Broadband has now been available in the UK for over a decade, in which time everyone has seen it improve the way a business operates on a day to day basis. No matter the size of your business, broadband can benefit you in a number of ways.

Things have developed at an enormous rate since the early days of dial up and it’s incessant bleeping. As dial up used a phone line in order to connect, many would need to have a second line installed to receive phone calls. As the speed was very slow, much of the time on the internet was spent waiting for pages to load. Large files such as PDFs would have slowed down business operations in today’s fast paced world.

This is no longer the case with new technology such as fibre optic cables that can transfer more information at a faster rate. The speed at which information can be retrieved means businesses can achieve more on a daily basis.

Broadband brings you closer to your customers with increased information and communication. Many companies are using social media for customer service purposes and uploading multimedia such as videos and pictures. Having a flash enabled website can improve the interaction a customer has with a brand and elicit a positive and enjoyable experience.

Not only has communication with customers improved, but also communication with others also. While emails are now the norm, instant messengers have also found their way into internal communications to allow quick and informal conversations. Quicker internet speeds have also improved communication outside the business too.

One development in particular which has revolutionised the way organisations communicate is VOIP, which stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. It provides convenience by allowing you to make business calls nationally and internationally, thus possibly saving the need for expensive plane journeys and accommodation.

Another technological development is Virtual Private Networks (VPN) which can increase sharing between offices while keeping costs low. Setting up a VPN, you can make documents and files available securely to everyone using a single location. This improves efficiency and reduces duplication.

Business broadband often offers advantages over domestic broadband packages as they are tailored to an organisation’s needs. More often than not a monitoring support service is provided specifically for their business customers, thus keeping errors and problems to a minimum so your day remains undisrupted. They also tend to offer more allowance in upload and download speeds to maximise your working hours.

Without business broadband and high speed access, businesses would not be able to operate as efficiently as they are today to help you remain competitive.

Fiona Roy writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.