A poorly performing network is impossible to ignore in modern businesses. Almost everything relies on fast connections, and few things kill productivity and damage employee morale faster than staring at loading screens or connection errors. Unscheduled downtime and performance bottlenecks also hinder your ability to offer customer service and response times that meet modern standards.
There’s no such thing as a network that’s too fast, which is why you need to do everything in your power to maximize performance. Here are our network optimization tips for businesses in Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey and all other cities of Greater Vancouver.
#1. Get the best service available
Not all internet services and technologies are made equal, and broadband itself is a very poorly defined term. Connection quality is more important than raw speed, so keep an eye out for fast connections with proven records of reliability in business environments.
Be sure to choose a company that offers full-fledged support and guarantees uptime in its service level agreements (SLAs). Don’t even think of trying to save money with a consumer-grade service, which will offer sub-par support and connectivity.
#2. Use the most current technology
Enterprise technology has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past two decades, and many of us can barely remember the wailing of dial-up modems connecting to the internet. Internet speeds have increased exponentially, and maintaining the same subscription for as little as three years can leave you behind the times.
If possible, you’ll want a fiber-optic cable broadband connection, since these offer the fastest speeds, sometimes surpassing 1Gbps depending on your area. If that’s not an option where you are, you’ll still need the latest technology available, such as VDSL or 4G LTE mobile internet.
#3. Allocate your resources properly
Even the fastest internet connections can bog down if you have half a dozen people participating in high-definition video conferences while others are downloading gigabytes worth of data. Unfortunately, most applications don’t have built-in features for limiting bandwidth consumption, which means your network can be slowed down by users and apps that aren’t top priorities.
For example, internet telephony (VoIP) and cloud-hosted applications might slow down to a crawl if your bandwidth is being used up by a non-essential system, a performance bottleneck, or an ongoing malware attack. There are management software that can prioritize and allocate your bandwidth allowance, imposing upload and download speed limits on non-essential applications.
#4. Optimize your wireless networks
Wireless technology might be ubiquitous, but it’s far from perfect. In fact, you should always use a wired connection (ethernet) if you have the option. Cabled connections are always superior in terms of performance, quality, and reliability, since there’s less risk of interference and unexpected outages.
Unfortunately, many modern devices, including tablets and smartphones, only offer wireless connectivity, so there will still be situations where wireless networks are the only option. However, you can significantly improve reliability by using only devices with the latest wireless technology and minimizing sources of interference, such as microwaves and radios.
Of course, networks that lack the proper security protocols are some of the slowest. You can keep yours safe by integrating it with RADIUS. This ensures that only the right people have access. Think about it, are your WiFi passwords so outdated that former employees could still log on? RADIUS enforces security measures beyond basic passwords to keep your network from getting bogged down by unwanted or dangerous users.
At Quicktech, we understand that a secure and reliable internet connection is critical for modern business operations. When your network is optimized by our technicians, you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that mission-critical systems like VoIP and email always get the bandwidth they need. Call us today to learn more.