We can all agree that the most detrimental inhibitor to workplace productivity, whether it be in a face-to-face or home office is an unreliable internet connection. A slow-down or intermittent connection costs businesses millions a year in personnel time and dragging projects. This has led to a rise in the use of Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) for offices of 10 or more staff members.
There are several terms of DIA which include dedicated fiber, dedicated Ethernet, Ethernet over fibers, and dedicated fixed fibers and copper. Businesses should plan to pay much more than a typical internet provider and the installation can be complex, but for offices and/or data centers that are crucial to company mission, it pays off.
What make DIA so much more expensive that other internet connections? One of the main benefits is that companies receive guarantee bandwidth; if 100 Mbps is purchased, that is what is guaranteed 100% of the time, no exceptions. There is no reliance on how many other users may be access the data or consideration of peak times. DIA distributers set up the network to allow for delivery architecture, redundancy, and increased availability that home and business internet providers have no capacity to offer.
DIA also uniquely offers symmetric bandwidth, which means the upload and download speeds are identical and many times these are guaranteed as well. This type of offering is extremely important as companies increase the use of SaaS and video conferencing.
Besides higher levels of connectivity for uptime and bandwidth that is guaranteed by a service-level agreement, if these requirements are not met at least 99% of the time, there is a full refund offered. Finally, the customer service experience becomes a step ahead of other providers.
The biggest drawback to DIA is the price tag. The typical business internet provider charges $100 to $200 per month, while DIA can run about $1,000 per month for 100 Mbps. Business will have to make decisions on scale to determine if the amount of employees who are efficiently working is worth the cost, not to mention if the data center is running apps.
Businesses should be prepared to commit to longer contract terms with DIA as well. The average contract is 2-4 with very stringent penalties for early withdrawal. There are a few DIA providers offering month-to-month arrangements but they are difficult to find.
The installation process for DIA is often quite the undertaking as well. Typical internet providers can install business internet within a few days if the building is already on-net, but DIA can take 30 days at minimum and up to 90 days in more difficult scenarios.
Business leaders who may be considering using DIA should weigh the ROI and potential liability of a slow connection.
For companies using an office or warehouse business model, slow internet connections can bring the entire operation to a halt while more reliable speed can increase sales and customer trust of on-time product or service delivery.
Another consideration is that from a broader perspective, DIA is only a few hundred more dollars per month and if there has been a huge investment in people and structure as well as operational costs, is the internet connection and speed something that should be a low priority?
When choosing a DIA provider, circumstances differ greatly by geography. Fortunately, most of the same providers of normal business internet service like AT&T, Verizon and Spectrum, also offer DIA services. One sure way to decide which provider may be best for you is to find out which are “on-net” or “near-net” at the address of your company. Once that is determined, consider install interval, SLA, transport, speed and provider support.