During a recent visit to a client whose internet was down, we had to resolve the problem and suggested a back up plan to avoid this happening again.
Surprisingly we find that one of the biggest network and internet connection issues is caused by a faulty or crashed router…
Are you and your teams home working?
Since the global pandemic people all over the world depend more on the internet; to learn, work, connect with family and survive. There were 4.83 billion worldwide internet users in 2020, meaning more than 60% of the world is online.
As things slowly begin to re-open, discussions need to be had about making home working a more permanent feature for many. With that comes a multitude of things to consider; one of the main considerations being, can an employee access the internet and how as a business do you ensure a resilient and reliable network?
In April 2020 during the pandemic 46.6% of people in employment did some form of home working, with 86% saying this was due to Covid-19.
How would your internet going down impact your business?
According to a study carried out by Beaming; UK businesses lost 149 million work hours when their internet failed. The monetary cost and loss in productivity accounted for £12.3 billion in lost revenue.
Inevitably there are many ways yours and your staff’s internet going down can and does affect productivity. All of our networks; cloud base services, VOIP telephone lines and the like are all affected, so unless you run something like a hair salon which doesn’t heavily rely on the internet to operate, then you will undoubtedly be losing business.
How to be sure that your router hasn’t simply crashed?
So, what do you do when your internet stops at work?
Firstly, check your devices. Can you connect to the internet on any of your devices? If you can it is likely to be your device, but if not it will be your router.
Therefore rebooting your router, moving closer to it or plugging your device in directly to the router could fix it.
If you still cannot connect, call your internet provider to log the issue and check if the problem is with them.
If you are still having problems, it is likely that your router is broken, and you may need to replace it.
The router allows access to the internet from your work network, it also allows remote access to your works network.
What router is best for your business?
Routers hardly inspire the same excitement as a new smartphone or tablet. But as the key to your business network, you will need to research the best router for you.
If you need to replace your router, some businesses may be lucky and could collect a router from a local computer store and have it installed that day. However, it is likely to be at least one day to get hold of the correct router for your business. As claimed by Beaming; 13% of businesses start losing money the second their internet goes down. After just one hour, the proportion of businesses losing money increased to 28% and that further increased to 46% after only four hours.
It is important to consider different features in a router to ensure you are getting the right one for you and your business. Some of the things you could consider are security, speed, range and price. Routers can range from £20 for the more basic models for home use or hundreds of pounds for more powerful routers used in large businesses.
Why don’t you have a look here at some of the best Routers. *PC Mag 2021
Have you considered a ‘back up plan’ should your internet go down?
Independence Research studies showed that although 66% of small businesses stated their internet going down would be severe in terms of loss financially and productivity, that the majority of them had no back up plan.
The advice to our clients if they find themselves in this situation is to purchase an additional router. That way if a router goes down for any reason, you have another all set up and ready to go in 10 minutes.
As a business you need to weigh up the cost of an additional router vs. a lost day of work (or more!).
Another thing to consider is a Router/Network monitor. Purchasing a monitor for your business would allow you to keep a constant eye on your router connections and where any issues may occur in your network. Your monitor could notify you automatically whenever something seems amiss inside your router or network traffic. You can also purchase monitors which can look at all your network devices, not just your router. If there is a fault, you would be able to diagnose the cause immediately and eliminate it before your business is affected. Therefore saving your business coming to a standstill.
We think it is always good to have a backup plan.
If the above does not resolve your problems then why not give us a call on: 01737 824 003 or expert team are more than happy to help!
