Nobody has had the past 18 months off. Most businesses have still been operating to the best of their abilities, even if it has sometimes been a struggle. But with the lockdown phase of the pandemic apparently over (fingers crossed), it feels like a window of opportunity is opening for organisations across the UK.

According to many reports, consumer confidence beginning to resemble pre-pandemic levels, with consumer spending rising and GDP growing by 4.8% in second quarter of 2021 . Businesses can see light at the end of the tunnel, and that new optimism will have a knock-on effect throughout the economy, with the retail, finance, construction, hospitality and manufacturing sectors all looking to benefit.

But for firms to truly grasp this unique opportunity, they need the right IT infrastructure in place.

2019 seems a long time ago

That’s because the connectivity you relied on at the end of 2019 might not be keeping up with the extra cloud services and communication pressures on your bandwidth.

Business has fundamentally changed in the intervening period, and regardless of where the pandemic goes from here, much of that change is here to stay.

For example, many employees worked from home for the entire pandemic, and many of them will continue to do so even when it ends.

At the same time, e-commerce, cashless payments and video conferencing have all soared in popularity. Take-up of cloud-based services will continue to grow as businesses look to equip staff who might be in the office one day and working from home the next.

Connectivity to match your ambitions

We could go on but suffice to say that the connectivity that drives this new era of digital activity needs to be up to the job. A poor internet connection means stuttering video calls, slow file downloads and frequent dropouts. The effect on your business ambitions could be considerable.

At the same time, we understand that for many firms, money is tight. We’re just emerging from a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic, after all, so any connectivity upgrade needs to walk a fine line between performance and cost. 

Direct Internet Access (DIA) could be the answer for you. Also known as a leased line, DIA comes in different varieties to meet the needs of different types and sizes of business. It offers all the advantages of high-performance connectivity with extra resiliency built in.

The DIA difference

What does that mean in practice? Most importantly it means you get exclusive, uncontended bandwidth that is prioritised for your business. You don’t share it with anyone else, so it won’t slow to a crawl during peak times of the day. Fast download speeds are complemented by fast uploads, making DIA perfect for simultaneous applications like SIP, video conferencing and real-time business services.

At TalkTalk Business we offer three DIA alternatives, each designed for different business needs:

• EoFTTC (Ethernet over Fibre to the Cabinet) is a low-cost Ethernet service over the FTTC network. It has been designed with the needs of small businesses in mind, giving you the confidence to exploit a new generation of digital tools and services. It comes with a seven-hour fix time guarantee, our best-ever business-class Wi-Fi router, and our award-winning 24/7/365 support.
• EFM (Ethernet in the First Mile) is an entry-level leased line product like EoFTTC, but uses multiple bundled copper telephone lines to add an extra layer of resilience. If one component fails, you won’t lose service. EFM is ideal for both Cloud-ready Internet Access and Private Network internet and MPLS services. It is especially popular in locations where fibre products would be difficult to install.
• Dedicated Leased Line is end-to-end fibre Ethernet that offers scalable ultrafast speeds up to 10Gbps. It is superbly resilient and secure (with no shared backhaul) and entirely flexible. You choose the bandwidth you want, from 10Mbps upwards. Dedicated Leased Line connectivity is the fastest, most robust DIA on the market and with fix times from just four hours – some of the quickest in the industry! – if something does go wrong, we’ll get you back up and running, fast!

Business is changing, and firms need to keep up with the times to thrive.

Remote or hybrid work, e-commerce and accelerated cloud adoption aren’t going away. The new normal will be a lot different from the old one, and to make the most of these trends, small businesses need fast and reliable connectivity.

DIA from TalkTalk Business gives you the bandwidth you want and the resilience you need at a price that’s right.

Call us now for better, faster, more reliable connectivity on 03301 733968