5 reasons to invest in enterprise-grade internet

Internet is internet, right? You pay your money to an ISP, and then you have access to everything that connects us to the modern world.

Except that if you’re running a business, a residential internet connection isn’t going to cut it. You might get away with a standard residential plan if you’re a sole trader or tiny startup with just one or two people.

But for most businesses, making the most of the internet – and the opportunities that it provides – is going to require an enterprise internet plan.

What is enterprise internet, and how is it different?

There are a number of areas that make an enterprise internet service different to what you’ll get out of a standard home broadband connection.

1. Speeds

In Australia, the nbn™ has enabled businesses and homes access to much faster internet speeds than what was previously available. The fastest residential internet plan available, however, is nbn™ 100/40. That kind of speed will allow a whole family to connect to the internet, watch Netflix, play games and indulge in online shopping without any noticeable slowness in the connection.

But if you’re running a business with a dozen people and they’re all trying to send videos, use cloud services and the like, an nbn™ 100/40 plan won’t cut it. This is particularly true in regards to upload speeds, especially if you’re running video conferencing, transferring large files or using the internet for other bandwidth-intensive applications.

That’s where an enterprise internet plan can help – by tailoring your service to suit your company’s needs, your team will be able to do what they need to for your business. And for the above upload speeds, our symmetrical connection is the perfect solution.

2. Security

For any business in any industry, a single data breach can easily sink a company. There are strict regulations and fines involved for organisations that don’t take the utmost care with their customers’ data. And beyond that, the reputation damage from suffering a data breach is extreme.

Because of this, business internet plans generally come with enhanced security features. Key elements that every enterprise should ensure they are protected with include secured internet, mail guards, enterprise grade equipment and more. Speak to our team about a hosted firewall solution designed for high-end businesses.

These are all important features needed to ensure that you’re doing everything you can to protect your business from online threats in today’s environment. Not sure if your enterprise internet provider can offer these features? Aussie Broadband can! Contact our expert team on 1300 161 625 to discuss these features in more detail.

3. Technical support

If you have an issue with your home internet connection, you put a call into your ISP and – depending on your provider – it may take some time for the next available operator or someone with the answer be available to help you. Then, technicians that are needed to resolve the issue may be subject to availability. The next thing you know, you’ve gone a week with no internet.

When it comes to your business, a week without the internet isn’t acceptable. Suddenly all internet-dependent items in your office are no longer working – this could be anything from the EFTPOS machine (which requires internet access to connect) to your accounting software for processing invoices.

Thus it’s important for business owners to be aware that it can be a costly mistake running a business on a residential-grade connection.

Here’s why.

Enterprise internet plans come with a greater commitment to providing fast technical support – it’s usually 24/7, and the technicians Aussie Broadband employ are specialists that work faster and more efficiently.

And if your business is so completely reliant on the internet that operations stop without it, you could also consider writing a minimum uptime into your SLAs – that’s to say, you can have an agreement with your ISP that your connection won’t be down for longer than an hour or two per year (a 99.95% uptime guarantee), with the ISP responsible if it doesn’t meet that minimum guarantee. This guarantee is offered as standard with a Aussie Broadband Enterprise internet connection.

4. Static IP addresses

Generally, with residential internet plans broadband connections are made using what’s called a “dynamic IP address,” which means that the ‘address ’of your connection is allocated from a pool that changes from time to time. It’s the cheapest way for the ISP to handle IP addresses.

With enterprise internet, a dynamic IP address won’t do. If your business runs a server and other business IT networks, it needs what is known as a “static IP address” – or permanent identifying ‘address’ – at all times in order to function. So it goes without saying that you need an enterprise internet provider like Aussie Broadband that offers static IP addresses to Australian businesses.

5. ‘Peak hours’ are unlikely to affect you

All ISPs have a statistic (rarely published) called a “contention ratio.” Basically, this ratio denotes the number of users sharing the same servers on the ISP’s end at any given time. The more people connecting at once, the more the internet capacity is split between them, and the slower the internet is for everyone.

Aussie Broadband is committed to providing an exceptional internet experience to everyone, which is why we only service areas that we know we have enough bandwidth to support their business’ needs.

And our enterprise internet services are all supplied as 1:1 contention ratio, ensuring that you are not fighting for the necessary bandwidth.

Contact our expert team on 1300 161 625 to discuss how we will tailor our enterprise internet plan to best benefit you.

