Simple tricks to optimize your network

Simple tricks to optimize your network

A strong internet connection is like the oil that keeps a business’s gears turning — without it, you’ll lose on employee efficiency, productivity, and proper customer service.

While ensuring a stable, reliable company network is essential for any business, it shouldn’t eat up your entire budget. “Network optimization” is a term that describes the strategies used to improve one’s bandwidth usage — and thus, internet speed.

With over 4.3 billion people relying on the world wide web, such methods are more prevalent than ever. If you’re running a company, here are a few quick tips to easily optimize your network.

Know your ideal speed

Not everyone needs the same internet speed — those who rely on video conferencing and streaming, for example, require a faster connection than those who primarily surf the web for research. Your first step in network optimization is to determine your connection requirements to make the necessary adjustments.

When planning this, you’ll want to consider the number of people using your network (including how many will be online simultaneously), the types of activity to take place (and the amount of bandwidth needed for each), and how many other devices (such as mobile phones or smart appliances) will be using the connection.

Then, check whether your current internet package makes the cut; if not, it may be time for an upgrade.

Use the latest technology

Relying on outdated resources is sure to impede your overall network connection. An old router won’t have the processing capacity to handle all its existing devices, and leaning on a weak internet plan will slow your loading speeds to a crawl.

By using the latest networking hardware, you’re ensuring optimum use of your internet connection. The same practice goes for your current broadband package; to get the best available speed for your business, make sure you’ve updated to the fastest broadband technology provided in your area.

Prioritize your traffic

Know the amount of internet bandwidth you have on hand, and use it wisely among your tasks. Having one online activity eat up a large portion of this budget can significantly slow down others. Downloading large files or streaming high-definition videos, for example, can hamper the connection of important tools like your VoIP system.

Software-defined wide-area networks, also known as SD-WANs, are often used to manage and optimize network traffic. This is a common method of “traffic shaping” that allows network administrators to manipulate the bandwidth used by applications, ensuring tasks relying on real-time data (e.g., video/voice calls, streaming) are given priority over those requiring less usage (e.g., social medial browsing).

Upgrade all devices

Just as your network equipment and technology require upgrades, so do all connected devices. This, of course, involves patching your computers, ensuring their network adapter drivers get the latest firmware updates. You can easily check for available updated driver software by looking into your Device Manager.

The same goes for phones, tablets, and other connected mobile technology. Make sure your gadgets have the latest updates installed to properly optimize your new network connection. Users are also recommended to connect their devices to a 5 GHz network, if supported. 5 GHz networks host fewer devices, providing a faster online connection with fewer interruptions.

Secure your network

Finally, make sure your network is protected with enterprise-grade firewalls, web filtering software, encryption systems, and intrusion prevention solutions. Security threats like denial of service attacks and malware can exploit vulnerabilities in poorly managed networks and cause them to go offline.

When securing your network, you should also sign up for network monitoring services, so your provider can proactively detect and address threats before they affect your company’s internet connection.

Get the internet speed you deserve

Optimizing your network will maximize your business operations in turn. Solution Partner offers Arizona-based clients and businesses with actionable support in achieving a fast, stable, and reliable internet connection. With a dedicated team of experts, we’ll help you find the necessary software and equipment for your needs. Upgrade your network performance and get in touch with us today.


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