We have all heard terrible stories about Internet downtime and its potential high costs. Downtime is an important factor in making decisions and why network redundancy is so vitally important. We have made it easy for you to estimate this cost with our Internet Downtime Calculator.
Outside of your downtime costs, what about the other potential costs of choosing the wrong Internet provider? Here are some other variables and cost centers to consider.
Integration
Getting your new network up and running, what we refer to as integration, includes a few important factors. Each has the potential for numerous headaches and delays. Choosing an Internet provider involves investigating these potential problems and resulting costs.
Installation - Installing and testing new equipment in your building can be problematic, especially if you also must wait for the line to be laid to your location. Anecdotally, our clients experience months of delays in getting a new fiber network installation. This cost could add up to serious money, especially for a dedicated connection.
Scheduling - How busy is your Internet provider with installations? Where are you in the line? What about permits for laying additional line to your location? Just scheduling your new network installation can become a nightmare.
Speed - Will your new network meet your needs for download and upload speed? Or is it really just a “best effort” service? How fast can you scale up to additional bandwidth when needed?
Timing - Can you depend on your network provider to work with you in meeting deadlines for deployment and full operations? What will it cost if your network is not ready when you are?
Customer Service
Choosing an Internet provider involves investigating what level of customer service is provided. The wrong Internet provider will leave you on hold, provide inaccurate estimates for service and appointments, and generally cost you money, time, and productivity. Just look at some of the costs of poor customer service from a recent workforce management study:
- The average wait for resolving communications issues is 2.5 hours
- 35% of consumers have canceled service or stopped using a brand over poor customer service
- Poor customer service issues cost American businesses about $130 billion
Each business must consider how their services are affected by poor customer service from the wrong Internet provider. If your provider repeatedly has service issues and problems resolving them, they are costing you in time, money, productivity, and possibly your brand’s reputation before clients.
Cyber Security Breaches
Choosing an Internet provider means picking a safe doorway for your company to access the global resources of the web. How safe is that doorway? Almost from the beginning of the commercial Internet, the security industry has debated what role Internet service providers should play in cyber security. Should your ISP be proactive and protect you with various forms of security protocols?
While that debate rages on, the fact remains that choosing the wrong Internet provider can open your business to great cyber security risks. This might be considered one of the costs of downtime, but that calculation often doesn’t figure into the time and cost of making sure all security gaps are covered so a security breach doesn’t happen again.
Productivity Level
A vital consideration when choosing an Internet provider is if they can deliver what you need relating to speed and connection to keep your business operating at peak efficiency. Can they really guarantee bandwidth and uptime? Does their SLA spell out what is guaranteed and do they stand behind it?
The workforce management study referenced above also calculated that each responding company averaged losing $903.67 per employee per year in productivity due to waiting on poor customer service. Can your company afford to lose that kind of money from choosing the wrong Internet provider?
MHO - Your Solution for Fast, Reliable Internet & Networking
MHO Networks is an Internet provider offering high-speed data services in seven different markets. MHO offers guaranteed reliability, low latency, fast installation, an MPLS core network, scalable bandwidth, and unparalleled customer service. MHO also tailors each network to the client’s unique needs.
Give us a call at (877) WANT-MHO to check for availability in your area and to learn more about our state-of-the-art technology and competitive pricing.
