How much bandwidth do you need to run your business operations?

Most businesses cannot run without bandwidth. They all require high speed internet to function effectively. Bandwidth provides instant communication within the company, as well as with customers and clients. No business wants to risk a dropped connection due to slow internet.

In order to secure reliable high speed internet for your business, you need sufficient bandwidth. But how do you know how much bandwidth you’ll need? That’s the million dollar question! You want enough bandwidth to meet your needs, but not too much. Overspending on unnecessary bandwidth coverage results in unnecessary money losses. Then how do you calculate that figure?

1.       Assess your usage (current internet usage+ future internet bandwidth to cover your possible growth projections). Always take into calculation the number of your employees and time they spend online

2.       Assess your bandwidth needs (it can vary from 10 x 1 MBPS to 300 x 20 MBPS depending on the number of users and devices using the network)

-         Offices handle huge amounts of digital data. Cloud computing may sound great as it saves space on your local computers by saving it in the cloud.However, there’s a necessary downside, and it involves bandwidth. Like any online activity, the more you do, the more you use. With cloud software, it’s easy to think you aren’t actually using the internet, but you are. Your cloud involvement x Your usage = Your bandwidth requirements

3.       Uploads and Download consume significant amounts of internet usage. Both types of web interaction require data. These activities use up a lot of internet because of the frequency rate.(Emails, Dropbox, CRM software, updating web presence, interacting with platform, video conferencing)

Different tasks online eat up dissimilar levels of megabyte (MB) data. To give you a basic idea, here’s a quick breakdown:

-         Opening a webpage – 1 MB

-         Watching a live streaming video at 720p – 5MB/minute

-         Skype video calling – 28 MB/second

4.       Cable or DSL. They both qualify as“asymmetric” services, offering different upload and download speed. (NOTE: If you want the same upload and download speed, or symmetrical bandwidth, it’s more expensive and it isn’t really necessary for a business)

Summing up, don’t let insufficient bandwidth hinder your business operations. Always analyze your usage and don’t go overboard. Don’t buy more bandwidth than is needed. However, remember not to under-invest in bandwidth either. It sounds complex, but with the right attention to detail and proper monitoring of your internet habits, you’ll find that sweet spot of bandwidth, that’s right for you and your business.

Contact us today to see what iiGrid can do for you in terms of networking and bandwidth.