And not because your team doesn’t have the skills required. Whether you’re running an e-commerce site, attending meetings online or using cloud-based apps, you need a reliable connection to the internet. Depending on the type of work you’re doing, this might not necessarily require incredible speeds, but they need to be consistent and you need to stay connected to work productively. Your ISP should be able to recommend a package that’s right for your needs and not just focus on selling you the fastest possible connection.

You may have thought that one internet connection was about the same as another, until you came to rely more heavily on that connection.  If you’re using a product intended for domestic use, you’re sharing bandwidth with many other users, and you’re likely to experience slow-downs at peak times. A specialist business ISP should plan the flow of traffic on their network to ensure it is steady and reliable. Additionally, if you need support, a business grade provider will ensure any problems are treated with an appropriate level of urgency.

Reporting a problem or just asking a simple question shouldn’t be a stressful exercise, so it’s frustrating to explain yourself repeatedly to contact centre staff who don’t have the tools or know-how to help. When you’re not connected to the internet, there’s usually a limit to how much work can be done, which means that every moment spent waiting on hold or being passed around a call centre means your business is losing money. When you’ve come to dread making contact with your provider, now’s the time to move on.

We touch on this above, but it’s important enough to have its own section! A problem with your internet connection can mean you’re unable to make sales, carry out the work you charge an hourly rate for, or provide support to your own customers. There’s no time to hang around on hold, repeatedly explain the problem or chase a resolution. If you feel like you’re low on the list of priorities for your internet service provider, it’s time to move on.

This is not to say that you should go and find the cheapest provider out there, but if you’re paying for poor service, whatever you’re paying is too much. A good business ISP will do its best to work realistically with your budget and be honest about the service you need. Internet downtime is costly, so consider the value of a provider that minimises outages and commits to service level agreements.