Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are arguably the backbone of many economies. They drive key innovation, generate new employment opportunities, and contribute significantly to overall economic growth. Unlike larger and more established businesses, SMEs generally have the benefit of increased flexibility when it comes to market changes and experiences and can easily adapt a product or service to new technologies and trends.
Yet despite this, SMEs face unique challenges that can quickly stifle innovation – the most prominent of which being a result of poor network connectivity. This is because SMEs often don’t have the industry recognition and resources that may otherwise allow larger businesses to bounce back from poor wireless broadband connectivity.
In this article, we explore further the implications of unreliable internet access on SMEs by delving deeper into the ways it can hampers their growth and productivity. This will allow us to highlight the benefits that can be provided by turning to wireless infrastructure providers like Cambium Networks.
Hindered Business Communication
Effective communication and collaboration are the cornerstones of any successful business. They allow SMEs to build strong relationships with everyone in the business, from clients, suppliers, and team members to everyone in between. When faced with poor internet connectivity, these essential aspects of business operations can be severely impacted.
Indeed, with the growing rise in partial and fully remote work across the globe SMEs are increasingly reliant on virtual communication tools to stay connected with their remote workforce/clients. This requires a strong and stable network connection to maintain the potentially high-bandwidth video conference calls. Poor internet connectivity can also lead to delays in responding to emails, processing, or addressing queries, potentially hindering project progress across the business. As such, clients might become frustrated, and the company’s reputation and trustworthiness could be at stake.
For SMEs looking to scale up their business’ network connectivity and improve overall stability and performance within higher bandwidth communication contexts, the XE3-4 Access Point makes for the perfect network companion. As a Wi-Fi 6E access point, the XV3-8 not only offers improved network performance in high device traffic environments and faster overall bandwidth speeds – making it ideal for SME business settings, – but it is also fully compatible with older Wi-Fi 5 standard devices. This ensures that network-connected devices can gradually be replaced with newer and faster Wi-fi 6 models.
Reduced Productivity & Efficiency
In the fast-paced industry landscape, day-to-day operation requires careful planning to meet customer/client demands. This means that SMEs heavily rely on a smooth and uninterrupted web experience to maintain productivity and efficiency. There are a multitude of ways that poor network connectivity can impact SME productivity. Whether it be down to slow-loading web pages, intermittent connectivity, and buffering during online tasks, seconds to minutes to even hours of valuable time can easily be lost.
Cloud computing has also revolutionized the way businesses operate and manage operations, allowing SMEs to leverage cost-effective cloud-based solutions. Poor internet connectivity however can halt a business from truly utilising the benefits that cloud computing offers. Such productivity lapses create a domino effect on the outcome of future project timelines, with delays likely to be a byproduct of a poor network connection. As competitors with more reliable internet access continue to optimize their operations, SMEs might find themselves falling out of favor with clients and customers should they persist with poor connectivity.
With this in mind, the importance of real-time network solutions for SMEs cannot be understated. Network control platforms such as the CN Maestro are ideal for businesses with a limited network throughput infrastructure as they provide both flexible and live solutions to optimize network access. The CN Maestro is also accessible in person as well as through cloud technology, providing complete flexibility for out-of-office network managers to optimize office operations.
Security Risks & Data Vulnerability
In the increasingly interconnected industrial ecosystem, data security is an obvious concern for any business. This is especially true when dealing with client or customer information. For SMEs however, the stakes are particularly high as they are more likely to lack the resources and expertise to implement comprehensive cybersecurity measures. Such security concerns can be further exacerbated by poor network connectivity. With slow internet speeds, the installation of crucial security updates and patches becomes a far more time-consuming task. This leaves the SMEs operating with poor internet connection more vulnerable to potential data breaches.
Additionally, unreliable internet access might lead employees to resort to using public Wi-Fi networks to perform essential tasks. Again, this further increases the potential for a business wide data breach. The lack of a secure, private network connection can expose sensitive business data to unauthorized access, putting customer information, financial records, and proprietary data in jeopardy.
When operating with employees, customers, and clients, you need to know that data is secure from cybercriminals. The Cambium Networks range – routers like the XV2-22H Wi-Fi 6 Indoor Wall Plate Access Point – exceed these security requirements by coming standard with the WPA2 system. This offers a secure AES – Advanced Encryption Standard – instead of the more vulnerable TKIP – Temporal Key Integrity Protocol – that is often used within other Wi-Fi systems.
The Verdict
It’s clear that poor internet connectivity presents substantial challenges for SMEs, hindering growth, productivity, and even competitiveness. Naturally something any business wants to avoid. By investing time and money into the Cambium wireless network product portfolio, SMEs can optimize and improve their operations and ensure they can continue to grow with new clients, customers, and employees.
Our group of experts here at Minerva our proud partners of Cambium Networks, allowing us to provide the best in customer service and support. Want to learn more about how poor wireless connectivity can impact your SME or how Cambium Networks can improve your day-to-day network operations? Then please get in touch with our team of experts today.