Choosing the Best Digital Connectivity For Your Business
When considering your digital infrastructure requirements, you need to think about the reliability and consistency of connectivity that your business needs. Digital connectivity is very aligned to physical connectivity: how fast does your data traffic need to travel, how often, and how much? Some businesses will be able to operate with a consumer broadband service and others will need a dedicated line with business critical response times. Please read our blog Getting Better Connected on the importance of consistent and reliable digital connectivity.
We have outlined the main options below along with available voucher schemes which may help to offset the cost. Please remember the voucher isn’t always the best option for you and it is wise to cost both with and without. We are lobbying Government to offer more flexibility through their intended centralised voucher scheme and would appreciate your feedback from your own experiences.
What is the best digital infrastructure option for my business?
Lease Line / Fibre to the Premises (FTTP):
This is the most expensive option but also the most reliable. Emerald has invested in this ourselves to ensure we have dedicated connectivity. Cost can vary quite widely from £300 to £500 per month, although we currently have a really competitive local Warwickshire offer at £290 per month for 100mb upload and download. Remember this provides a dedicated last mile to your building and the Service Level Agreements mean any issues are viewed as business critical with an engineer on site within 4 hours. If you future-proof your business with a 1GB bearer and your business is based in Coventry & Warwickshire, you can benefit from the current Gigabit Connectivity pilot. It is very important to cost all the options and ensure you are not paying more in the long run through the voucher scheme. We are lobbying Government to make it more flexible but at the moment the scheme only covers installation costs and often a three year contract waves this for you.
Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC):
We never recommend this to a business because of speed, capacity, and reliability issues. With the voucher schemes available, it always makes sense to invest in fibre even if it is only to the Cabinet. Geographically, this may be all you are able to access although there are significant investment programmes to ensure this is not the case for much longer. £95m has been allocated by Government in a Local Full Fibre Fund programme to provide a full fibre backbone across the UK, and over £10m has been awarded to the West Midlands. Click here for full details.
Standard Broadband (ADSL):
This is the most expensive option but also the most reliable. Emerald has invested in this ourselves to ensure we have dedicated connectivity. Cost can vary quite widely from £300 to £500 per month, although we currently have a really competitive local Warwickshire offer at £290 per month for 100mb upload and download. Remember this provides a dedicated last mile to your building and the Service Level Agreements mean any issues are viewed as business critical with an engineer on site within 4 hours. If you future-proof your business with a 1GB bearer and your business is based in Coventry & Warwickshire, you can benefit from the current Gigabit Connectivity pilot. It is very important to cost all the options and ensure you are not paying more in the long run through the voucher scheme. We are lobbying Government to make it more flexible but at the moment the scheme only covers installation costs and often a three year contract waves this for you.
4G Mobile Connectivity:
When we first moved into our new Emerald HQ we had no broadband (despite ordering it promptly!) so we ran operations using 4G routers for the first week. We supply these routers to a range of customers including Deeley Construction for their sites where having cable is not cost-effective. There are heavily dependent on the mobile connectivity in the area, but can provide better speed, capacity, and reliability than standard ADSL broadband. We recommend investing in a quality 4G router and there is hardware available that will allow you to have multi-network SIM cards so you can run O2 and EE for example. Our cost for these routers start from £30 per month and the amount of data you use can flex from month to month making it perfect for temporary sites. Again, dependent on the mobile connectivity in the area, you can run a small Voice over Internet (VoIP) phone system, 5-6 laptops, and a network printer from just one or two routers.
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Testimonials
"Emerald has become our go-to for all our technology requirements. If we think we need to address an issue, we contact them and explain, and they suggest a solution not only for immediate use, but also looking at the longer term picture for our business too.
They keep a constant eye on our systems and usage and suggest when appropriate courses of action should be taken to enhance our working environment"
THE HITCHMAN STONE PARTNERSHIP
"In the past, we had experienced problems with IT companies who had the ability over promise and under deliver.
This was not the case with Emerald. Emerald are now our trusted partner for all of our IT support needs. They offer honest, impartial advice that is delivered in a language even the novice can understand.
Having one number that our team can call with any IT or telephone concerns makes such a difference, especially when this is backed up with prompt resolution."
Richard Hall - Inn Express
"We've been working with Emerald for many years and their support has been invaluable on all aspects of IT from maintenance of systems & phones to new purchases and solutions.
Emerald are professional and their services are precise and innovative where needed. Their customer support is outstanding. Highly recommended."
Jeryl Stone - Hitchman Stone
"When your whole business rests on a cloud-based system, having a flexible, cost-effective, secure, and well- maintained solution is what helps you sleep better at night. That's what Emerald is here for"
Leech & Co Solicitors Data Centre Backup
