More and more business, large and small, are using cloud-based apps, services and platforms to conduct critical operations in their business. The allure of the cloud is huge: no infrastructure to maintain, easily available from anywhere, no specialized hardware or software needed. All you need is a computer and an internet connection, right?
But what happens when that second part, the internet, is suddenly unavailable? It's not something typically thought about because internet connectivity is considered to be a staple. But, consider this: Internet outages are actually more prevalent than cyber attacks for small businesses. The fact is, you're more likely to experience a large-scale (more than just your office), long-term (1+ business day) internet outage in the next 3 years than you are a ransomware attack.
So what are your options? Go back to the stone age of on-prem systems and local-only data? Not quite.
Meet the backup internet connection!
The simplest, easiest, but most often overlooked answer by small businesses is a backup internet connection that is ready to jump in and pick up the slack in the event of an outage on your primary connection. When your primary connection is restored, this secondary connection reverts back to backup status.
How do I know if my business needs a backup connection?
The simplest way to determine the answer to this question is to take inventory of the software and services you use, then consider the ramifications if those tools were unavailable for an extended period of time (1 day or more). If the answer to that question is "bad" or worse, then a backup internet connection should definitely be considered.
3 Simple Rules for a Backup Connection
1. Connection should be through a different carrier. The main thing you don't want to do is simply subscribe to a second line through the same carrier your first line is through. If the carrier were to have a major outage, then your backup connection is just as dead as your primary. For that reason we recommend engaging with a different Internet Service Provider for your secondary connection.
2. Connection should be at least half as fast as your primary. Paying a fee every month for a connection you'll almost never use can be off-putting for many. As a result, it might seem like a good idea to just buy whatever connection is the cheapest possible as a backup and call it a day. Unfortunately, that's going to lead to a lot of frustration in the event that backup connection is needed, with slow speeds and packet loss dragging business to a halt. At the same time, you don't necessarily want to be paying a ton of money for performance you're not using. As a result, try and shoot for the middle ground and get a connection at least half as fast as your primary. You'll still have reduced performance but it won't be nearly as bad as if you went with a connection which is only 10% of the speed of your main line.
3. Make sure you account for phones. Lastly, with VOIP being much more prevalent today, it's important to know if you will need to carry additional bandwidth on your backup connection for phone service, should your primary connection go down. This will largely depend on how your business handles phones.
Additional tips for a backup connection.
A backup connection doesn't necessarily have to sit idle the entire time it's not being relied on. Consider using it to offload any guest or IoT network devices. This can free up additional bandwidth for your employees on the main connection. If the backup connection is the needed, simply turn the guest/IoT services off until the primary is restored.
While it's possible to move around cables in the event of an outage, consider investing in a gateway/router with dual WAN abilities so automatic failover can be configured. This can allow a near seamless transition to the backup connection, without manual intervention.
Just like a data backup, be sure to test the backup connection regularly. It won't do you much good if you go to fail over to the backup, only to find out it hasn't worked in 12 months!
Keeping connected in the connected world
With the internet being as important as electricity and water in a business, backup connections are going to become a crucial piece of the technology puzzle. Hopefully, this will help shine a bit of light on options for your business. Of course, like many things in tech, this issue can become a complex mess in a hurry if you don't know what you're looking at. That's why, if you need any help or assistance, we're just a call or click away.