Other elements of the internet an enterprise should consider

Beyond the technical considerations above, the other reason that businesses should be using business internet services is that the packages are generally more customisable.

Residential broadband users can choose the speed they want, whether they want a landline phone connection go with their broadband connection, and usually a couple of entertainment options – IPTV, sports broadcasts, and the like. Ultimately, however, what they’re usually getting is what’s known as a “best effort” service from their ISPs, with no promises on service levels, and features limited to what can be provided cheaply en masse. Think of it as the economy class of internet services, with premium economy being the residential service offering from Aussie Broadband.

Enterprise customers are choosing between the business class and first class of internet services – with Enterprise a first class service.

But what can make the difference?

Additional features

As mentioned above, it’s possible to write certain minimum conditions around the level of service provided into the contract of your enterprise internet, and you can get a bundle of security services to go with your connection.

Redundant link

You could also arrange for a redundant link to be built into your plan while making any transitions in internet offering or type of connection (for example moving from ADSL2+ to nbn™). If the main internet connection goes down for any reason (such as a dropout or a power outage), the system would immediately swap over to some kind of backup.

For this reason, it’s recommended that you have multiple services (such as a primary service and a secondary service) for the purpose of redundancy. The most common and easiest method of implementing this is to deploy a primary service with one carrier, and have a backup 4G service with another. Redundancy should be an ongoing concern for enterprises, to ensure your business internet is protected at all times.

Telephony

Another common part of the enterprise internet bundle is telephony. It’s one thing for a broadband connection to include a phone line, but businesses often need more complex solutions than that. For example, Aussie Broadband offers its customers Hosted PBX/PABX and SIP Trunking solutions, and this allows a business to run enterprise-standard and fully-featured phone lines, giving their customers a far better experience when calling in.

Website services

Given that modern businesses also need a comprehensive website that reflects their brand, with web-hosting. Self-hosting a website can be very expensive (and require on-staff IT skills that might be better used elsewhere), while cheap hosting providers generally come with a range of security or reliability red flags. Having the same organisation that provides your business internet connection to also host your website has the benefit of bringing together all of a businesses’ digital operations within the one reliable partner organisation, making troubleshooting in all circumstances a single call.

Diversity

Finally, an enterprise internet provider understands that Australian businesses are a very diverse bunch and therefore need lots of options. Whether it’s a hotel that wants to offer hundreds of customers Wi-Fi connections each day, or an organisation that works with government customers and needs to meet the most stringent compliance and security regulations, an enterprise internet provider like Aussie Broadband is the perfect solution.

As a nbn™ Retail Service Provider and network aggregator, Aussie Broadband have developed the expertise to have conversations with customers and interpret their unique needs, while also tailoring custom enterprise internet solutions that then meet those needs. We believe in giving the customer the best solution, which is why we have so many options available to our customers.

Access a $0 fibre upgrade* with nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet

If you’re seeking the fastest and most reliable service on the nbn™ network, nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet carried over dedicated fibre internet is for you.

With access to symmetrical plans ranging from nbn™ 100/100 to nbn™ 1000/1000, nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet will power all of your bandwidth-intensive applications with ease.

Plus, 9/10 businesses across the country are eligible for a $0 fibre upgrade when they sign up to a 36-month nbn™ Entprise Ethernet contract. Previously, many businesses were barred from accessing dedicated fibre infrastructure due to the high cost of installation. Find out if you premises is eligible with our FREE address checker here.

Making sure you get the right internet connection for your business

The range of choices available to businesses can be a little overwhelming, particularly for smaller businesses and business owners who may be more used to simply ordering a basic residential Internet service over the Internet or phone.

The good news is that most enterprise internet service providers also put a great deal of weight on their scalability – as your business grows, they can seamlessly add new services and options to the base plan. Conversely, if a service is no longer needed for any reason, it can be simply scaled down in scope so as to not continue being a burden on the businesses’ bottom line.

The key point is that with an enterprise internet service, the customer – your business – should have a plan tailored to suit your needs. And as there’s so much customisation available to enterprises, it’s important to undertake a full due diligence process to determine the right broadband plan for your needs.

*$0 fibre install available in select areas with our nbn™ Enterprise Ethernet service on a 36-month contract. Actual wholesale speeds capped at 952 Mbps as prescribed by NBN Co. Terms and conditions apply.

To request a consultation to discuss your enterprise’s internet requirements, speak with one of our expert team today.