Which Internet Connection is Right for My Business?

The question I get asked most from Small Businesses is "What Internet connection and speed do I need?" In the majority of the cases, the local phone company up-sold them the highest business speed they offered without knowing what the business was really going to use the connection for.

What is Bandwidth?

Bandwidth is a measure of how much data can be put down a circuit or pipe at any given second. The standard measure for bandwidth is bits but every file size on a PC is listed in bytes. So how do you convert. 1 bit = 8bytes.

Think of a 56kbps dial-up modem as water going through a straw, then 1.5Mbps T-1 as a garden hose and now a 100Mbps connection as a fire hose.

What are the most common connection types, speeds and definitions?

Pricing varies between area and depends on what other carriers are in the area. The more competition, the lower the price.

• DSL - Digital Subscriber Line provides dedicated bandwidth per customer and speed range between 128kbps to 6Mbps over a Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). The cost is reasonable and easy for small businesses to absorb. DSL is reliable and has the ability to troubleshoot issues better than cable.


• Cable - Cable Internet Access is becoming increasingly popular due to "Triple Play", the ability to provide voice, Cable TV and Internet over the same infrastructure. The bill for all 3 services comes from one vendor. The disadvantage to cable is the bandwidth is shared between all subscribers on the same cable node. The more subscribers the cable company puts on a node, the slower your Internet connection gets when all the neighborhood kids get home from school and jump on the Internet. Speeds average between 1.5Mbps to 20Mbps. Cable companies are starting to offer higher speeds to business services, but they also want to provide your network and security infrastructure. (That's like letting the fox into the hen house if you ask me.) Cost is reasonable and easy for small businesses to absorb but if there is an issue with the connection the standard message you may receive when calling for support is "We don't see an issue affecting your area."


• Dedicated, Private Line, Frame, ATM, MPLS - Private Line service is the oldest and most reliable service. The Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) connects a line or circuit from their Carrier Office (CO) to your facility and Cross Connects it to their or your Internet Provider's network such as AT&T, Verizon Business, Global Crossing, Sprint, Level 3, etc. The Internet provider takes the access handed off from the LEC and connects you to the Internet over their network. Speeds range from 128k all the way into the Gigabit range.


• Wireless CDMA / 3G - Wireless Internet cards are available from any wireless carrier that provides cellular phones. They are mainly for laptop access but can be used for backup services in the event your primary Internet goes down. Speeds vary between carrier, market and signal strength but are between 56k to 3Mbps.

This is all great to know, but what connection and speed do I need?

The answer is, It Depends. There is no golden rule for determine connection or bandwidth. There are many factors and variables to consider. How many employees do you have on the Internet at the same time and what are they doing?

Follow these general guidelines:

• Determine your reliability requirements? Can you operate your business if the Internet is not accessible? If not, at minimum get dual connections from either the LEC, Cable and Private Line Provider.


• If you are small office with less than 25 employees accessing the Internet at the same time accessing e-mail and web pages, 1.5Mbps should work fine. 25 - 50 look at 3Mbps and over 50 start at 3Mbps and if you find that the Internet is slow at certain peak times of the day upgrade to 6Mbps.


• You can always increase Internet bandwidth if the lowest and least expensive option isn't cutting the mustard. Don't let the phone company talk you into upgrading just because it is only an extra $20 a month.


• Private Line service is the most expensive but most reliable service available. It isn't suited for most small business unless alternative Internet connections are not available.


• If you transfer a large volume of large files (1+MB Files), frequently, be prepared to upgrade to the next connection speed offered by your provider.

Summary

Start small, increase as needed and contact your trusted network advisor when in doubt.

Aaron Magruder (816) 566-0017
NonStop Networks, LLC
http://www.nonstopnetworks.net

The Power of Voice over IP Applications

Every business has at least one of the following general objectives.

1. Increased Productivity
2. Be more Efficient
3. Decrease Cost
4. Increase Revenue.

Voice over IP applications have endless capabilities to do just that, all from your phone and without turning on your computer!

Common VoIP Applications

• Automated Dial out capabilities for client reminders (appointment, payment, collection, office closings). Don't spend hours of your day manually calling clients.
• Album - Provide revenue generating advertisement, show case your products, training, employee roster, etc
• Client Billing - Ensure every second of your phone calls are tracked and billed to the correct client. On average, 30 minutes of your day is not billed. That's 120 hours a year! What is your hourly bill rate?
• Call Recording - Record important phone calls even after you hang up the phone, book mark and comment different parts of each conversation
• Safety Alerts - Alert office of emergency
• RSS Feeds and Weather
• Clock In / Clock Out

Physician

• Automate patient checking by turning the IP Phone into a kiosk
• Patient Management - Prerecorded appointment reminders
• Call Recording for Dictation and e-mail wav file to transcription office

Legal

• Client Billing - Client matter entry and phone call validations.
• Firm-Client Interaction - Appointment and billing reminders from the firm to the client using the dial-out application.
• Firm Productivity - Call coverage for status visual on employees.

Retail

• Task Management - List daily task for employees at set times, check off when completed. Escalate to manager when task is not completed.
• Employee Recognition
  Send employees alerts to recognize outstanding performance.

General Office and Manufacturing

• Encompasses the majority of the applications listed above.

Summary

"IPsmartSuite is a ‘business-intelligent’ communications solution for the challenges facing small business. It is an out-of-the box, easy to deploy and manage solution aimed at small companies who do not have an IT staff. IPsmartSuite streamlines everyday business processes used by small companies. IPsmartSuite uses the IP Phone to manage daily functions such as staffing, task management, payroll controls, billing, appointment reminders – even emergency response."

