The first stage in establishing a computing platform for company operations is to set up a new corporate network. Your firm cannot function without technology infrastructure, and businesses must adapt and develop a reliable computing network that supports corporate operations now more than ever.

In this post, we’ll go through the stages of creating a small business network, as well as the components you’ll need to get started, including the internet for your business. However, before we get started, let’s first understand the various challenges a small business faces.

The Challenges Of Setting Up IT Infrastructure In A Workspace

The IT requirements of small businesses are similar to those of large corporations. However, most small firms cannot opt to pay an entire IT department. Regardless, SMB (small and medium business) proprietors must ensure that IT responsibilities are handled by someone within the firm or by a Professional IT Services provider.

IT has become such an essential element of modern business it could no longer be treated as a separate department. Technology is pervasive and entwined with your daily life at work and elsewhere. Also, because expenses of mismanaged IT and unavailability are unexpectedly high, IT administration and management must be paid their due.

“IT” is a massive glob of unintelligible and never-ending firefighting. Engaging with IT is challenging for most company owners since they do not even know where to begin. It is, nevertheless, far easier to ponder about one issue at a time.

All-In-One IT Checklist For Businesses

1. Create A Floor Plan For Your Office

It would be best to examine where every other department will be placed and the most useful and feasible manner. This isn’t simply about the seating chart. Evaluate the most effective positions for the server room, meeting room, printers, copy machines, networking & WiFi gear, and so on.

2. Examine The Wiring & Outlets

Check that all of the electric cables are in position and there are sufficient connections. Verify that the voltage is correct for your equipment. Map out your IT and networking infrastructure as well, such as:

• Ports and cables
• Locations of routers
• Locations of Access Points (APs)
• Scanners and printers
• Work stations
• UPS requirements

3. Choosing A Great ISP (Internet Service Provider)

Explore the ISPs that offer business broadband in your area and try to get the best plan for your business. It is recommended that you have an alternative backup ISP in case your first ISP fails.

4. Data Backup Is Crucial

Hardware may be at the top of your priority list, but it is equally critical that you consider what you possess as a digital asset. It might be much more difficult to protect what you have as a corporate value that is not deemed actual IT equipment.

Make backup files for your data or get an expert to do it for you. One method for securing your data is to use cloud backup storage. Check the repercussions of the relocation before you relocate if it is on an old contract.

5. Don’t Take Security For Granted

Install antivirus software on all of your machines and servers. Block all unnecessary traffic using a network-level firewall. A firewall equipped with intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) will assist you in detecting and stopping cyber assaults as they occur.

Use an RMM tool to maintain all of your operating systems and apps up to date, or hire a managed service provider to handle it for you. Many upgrades and patches fix known software vulnerabilities. Encrypt all of your devices using BitLocker (which can be done remotely using an MDM solution like Microsoft Intune) or data-at-rest encryption. This stops criminals from accessing data from devices they have physically taken.

IT Checklist Template For All Types of Businesses

Now that you know what you’re supposed to look at, it might help to have a checklist in front of you to ensure you don’t miss out on anything. To help, we’ve created a generic IT checklist template that you can use while setting up. Feel free to keep adding more pointers to the list, depending on your business requirement.

Steps To Follow While Choosing The Right ISP For Your Business

With the growth of cloud services and the rising reliance on day-to-day company activities on the Internet, selecting the most appropriate business Internet Service Provider (ISP) is more crucial than ever. We’ve created a guide to assist you in locating the best supplier for your requirements.

Knowing the business internet alternatives accessible to you ahead of time will help you get so much out of our advice and choose the best ISP. Effective evaluation begins with the kind of Internet service directly, which might influence your choice of ISP.

