For some businesses, the hidden costs related to dealing with a slow network can be high. When the office network isn’t operating efficiently or adequately, calls are often dropped, files will take longer to send, cloud applications take longer to load, and overall business productivity falls. This all happens while people are sitting around, waiting for tasks to be completed.
Since having a reliable network connection is so important, many businesses put money into a network upgrade, only to discover it doesn’t solve their problems. Unfortunately, this isn’t a solution that will always provide the desired outcome.
To ensure the right steps are taken to improve network performance, a business needs to invest in network performance monitoring. Along with monitoring, finding the underlying issues is important. Some tips to help with this are found here.
Determine if the Network Is to Blame
Is the network really slow, or are people in the office just working with slow and outdated computers? There is no way to find the right cure without knowing the cause of the disease. Try not to jump to a conclusion. Be sure that the sluggish response time is more than just a localized problem before investing in a total infrastructure update.
Provide Guests with Access to a Different Network
Sometimes, network slowdowns are caused by guests to the building. While it is not likely that one guest streaming a video in the lobby is going to cause serious issues, there could be problems if many guests are at the building regularly who require internet access. Instead of risking the inadvertent slowdown of the operations, provide a guest network for them to log into.
Educate Workers About Network use and Behavior
Employees need downtime. Many choose to spend their downtime on their computers. If a business owner notices a slowdown during lunch hour each day, it may be because a few workers have decided to play a video game or even watch something on Netflix. They probably do not even realize they are using network resources or that they are slowing everything down. If managers and owners educate their workers about this issue, they will likely be willing to stop this type of use.
Another type of personnel behavior that may cause a network to slow down is improper file-sharing practices. This includes things like emailing bigger PPT files to several contacts instead of editing them through a shared cloud file. If this large file sharing happens often, teaching the workers how to compress these files or how to use a cloud drive can help to reduce the strain, this action is putting on the network.
For businesses that aren’t sure about how to speed up their network, it is a good idea to seek the help and guidance of a third-party service provider. They can help business owners make changes or updates to their network to ensure the desired results are achieved. Being informed and knowing what to do is the best way to minimize slow network performance.