Fast and reliable internet service is essential to most companies.
With such high stakes, selecting the best internet service provider for a business is a big decision.
So, what are the most important factors for a business to consider when selecting its ISP?
Speed
A slow connection can be more than just infuriating – it can be costly to a business.
Whether you’re providing a service through live chat or uploading a video to your website, slow internet can be problematic to the success of your operations.
For a small business with a DSL or cable connection, a standard upload speed should range between 50 to 100 Mbps.
Depending on the size, location and demands of a business, an ISP should be able to help select the best speed and connection type. Canadian ISP TekSavvy offers a range of options – learn more about them at bit.ly/teksavvy-biz.
Outages
While we’ve come to expect constant internet connectivity, outages still happen when, for example, construction crews accidentally damage underground lines.
Many internet contracts will contain what’s called a service level agreement. In short, if you go without internet for a certain length of time, you receive some money back.
A question for business owners to ask themselves is whether a partial refund of their internet bill would adequately compensate them for the cost and disruption caused by an outage.
There are, however, other options for businesses looking for greater reliability.
For business customers that need constant internet access, TekSavvy offers its MultiLink solution, which combines multiple internet delivery modes – such as cable, DSL and LTE connections – into a single service. MultiLink is more than just reliable internet service, providing customers with a single, resilient and easily managed connection.
“Your chances of multiple technologies going down at the same time are so slim that it’s not something you really need to worry about,” says Jean Lamoureux, TekSavvy’s vice-president of business development.
Customer service
Have you ever had to call your ISP? How long did you have to wait on hold? When you eventually got through, how familiar was the person on the other end of the line with your account?
Customer service is a pain point for many internet customers and is also a key way that some providers differentiate themselves.
That’s why it’s best to look for an ISP that offers a customer support solution geared towards businesses.
TekSavvy, for example, assigns a rep to each of its business customers. This way, should they need to contact the ISP with a question or concern, a business owner has a direct phone number they can call.
“When they call TekSavvy, the person that picks up the phone is going to be the person that helps them for as long as they’re a customer of ours,” says Lamoureux.
This keeps business customers from having to wait in a queue and helps build trust by ensuring it’s the same voice on the other end of the line every time.
Pricing
Like all expenses, businesses don’t want to spend more than they have to on internet service.
In the interest of driving up competition in the Canadian market, the CRTC recently gave thirdparty ISP’s license to offer their services at highly competitive rates. This makes smaller internet companies a great option for businesses of every size.
TekSavvy takes this one step further, offering incentives for businesses that sign on for multiyear contracts.
“Generally speaking, businesses don’t like changing their provider,” says Lamoureux. “Business owners tend to want to focus on other parts of their business, so they’re not constantly shopping around for less expensive solutions.”
Is your business in the market for a new ISP? Head to teksavvy.com/en/business or contact business@teksavvy.com for more info.