Various Types of Internet Connections for Business

• Cable Internet: It is a commonly available Internet system that provides coaxial cable lines (the same ones that carry cable TV) to offer your business a broadband Internet connection.
• Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Internet: Since it uses ordinary phone lines to offer broadband services, DSL is another commonly accessible Internet connection.
• Fixed Wireless Internet: Fixed Wireless Internet provides broadband connectivity through the use of a tower, antennas, and an instantaneous line of sight (LoS), as well as a fiber-optic infrastructure. Towers send a wifi signal to the antennas at the business site (through radio waves).
• Fiber Optic Internet: Fiber optic cables travel straight from the ISP to the company’s site for fiber service connections.
• Satellite Internet: Satellite Internet provides broadband connectivity by sending an Internet connection to a satellite in orbit, which is then sent to a device at the business address.

These alternatives differ in terms of availability, efficiency, dependability, and cost. Assessing your company’s demands based on these factors is critical for picking the best Internet service for your company.

5 Things to Consider When Picking Your Internet Service Provider

1. Recognition

   Reputable research is an excellent approach to assess a new service. Knowing an ISP’s popularity is a reliable means of reducing your alternatives, whether through customer reviews published by Google or chatting personally with adjacent companies.

   Most network operators offer both residential and commercial solutions, which have distinct requirements and expectations for availability, quality-of-service (QoS), and other factors. When assessing reviews, keep in mind the sort of consumer.

2. Service Level Agreements (SLA)

   SLA stands for service-level agreement. This is an agreement (legally binding) between an Internet service provider and any subscriber. The SLA of an ISP should ensure service parameters, including uptime, speed, distortion, packet loss, and reaction time. For instance, a typical SLA could include the following service objectives:

   • Response Priority
   • The Network Quality of Service
   • Network Availability
   • Round Trip Latency Under 40ms
   • Jitters
   • Packet loss

   It should be noted that certain Internet service providers will not provide any guarantees at all. Many suppliers evade service-level obligations entirely by using wording like this:

   “X business makes no promise that the service will be continuous or error-free, nor does it offer any warranty about the outcomes received from using the service. X business makes no guarantees for connectivity at any moment, for any amount of time, or at any specific speed.”

   Before deciding on an ISP for your services, please do your homework on their service level agreements (SLAs).

3. Customer Support

   In a perfect universe, you would never have to contact your ISP after service activation. But, that’s rarely true.

   If you have billing problems, service problems, require technical assistance, have upgrading requests, or require program add-ons, you will need to contact your ISP’s customer service representatives at some time. Before you join up, look into the level of assistance that the firm provides.

   Don’t forget about responsiveness. If your company encounters a technical difficulty, how long does it take your supplier to respond and resolve the issue? Time is money; therefore, how your ISP manages customer care directly impacts your company’s bottom line, whether it’s hours lost on hold or weeks awaiting a repair.

4. Agility and Flexibility

   As a company develops and evolves, so will its uses of the internet in business communication. A legal company, for example, that hires ten additional associates will almost certainly require a bandwidth boost. The extent of services you need may also alter over time, as some providers offer corporate phone and Internet packages to consolidate communications – and billing – requirements with a single supplier.

5. Bandwidth Availability

   Knowing your bandwidth requirements and use of the internet in your business is critical to select an ISP that can deliver the speeds your business needs.

   Bandwidth availability may differ from provider to provider depending on your region and the sort of Internet connectivity you require (i.e., Fiber vs. Fixed Wireless vs. DSL, etc.). Furthermore, if the ISP looks to give what you are looking for, take the time to discover if you will be receiving a dedicated or shared circuit since this factor will also impact the reliability and consistency of speeds.

6. Capability To Manage Advanced Technology

   Corporates and other commercial organizations utilize a variety of solutions to achieve their goals, such as Cloud, AI, IoT, Big Data, BYOD, and so on. It is critical to choose a service provider that can handle the complexities of technical services while also maintaining your communication network.

If you’re still on the fence about which broadband provider to use, you can visit our Business Broadband page for more in-depth information.

Top 10 Internet Broadband Providers In India

With so many service providers to choose from, there is a lot to think about and consider. The following are the top ten internet service providers in India. 

1. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, a state-owned company, is India’s most popular wireline ISP, with around 9.43 million customers. For users of its landline phone operations, BSNL provides unlimited broadband subscriptions.

Such unlimited plans range in price from Rs.499 to Rs.999, based on the quantity of data requested and its delivery speed. BSNL provides countrywide coverage, including in rural areas.

2. Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel is India’s largest private-sector telecommunication services provider, offering some of the finest broadband options and the quickest mobile Internet in the country.

It is also one of the leading wireline broadband ISPs, having approximately 2.15 million subscribers. Airtel’s Broadband wireline Internet service is marketed as Vfiber. It is accessible in over 100 cities throughout India.

Airtel’s wired unlimited internet plans start at Rs.699 every month and go higher from there, based on your region, data use, as well as other services necessary.

3. Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT)

As per TRAI data, the ACT is one of India’s leading wireline ISPs. ACT has 1.27 million customers as of the end of November 2017. The ACT presently offers high-speed wireline broadband Internet throughout India’s New Delhi-National Capital Region and southern states Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.

Broadband Internet services in the ACT begin at Rs.675 each month. Cable TV and recreational packages are also included in these bundles.

4. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL)

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), a state-owned company, has reached 1 million customers. However, given that MTNL exclusively serves Mumbai and New Delhi, this figure is rather significant.

MTNL is famous in Mumbai and New Delhi. They provide many packages including unlimited broadband services (beginning at Rs.299 every month), which would be the finest internet package.

5. Hathway Cable & Datacom

According to TRAI, Hathway Cable & Datacom has more than 1.4 million users of its wired broadband Connections. Hathway also provides cable television services in 140 cities and towns across India.

Hathway’s unlimited internet pricing starts from Rs.750 each month, depending on the area, data use, and service type. The firm provides a high-speed wireline broadband Internet connection via a fiber-optic cable system.

6. Jio Fibre

Reliance is among the most well-known brands in India and throughout the world. They have offered their services at highly reasonable costs. Jio is the leading operator on our list because it has already provided Fiber internet services in India.

They are now one of India’s finest mobile broadband providers. Their plans begin at Rs. 399 and progress as needed, and they are among the top internet broadband operators in India.

7. YOU Broadband India Ltd

YOU Broadband is a component of Vodafone’s India business, a Multinational Company (MNC).

It is the nation’s first wireline broadband provider to offer Internet access speeds of up to 100Mbps, with services tailored to startups, medium and small businesses (MSMEs), and large corporations.

YOU Broadband rates for high-speed wired Internet services begin at Rs.799 each month and go higher from there, based on connectivity and download speed, among many other factors. YOU Broadband is available in 28 Indian cities, including major metros.

8. Tikona Infinet Ltd

Tikona Infinet Ltd serves in over 25 Indian cities and provides the lowest wireline broadband Internet services beginning at Rs.699 each month for 4Mbps speeds.

Tikona boasts the most extensive outdoor wifi infrastructure in the world. Tikona services roughly 275,000 consumers, including around 10,000 SMEs.

Several accolades have been bestowed to the firm for its fiber-optic broadband Connection.

9. SmartLink Broadband

SmartLink Broadband is available exclusively in Mumbai and its surrounding areas. Customers may get wireline broadband India Internet at rates of 25Mbps and higher from the firm. SmartLink’s broadband Internet packages begin at Rs. 599 per month and go higher from there, depending on the connection speeds and features you choose.

10. Excitel Broadband

Excitel is a reputable internet operator in India that provides hassle-free solutions. Yes, they do provide ultra-high-speed Broadband at a rate of 100Mbps every second. The brand offers several plans based on the needs, such as streaming, downloading, plus gaming.

Excitel Broadband does not charge setup fees for fiber connections, and all of their service pricing includes all applicable taxes.

Conclusion

Now that you have all the information you need about setting up your IT department in your new office, go ahead and choose the right ISP to get the best results and never face downtime!

For more information on the plans of various broadband providers, keep reading Selectra!