Businesses using connectivity to give them a competitive advantage

If you regularly read any business blogs online, or follow business news, then you’ve probably seen talk of ‘future-proofing’. The term future-proofing is right on trend right now – it’s used practically everywhere – and it refers to ways in which you can quickly and easily prepare your business now so that it will continue to meet your needs in the future. It’s designed as a tactic to make sure that your business will never fall behind its competitors. Business broadband is often one of the most common areas to hear about future-proofing, but it’s important to learn more about it before jumping into the deep end!

Why? Because of future-shocking. With all the talk of future-proofing, some businesses are diving right in, and signing contracts for business broadband services that are, quite frankly, a little overkill! Yes, you’ll get great speeds, and great service, with a 10 Gb leased line, but you’ll also be paying for it, too. Paying out for a service that you’re not fully utilising can be a bit of a shock to the system – and the budget – and these businesses are finding that they have little leftover to allocate to development.

Future-Proofing the Sensible Way

The best way to future-proof your business in terms of business broadband is to take a little time to fully assess your needs, making sure to take into account your projected needs in the future. Think about:

● If you’re planning on expanding your workforce within the next 6 months, then consider whether your current business broadband would be capable of supporting additional users.

● If you’re hoping to win a contract with a client in the US, think about whether you’d be able to hold voIP calls with your client, or whether you’d end up with a jumpy, unreliable video.

● Are you thinking about moving over to cloud computing, removing on-site hosting, and transferring your hosting over to a local data centre? Carefully consider cloud access.

So how far into the future should you look? Believe it or not, you really don’t need to look that far. It really depends on the type of contract you choose, but as most business broadband contracts last for 12 or 24 months, you only need to ‘future-proof’ for this length of time. At the end of your contract, you have an opportunity to assess your needs again, and select another business broadband package.

Only Pay for What You Need

Although leased lines are now the fastest and most reliable forms of connection, many smaller businesses will find that there are a number of business broadband packages that not only meet their needs now, but will likely meet their future needs, too, for a more affordable price. Compare business broadband online to see what packages UK providers are offering for growing businesses in Britain.