As Internet usage increasingly becomes an integral part of the primary business of a growing number of South African businesses, continuing to regard Internet connectivity as a commodity could be a costly mistake.
That's the view of Andre Joubert, GM of MWEB Business, who points out that for many businesses that rely on Internet connectivity for virtually every aspect of their operations, connectivity problems like slow speeds or connection interruption is more than an inconvenience.
"Think of a marketing company that uses Internet marketing channels on behalf of clients, a land-based retail company that also runs an e-commerce Web site, or a company that constantly uses social networking sites as a marketing channel.
"Think of a company that has to back up a massive quantity of data to a remote location on a daily, or even more frequent, basis. And what about a company with many employees, which needs to access their e-mails, transfer information, collaborate remotely, and share files all the time.
"These are just some examples of the types of business for which a consistently fast, absolutely reliable and uninterrupted business connection has become non-negotiable," he says.
According to Joubert, ADSL technology, including the new VDSL option - is a best-effort service. As a result, no ADSL connection would be ideal for those businesses.
"Leased line access provides the ideal business connection for these purposes. While leased line connectivity has been beyond the reach of many businesses, the price has almost halved over the past two years, bringing it within reach of even budget-strapped SMEs. Indeed, it is now possible to obtain a structured leased line connectivity solution that is tailored for an individual business's needs and budget," he says.
MWEB Business offers two high bandwidth connections - Platinum and Silver - that provide the quality of service and permanent Internet connectivity that mission-critical business systems require. These are available in various operating speeds and include a variety of features and value-added benefits, enabling a business to start with a cost-effective solution that can be expanded and upgraded as required.
Platinum Bandwidth: This diginet- or fibre-based service provides 100% guaranteed quality of service international and local bandwidth access. It is ideal for businesses for which Internet access is mission-critical.
Silver Bandwidth: This is a broadband symmetrical contended Internet access service. While the Internet access experience is similar to that provided by uncapped ADSL, it is provisioned over different physical mediums including diginet or fibre leased line or business wireless solutions, depending on which is most appropriate.
MWEB's leased line solutions include up to eight IP addresses (six usable) per customer (which can be increased) and SMS notifications in the event of telco line failure.
Other value-added services include around-the-clock surveillance and monitoring, as well as fast, efficient problem resolution, all at a fixed monthly cost.
Share