Since COVID-19 started, remote working has become a necessity for businesses. 

Some businesses have embraced improvements to work-life balance, boasting an improvement to productivity. In fact, 74% of professionals expect businesses to stay remote for the foreseeable future, and after the pandemic has long passed into history. 

For others, it’s about making the best of a challenging situation.

Either way, all businesses have faced (and are still facing) a complex set of needs to:

• Ensure people can connect quickly, reliably and securely in a work-from-anywhere and hybrid working culture

• Maintain a safe and productive environment and technology that caters for individual working preferences and locations

• Empower employees with the tools they need to do their best work and stay productive

• Ensure employees comply with company policies and procedures

• Allow the business to flourish and stay connected in the months ahead

With people now living and working in all kinds of environments, employees need technology that is flexible, dependable, robust, streamlined and secure. 

But many businesses are running with technology that is outdated, and/or simply not fit for purpose anymore. This includes having issues with connectivity and network contention.

What is network contention? And why is it a problem? 

Network contention is just one of the many challenges of remote working. Basically, this is where people using home-grade internet connections (or Wi-Fi in coffee shops, hotels or on trains) are competing for usage. 

Internet speeds are affected by lots of people accessing the internet. The more people on the line, the slower the speed, and the longer work, uploads and downloads take.

Peak demand in household networks has shifted. Whereas previously the peak came in the evening when everyone arrived home and used the internet during their leisure time, the peak is now during business hours.

And for most people, no matter what the unlimited or super fast internet package you are using, you will rarely be getting the advertised amount.

But being outside of the office doesn’t mean workers and businesses should endure the pain caused by network contention and domestic grade connectivity equipment.

Do homeworkers upgrade their internet package, create a schedule to accommodate everyone in the house, or make the switch back to more traditional voice calls to ease the burden on the line? Or is there a better technology solution for enterprises out there? 

Why you should consider upgrading your enterprise technology 

If remote working looks to continue for the foreseeable and you’re considering a more permanent remote setup for your team, now might be the time to invest in business lines for your employees.

Here’s why now is the time to consider better technology to reduce network contention, and implement a productive, secure working environment. 

Home working productivity

Productivity may be boosted in some ways by remote working, due to fewer distractions, a comfortable environment and employees being able to plan their own schedules. In fact, productivity was found to be up 47% in a recent study. 

But network contention is a very real issue for productivity at work. Particularly if somebody else is streaming films in the house or place people are working, needs to have video calls, or students are attending virtual lessons and lectures. 

Suddenly, home working seems like it could be costly for businesses with network contention, due to productivity drops.

Disruption on video calls and conferencing  

Disruptions to video calls and conferencing, and issues with connectivity are also a very real issue for businesses working remotely.

How many times have you had an important meeting interrupted due to somebody’s Wi-Fi cutting out, or them ‘freezing’ on the call? Causing people to miss what they said, or just derailing the whole meeting altogether? It’s not just irritating. It’s a threat to productivity and business as usual. 

Unsecure alternatives

Often, network contention at home might cause people to go do their work elsewhere. This is fine, with the right systems and internet connection in place. 

But coffee shops may be public and connectivity still not be up to scratch (or, often, worse than home neworks) due to network contention and poor providers. This is also a serious problem for putting corporate data and confidential documents at risk on unsecured networks.

IntraLAN’s solutions to the network contention issue with remote working 

IntraLAN has several solutions to this issue, where businesses can install dedicated enterprise-grade connectivity, to ensure people working safely and securely from anywhere, comply with security policies, and have access to a VPN. 

These are:

Our own, dedicated broadband network

We operate our own broadband network. This enables us to provide companies business-grade connectivity and bypass the typical service issues encountered on the networks that were built for the masses.

You will never have to put up with degradation of service, and you will never be fighting for bandwidth again, as we only provide connectivity to selected customers.

Unlike most broadband providers, our network is also able to reliably route VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) traffic, enabling you to successfully make voice calls over the internet.

IntraLAN’s WorkIN service

In response to the remote working issue, IntraLAN pioneered WorkIN. This IT and connectivity service was built specifically for home-based, remote or distributed workforces.

Affordable, quick to deploy and easy to manage, WorkIN’s flexibility ensures:

• Every user has the same robust IT experience as they would in the corporate office
• Your IT people can provide a safe, secure working environment
• Employers know that their IT and data protection policies are being adhered to
• Your own customers enjoy the same exceptional experience they know and love

WorkIN contains everything a business and employee needs to work safely and securely. This is available in three tiers (standard, VPN and VPN+). And every package includes:

• A business grade managed firewall and Wi-Fi router with easy plug-and-play portability
• Power-over-ethernet
• Remote monitoring and support
• Next working day replacements
• Full user on-boarding.

Easily add a corporate strength VPN for a nominal extra cost and other options include a managed broadband connection into the home for dedicated business use, 4G failover for additional redundancy, and full VPN portability so your people can login using their IntraLAN router at any location.

Let your technology empower remote workers, not hinder them

Give employees a better solution to homeworking, and a better solution for your business. Protect your workforce and data from security threats, prevent costs related to productivity, and ensure that homeworking is an asset, not a risk for your enterprise. 

To find out more about how our solutions can eliminate network contention, get in touch.