What small and medium-sized businesses should look for in an ISP

If you’re running a business or managing IT for one, you’re aware of the importance of internet stability. No matter if you’re in healthcare, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, even education or small government, your internet connection needs to be fast, reliable and secure to handle communications and transactions, and much more.

It can be hard to know what to look for in a business internet service provider. They all seem the same, don’t they? Of course, you should be taking price and plan details into consideration, but there’s more to think about. If you’re choosing a new ISP, here are the top five things to consider:

• Reliability and uptime: Look for providers with 99.9%+ uptime guarantees and service level agreements (SLAs). SLAs are legally binding and outline what the ISP is going to provide.

• Speed and bandwidth: Ensure speeds match business needs, with symmetrical upload/download speeds for cloud apps and video calls. Note that fiber-optic internet provides symmetrical speeds, while cable connections by their nature cannot offer upload speeds equal to download speeds.

• Security: In addition to basic security features, you should know how secure the network is. Ziply Fiber’s 100% fiber, fully owned and operated network has diversification that reduces the risk of outages, and all internet circuits include DDoS mitigation. The network also stays up even during power outages, because it doesn’t rely on electricity in the field. These elements enable our customers to rest assured that their connectivity stays up and their data stays safe. You may also want to check about and ISP’s compliance certifications, like HIPAA, SOC 2 or PCI-DSS, if your business handles sensitive data.

• Scalability: Many businesses have plans to grow, and they’ll need their networking infrastructure to grow along with them — without overhauling their systems when they outgrow their usability. Your ISP should offer the opportunity to increase bandwidth. You may also want to look into scalable solutions that integrate into your internet plan, like Hosted Voice or Whole Business WiFi.

• Customer support: Residential internet plans may route your call through an automated system and leave you on hold when you have a question or problem. You’ll want a business internet plan that will be available 24/7 with experts who can help you with your specific issues.

At Ziply Fiber, our small business and enterprise plans are ideal for local businesses from boutiques to medical facilities. Visit ziplyfiber.com/smallbusiness or enterprise.ziplyfiber.com/industries to check your address and get started.