| This article was written by Oxford Business Park | | | | are a wide range of business broadband packages |
| Almost every business these days uses the | | | | available in the UK, tailored to the needs of |
| internet and with good reason. Getting online | | | | organisations of different types and sizes. |
| means organisations of all types and sizes can | | | | If you run a small company and only use the |
| communicate with customers, partners and staff | | | | internet for browsing web pages and using email, |
| at a speed and cost unimaginable to previous | | | | an entry level business broadband package will |
| generations. | | | | most likely be adequate for your needs. At first |
| But these days just having an internet connection | | | | glance business broadband packages can look |
| isn't enough. Gone are the days when a dial-up | | | | very similar to home broadband in terms of |
| internet connection was enough to manage a one | | | | download limits and connection speeds, and the |
| page website and email account. An internet | | | | additional cost may lead you to consider using a |
| connection has become an essential tool for many | | | | domestic package for business purposes. |
| companies for whom being online has become an | | | | Although there is nothing to stop businesses using |
| essential aspect of their business. | | | | a domestic internet connection, one of the key |
| The level to which internet speed affects | | | | differences between home and business |
| employee productivity at your organisation will | | | | broadband packages is the level of customer |
| depend on what you use the internet for. If you | | | | support offered. If your business relies on having |
| run a small company with one or two employees | | | | a working internet connection to communicate |
| using the internet to send emails and browse the | | | | with customers and staff, paying the extra for a |
| internet occasionally, having a high speed internet | | | | better level of support is a wise investment. |
| connection may not be a top priority. | | | | At the other end of the scale, businesses that |
| If on the other hand you have a large number of | | | | rely heavily on the internet or have 20 or more |
| staff who all use the internet at the same time to | | | | employees accessing the internet at the same |
| upload files and use online tools and forms, the | | | | time should consider investing in a T1 line. A T1 is |
| speed of your internet connection can make a big | | | | essentially a very reliable internet connection which |
| difference to productivity and efficiency levels. | | | | offers speeds up to 60 times higher than ADSL. |
| Put simply, the faster your internet connection is, | | | | There are of course several solutions in between, |
| the quicker employees will be able to go about | | | | making it important to evaluate your needs |
| their work. Even if only part of the time is spent | | | | carefully before selecting a broadband provider |
| working online, time spent waiting for pages | | | | for your business. As well as offering an adequate |
| appear or files to download is time that could be | | | | level of support, a good broadband provider will |
| better used in other ways. | | | | offer the flexibility to scale up your package as |
| So what are the options for businesses when it | | | | your business and needs grow. |
| comes to broadband internet connections? There | | | | |