Everyone knows what it’s like when you’re sitting doing some work and suddenly the wifi drops out or becomes incredibly slow. You try connecting with different settings or disconnecting and connecting again, only to find that your internet connection is still slow and not allowing you to complete your work on time. Frustrating, to say the least.
Whether you’re a member of staff or a company owner, there are a few things to look out for when trying to sort out slow or unresponsive company networks. In this article, we’ll discuss how to find and fix common hidden culprits that may be slowing down your company network. Read on to find out more.
The Importance of Good Company Internet
No matter what your business, the company internet is essential. Even a small cafe or store will almost certainly need the internet to be able to complete payments, order stock, and communicate with customers. For small businesses, these internet connections can mean the difference between opening or closing the doors.
In other businesses, high volumes of data and huge networks are required. Advertising, for example, would require thousands of megabytes of bandwidth at virtually all times. Uploading and downloading video files, images, and audio packages takes a huge amount of internet bandwidth, so a slow connection can totally ruin someone’s work.
Regardless of business size, the internet is used more and more for businesses. Losing or having a super slow connection could cause serious issues to any company. Let’s take a look at what you could be looking for if your internet network proves irregular, slow, or unreliable.
What Could Slow it Down
So, what could slow down your company network? Well, there are a few common network bottlenecks that could be the issue. “What’s a bottleneck?” You ask. Well, quite simply put, a bottleneck in a network is any point that data travels through that is causing an issue. This issue could be hardware, software, or network-related. Too much data through an unstable or unsatisfactory bottleneck is where issues are caused.
Most simply, there could be an issue with a server’s configuration. In theory, settings from one server should be in sync with the next, allowing for seamless and almost instant data flow from one server to the next. Often, however, proper set up of servers and their settings is overlooked, meaning that - you guessed it - a bottleneck occurs!
Another common source of bottlenecking or slowing data is where different hardware is being used. For example, extra communications hardware like VoIP phones can cause blockages or bottlenecks for other data, instead of seamlessly integrating with the network. Once again, simple settings fix can often sort this out. Poor hardware, in general, can cause data issues. Your equipment must be suited to the job at hand. You can not use cheap, inefficient modems designed for casual use to power a huge office network.
Finally, another common issue that causes a bottleneck or low data flow is improper segregation of bandwidth. With modern in-house networks, it’s easy to set up segregated data flow, allowing those who need high-speed access to the internet more bandwidth than those who do not. For example, you could argue that your design team needs as much bandwidth as possible, whereas your receptionist does not.
No matter what your business, the company internet is essential. Even a small cafe or store will almost certainly need the internet to be able to complete payments, order stock, and communicate with customers. For small businesses, these internet connections can mean the difference between opening or closing the doors
Fixing Issues - Who Can Help?
The issue many people have is that they don’t know how to spot these bottlenecks. It may be that they don’t have an in-house IT team, or that these teams are not fully experienced with huge networks. Spotting faulty modem settings or finding bottlenecks in a piece of hardware can be confusing, even for seasoned IT guys.
In many cases, the best thing to do is to hire an external IT technician team. These pros will be able to closely monitor your network whilst running various tests. They’ll spot where the bottlenecks occur and they’ll tell you how to fix them.
Not only that, but you’ll receive ongoing support should your network ever fail again. Whether remotely or in person, your new IT resource will be available at all times. So, you can rest easy knowing that your network has been set up, managed, and maintained by a group of experts.
So, if you see your IT systems, networks, or internet running slowly, it’s time to figure out why. Seek professional advice to find out what is causing the network bottlenecks, have these issues addressed, and then get your network running smoothly. After all, the internet is crucial to business development, so ensuring your network is at full capacity means your business can operate at full capacity!