Essex is quickly becoming an epicentre of tech, with over 4,500 county telecom and digitech businesses employing 20,000 workers.
Because of the wide range of digitally enabled small businesses cropping up in the area, there is a greater demand for connectivity and data consumption. Broadband is critical in dense hubs like this, so it’s worth the investment. Whether your model is B2B or B2C, you need stable, fast, and powerful internet. As with any business decision, knowing what benefits make such an expense worthwhile is good.
Better customer service and communication
The primary benefits to consider here are customer service and communication. Today’s customers expect responsiveness that is much more demanding than it was just a decade ago. This is where full fibre broadband enables swift communication and service through gigafastupload and download speeds. Even the most affordable plans from Zzoomm would allow businesses to connect at 150Mbps, more than three times the average internet speed in Essex. Responding to queries immediately, addressing concerns, and getting transactions moving right away make the difference between a conversion and a lost opportunity.
For businesses that rely on constant communication and live files between their employees, full fibre ensures that everyone can avoid lag and disruptions despite being connected to the same fibre line. More specifically, a broadband connection that uses Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) provides a more consistent speed than Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC). This way, every area of the business gets the same level of data transmission with no “dead spots”.
Having the means to connect throughout is also helpful if you have a B2C model that sees clients stay in your workspace for extended periods. You can offer free wireless internet connectivity for the duration of their stay and add to your brand loyalty in the process. The Basildonmarket is one of the most prominent success stories when it comes to implementing this, with an increase in footfall thanks to the integration of WiFi access and contactless payment.
Access to contactless payments
Another advantage of full fibre is how effectively it provides wireless connectivity. While an office’s primary data centre or workstations should be directly connected through ethernet, it’s good to have wireless options for portability and flexibility. Even if many devices connect through WiFi, there will still be no interference.
This is useful for any business model but stands out more for those using on-the-premise payments. A recent survey revealed that 48% of British consumers prefer contactless card payments. On top of that, data from Barclay’s shows 93.4% of all in-store card transactions in 2023 were made using touch and pay methods. While some payment systems allow for offline transactions, these are usually limited and rarer to come by. As such, you can reap the convenience and strategic integration of contactless payments by having a fibre-enabled system which minimises the risk of going offline.
Improved reliability and productivity
A lot of business tech requires constant online presence, be it cloud services, security measures, SaaS tools, or platforms for live collaboration. Full fibre also has no limits, meaning employees can run simultaneously demanding tasks without worrying about buffering and slower speeds. This is possible because of the significantly higher bandwidth of optic fibre.
Since optic fibre removes latency and lowers ping, the stability can create a more conducive work environment for higher productivity. On top of this reliability for on-site workers, any systems or servers that rely on the central hub being connected won’t be at risk of going down. This alone makes it worth the investment, as you save your business from the high cost of data loss. The average cost of data breaches cost UK businesses £3.4 million, and it’s harder for small businesses to recover from data loss compared to major corporations.
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