Aaron Magruder (816) 566-0017

NonStop Networks, LLC

http://www.nonstopnetworks.net

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

This subject is a little off topic for this blog but Total Cost of Ownership should be part of any technology purchasing decision, it is important. What is this going to cost me 3-5 years for now or even next month.

As a small or medium business (SMB), many times you want to purchase your own computers, switches, firewalls, access points, storage and configure it yourself. Rightfully so, it can save you money.

So you go to your local Best Buy, CompUSA, Wal-mart or what ever and buy the device that suites your needs, take it back to your office and set it up. Maybe the setup goes smoothly, works out of the box with no issues. Maybe not, and you spend the last 4 hours of your day trying to figure it out and a few hours each day for a few weeks. But in the end, it worked.

By now you have 24 hours or 3 full business days of your valuable time getting this device working.

2 Months from now, you decide that you need to be able to access your office remotely but the wireless router you purchased doesn't support vpn so you go back to your favorite store and buy a device that supports this function. After another $125 and 3 days you get this one working. You're in great shape again.

13 Months after your last purchase the device fails and won't power up. Warranty was 1 year so you are back to the store and find out that they don't sell that model any longer.

This is all worst case scenario but you get the picture, if you don't factor in TCO, even small IT purchases of $100 or less could turn out to be a $500 purchase and weeks of your time that could be spent with customers.

Talk to your technology company to get some general advise on device purchases. Managed equipment that has support services and advanced hardware replacements are always a good idea. With support services you can call the manufacture for general configuration assistance and if it fails, they will replace it (as long as you pay the yearly maintenance). They may even be able to save cost on hardware purchases over Best Buy, CDW, etc...

Keep the following points in mind when factoring in TCO:

• Does this product have yearly maintenance that can be purchased? Software updates and advanced hardware replacement?
• Are there qualified people in my area that can assist with the configuration so I can spend my time working with customers?
• What expansion and integration points are in the product? The product should not be maxed out in licensing when purchased and should be able to integrate into other technology services in the future.
• How long is the product going to be supported? Linksys, D-Link, etc have shorter lifecycles that Cisco Systems. If the product is not expandable or supported, this lead to replacement or migration cost.

Increase Employee Productivity with Technology

There are several technologies that can increase employee productivity and not break the SMB Bank.

1. 802.11 a/b/g Wireless
2. Remote Access or VPN
3. Mobility

You may already have some of these implemented in your environment today but are they secure and providing the value you expected.

Wireless

Access points for 802.11 a/b/g and now n are easy to purchase and connect to your network. Wireless allows employees to have access to all network resources as if they were at their desk. Employee meetings are more productive, people are not continually going to the printer or back to their desk to get information. Without this information in hand, meetings can be rescheduled, delaying project decisions and progress.

Access points usually come preconfigured to allow easy access and some are now coming configured with a limited set of security options. Many times companies put access points on the networks with unauthenticated access or a limited set of security settings that can be circumvented. The following are additional security measures that should be put in place with wireless access.

• MAC Address Filtering (if authentication is not available)
• User Authentication
• WAP/WAP2 w/AES or TKIP Encryption
• Guest Access should be on a separate SSID and Network

Remote Access and VPN

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) allow employees, vendors and customers to connected to a network via the Internet. Remote Access can be secured an segmented per user role so that employees get different access rights that vendors or customers.

Remote Access gives employees the ability to check e-mail and work on files as if they were in the office. Image a scenario where a snow storm has hit your area and employees can not get into the office. If you have a remote access solutions, they can get those important files e-mailed to your client. Or if you need a vendor to work on your payroll system but it is costly to fly them in. Give them the ability to remotely support your systems while decreasing cost and maintaining security.

Keep these security issues in mind

• Be as restrictive as possible when granting remote access.
• Use existing authentication methods when possible (Active Directory, LDAP, Radius)
• Follow strict password strengths and expiration lengths
• Use an encrypted VPN such as an SSL or IPSec VPN with 3DES or AES encryption. Do not use a vpn that uses PPTP as all information is sent in clear text.
• Use unique username, do not share user and password between employees

Mobility

Mobility encompasses many technologies that can get complicated to implement and supports. Some simple, less expensive technologies that can increase productivity are Smart Phones or Blackberry Internet enabled devices.

Many applications such as e-mail, Outlook Integration and Instant Messaging are available for both windows mobile smart phones and blackberry's. Blackberry has additional applications such as Google Apps (GMail, calendar, sync). Don't forget the iPhone.

Having access to your e-mail, contacts, maps, directions are invaluable to a small business owner on the go. Save time printing out meeting request, directions and contact information.

Mobility for Unified Communications can give a company the ability to have presence information available for all employees whether in the office or remote. Image the ability to know what the status of your sales force is and how is available when an important client calls in. This subject is beyond the scope of this blog.

Good practices for mobile devices include the following

• Enable a password on the device in case it is lost or stolen
• Disable Bluetooth when not in use
• Add user information such as company name and return information to the owner screen
• Enable encryption
• Configure to reset after set number of failed password attempts
• Backup mobile devices in case it needs to be replaces or is wiped clean.
• Only provide mobile devices that contain company information to necessary employees.

Conclusion

All of these technologies can work independently or be seemlessly integrated. Please consult a network specialist before making these technology choices.