usinesses that have been in operation in the 1990s understand how much the Internet has changed the landscape. Then, it was the state of the art dial-up modem connecting your business to the world – though early versions of high speed internet were available to the really cutting edge companies. Pagers and beepers were the rulers when it came to instant communication, though one would sometimes still resort to postal mail for more important documents. Faxes were the way to go, though, when it came to private communications with paperwork, and the cellphone then was carried along with something like a two kilo battery for mobile communications.
People of this generation understand the transition of the technology – it is the older and younger generations that somehow miss the point. The older finding it more difficult to adjust to the new ways of doing things, while the younger may sometimes assume that there is always a way to get online, which may be true, but at some cost.
A Generation Early
Some people simply have settled into a way of doing things. Vinyl records sound better, flowers feel more real, and the Internet is too fast a technology. While this may be true personally, in business, this kind of reasoning does not hold water. The market is filled with opportunities, but the faster you can get in touch with your market, the more business you do. The Internet, and on top of it, mobile technology, social media presence and other innovations really make doing business easier, and not harder.
And the bottom line is that as your Internet connection becomes more reliable, your connection to your market becomes better. Profits come your way more frequently. While LTE connections may be the fastest available, nothing beats high speed internet in reliability – and wired is always better than wi-fi. Your uptime is equivalent to your office hours, and wireless technologies are always dependent on signal strength.
A Generation Present
With those familiar with Internet connections, the opposite is true – being overly confident of always getting online is just as fatal a flaw. Of course, coffee shops broadcast Wi-Fi availability, and smartphones for the past couple of years assure you that you can always have a 3G or 4G connection right in your pocket. Being tethered by Ethernet cables may be too confining, but will keep your online productivity going when all else fails. Going wireless may feel more liberating, but cables keep you confident of your Internet connection.
Capturing the Market Trend
Each succeeding year, larger portions of gross domestic products per country are produced through the Internet. The Boston Consulting Group projects an annual growth rate of at least 8% per country. Your business may be doing well at the moment, but it could do better – that projected growth rate could be your very own future profits. But it begins with stable if not redundant Internet connections – your uptime is the key to all of this.
Imagine the opposite scenario – poor or no Internet connection. Everything grinds to a halt. Older technologies like faxes or real meetings instead of video conferences will take more time and effort. Since everything is tied to each other, everything stops. And really, that is how the Internet stops office productivity.
