How to choose the right network connectivity provider_

In today’s digital economy, having fast and reliable internet access and a robust IT network is vital for business processes, operations and productivity. But with the array of networking solutions available, for both internal management and external managed network services, getting exactly what your business needs from a network connectivity perspective can be a daunting process. We explore the benefits of managed connectivity services and what things to consider when choosing a network connectivity provider for your business.

Why do businesses need managed connectivity services?

Today’s business landscape is an increasingly interconnected one and the ability to reach people through any device instantaneously, no matter where they’re located, is an important factor for business success. However, network reliability, increased availability, higher performance and efficiency are all necessary for optimal connectivity, ultimately empowering staff and customers to get the exact information they need when they need it. Strong network connectivity allows businesses to work smarter, gaining valuable insights in real-time through the ongoing exchange of data. However, achieving this goes beyond mere hardware considerations and can quickly become a time- and budget-intensive undertaking.

Managed connectivity services involve the outsourcing of all the network connectivity elements required by an individual business per their unique connectivity needs. The right network connectivity provider will monitor and maintain all of your services and deliver higher uptime and greater performance than you can typically achieve on your own.

Key benefits of using managed networking solutions

Here are just some of the main benefits businesses can expect from using managed connectivity services and networking solutions:

• Decreased costs
• Increased productivity with minimal interruption
• Improved data security
• High network availability that scales based on your needs
• Low latency
• Internal IT resources freed up for optimising operations

What to consider when choosing a network connectivity provider?

1. Network resilience

Any amount of downtime is detrimental to business, so your network connectivity provider must have failover strategies in place to handle downtime quickly, with minimal disruptions to your processes. Even better are self-healing systems, such as those provided by BSO’s Smart Ethernet solution, where issues are resolved in real-time through network automation. Before committing to a connectivity provider, ensure they have adequate measures in place to effectively deal with downtime.

2. Network speed

Low latency is no longer a nice-to-have but a necessity, especially for critical data transmission. In a connected world things move quickly; your network needs to be able to keep up. Whether using edge connectivity or specific network paths, low latency and its continued delivery should be high up on your connectivity provider’s priority list. BSO engineers have spent years optimising their network to deliver a low latency solution and their extensive carrier partnerships ensure they know about the latest paths and route optimisations, ensuring latency numbers remain low.

3. Network reach

The reach of your connectivity provider’s network is also an important consideration as it’s vital that all your customer locations are accounted for and that the provider’s network can host your data as close to your customers as possible. Take into account where your customers are, as well as where future customers may be, and consider a connectivity provider with a far-reaching network, such as BSO’s global connectivity network, which incorporates over 240 data centres across 33 countries.

4. Network security

When it comes to ensuring the security of your network and the data flowing through it, a fully managed and multipronged security solution is best. Your connectivity provider’s security services should extend to not only the data being transported through the network but also the infrastructure, hardware and equipment of the network, whether located on-premises or in the cloud. Your connectivity provider should also proactively monitor network traffic constantly to identify and rectify any security threats. BSO provides mission-critical infrastructure without compromise that prioritises security and provides vertical specialism that reduces risk.

5. Quality of service

Having a thorough understanding of your network connectivity provider’s level of service and support is important for ensuring all your bases are covered for any future requirements. Considerations like how they will cope with increases in user demand and traffic, their network roadmap, whether their network will be able to support new technologies without requiring additional infrastructure or spend from you, and how quickly you can expect support during incidence management are all vital for ensuring your business considerations are accounted for both now and in the future.

6. Cloud network connectivity

Cloud connectivity is looking more like the future of networking each day, and with good reason. Opting for a cloud-based IT infrastructure can benefit your business in many ways, as cloud connectivity is highly available and easily scalable (when using public or hybrid cloud solutions), meaning you can increase and decrease your IT resources as needed and only pay for what you use. 

However, migrating your systems to the cloud and optimising your cloud environment takes expert knowledge, so when adopting enterprise cloud connections, it is advisable to go with a managed services provider that has existing partnerships with cloud vendors or their own cloud capabilities, to get the most out of the cloud’s benefits. BSO Cloud offers a growing cloud infrastructure with regions across Europe, the US and Asia, as well as cloud consulting and managed cloud services, to make your cloud journey as smooth as possible.

What you need to do before choosing a network connectivity partner

Having a comprehensive view of exactly what your business needs from a networking perspective is the first step to finding the right network connectivity partner, enabling you to identify which provider is best positioned to meet those needs.

Scope out your key requirements for network connectivity solutions

Below is a list of the criteria and key questions to ask yourself when scoping out your key businesses requirement, which will support your network connectivity provider selection process.

• Hardware
• What hardware do you have compared to what you need? 
• Will you need help procuring the best hardware?
  
  
• Storage
• How large are your databases and at what rate do they increase? 
• How much storage do you realistically need for internal and external data/record-keeping?
• How often does this data need to be accessed?
  
  
• Operations
• Are there core hours you need maximum network connectivity for or are your requirements ‘always-on’? 
• Are there specific time periods that experience higher traffic volumes in your business than others? 
• Where are your teams located and will solutions such as WAN be needed?
  
  
• Compliance
• Are there specific regulations your business needs to meet?
  

Remember to check prospective network connectivity provider SLAs

Knowing exactly what is and isn’t managed by a network connectivity provider is extremely important, as it clarifies where responsibilities lie. Ask any potential partners what’s included in their SLA, and take note of things like procurement, maintenance, support, routing configuration and service monitoring. Depending on your needs, a more bespoke network connectivity solution may be necessary, in which case a partner that can custom build your network connectivity may be your best bet.

Summary

Whether you’re at the beginning of exploring the benefits of partnering with a network connectivity provider or are already comparing prospective providers, bear in mind that knowing your business requirements, as well as what to look out for when considering different solutions, are key to finding the right connectivity partner that aligns with your current and future needs and ambitions.

BSO - a market leader in low latency network connectivity

Waters Rankings 2021 winner, BSO is a global pioneering IT infrastructure and network connectivity provider, founded and led by engineers and specialising in low latency solutions. With 99.99% network availability, over 240 PoPs across 33 markets and more than 40 cloud on-ramps and 30 connected stock exchanges, BSO offers a bespoke, flexible approach with services that include network auditing, technical consulting, architecture design and consolidation, managed cloud environments and 24/7-365 support.

Discover how BSO can better support your business. Browse our network connectivity solutions or get in touch with the BSO team.