, the answer would be almost unanimous: extremely important. Few businesses can effectively operate without it; many management systems are accessed via internet, not to mention conducting crucial and time-sensitive correspondence through email. You’d lose referrals, and likely be unable to process billing inquires.
We’re fortunate to work in an age of such vast and far-reaching connectivity. So what’s your contingency plan if you lose access to the internet? Do you have one?
Your company might consider using more than one means of accessing the internet. What’s the cost? Bigger than the question of what services are available in your area, what is the cost to your agency in lost production time if you don’t?
You’re already connected to the internet (most likely through T-1 or T-3 lines, Cable, or DSL); consider employing one or more of your other choices as a backup. To optimize network speed, a combination of Cable and DSL would probably be the best option. T-1 lines seem to be fading in favor of T-3 lines, however, the costs are more prohibitive than Cable or DSL.
And yes, there is the age old dial-up modem. They’re not viable for network connectivity, but in a real pinch, consider placing modems and dedicated phone lines on some of your workstations so that when the all else fails, you at least have minimal access, and can continue to conduct business.
We all know about the finger pointing; your Internet Service Provider says, “It’s not on our end, it must be someone else you’re trying to connect to!” The Carrier responds, “Same here, everyone else can access us.” What about the vendor of your management system? “It must be your ISP or your network systems support provider.”
Take responsibility for your internet connectivity. Your business is worth it!
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