| What
is Internet access? |
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Internet access is, quite simply, your
ability to connect your business to the Internet to tap into the World
Wide Web, send and receive email, and take advantage of a growing
number of Internet-based business services. To connect, businesses
typically use an Internet Service Provider (ISP), a company that
provides you with access through its equipment. There is a range of
connection options that businesses can take advantage of – from simple
$15/month dial-up accounts to high-speed, private connections to
handle heavy demand or a large number of users.
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| How do
I get started? |
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To stay competitive in today's market,
small businesses need their Internet connection to be fast, secure,
and reliable. Use the following steps to streamline your online
communications and increase your productivity with a dependable
Internet connection.
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Utilize shared access
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Shared Internet access gives everyone in
your company a connection to the Internet through your network. This
method of connecting is generally more cost-effective and simpler to
maintain than using multiple dial-up accounts. It enhances overall
user productivity, making it easier for your employees to locate
relevant Web sites, and connect with customers and business partners
via email. To connect your LAN to the Internet, you will need to use a
router instead of a modem. This piece of hardware controls the way
that data is sent between your LAN and the Internet.
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Evaluate a high-speed connection
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To take full advantage of the benefits of
the Internet, your company will want to have a high-speed – or
broadband – connection. This will help you avoid bandwidth
bottlenecks, and let you connect more efficiently. The greater the
bandwidth of your connection, the faster you can send and receive
data, and the more users you can support. Most small businesses will
use one of three high-speed Internet connection technologies:
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DSL, which uses regular phone lines to send and
receive data at high speeds at a reasonable cost
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Cable modems, which use the same technology as
cable television to provide high-speed Internet access, also at a
reasonable cost
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T1/T3 lines, which are private, leased
connections, and typically carry the highest price tag
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Look for guaranteed service
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Not all Internet access service is the
same. Some ISPs provide "business-class" solutions that are more
robust and reliable than typical residential services. These solutions
usually offer quality-of-service guarantees that cover issues such as
service performance, technical support availability, and network
scalability. For example, companies that come to depend on the
Internet to communicate with their customers and business partners or
to run certain Internet-based solutions may require their service
providers to guarantee uptime rates of 99.9% or higher.
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Remember security
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When you connect your network directly to
the Internet, you increase the chances that an unauthorized user will
try to access your data. A firewall establishes a protective layer
between the outside world and your network to prevent access by anyone
who does not use the proper login information. Firewalls can be
composed of software or software-and-hardware combinations.
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| How
can I get the most out of my Internet connection? |
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Take the following steps take full
advantage of your company's connection to the Internet:
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Consider ways to boost performance
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Many small businesses utilize various
hardware and software tools to increase the speed of their Internet
connections. For example, proxy and caching solutions store frequently
accessed Web pages directly on your server. Since users no longer have
to go connect to the Internet to locate these pages, response time is
reduced and overall performance is improved.
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Use Web-delivered applications
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Web-delivered solutions are software
applications that are rented from a third party called an Application
Service Provider, or ASP. You and your employees access the software
application, and your company information stored in it, via the
Internet. All the while, it appears as though the software and your
data are part of your internal systems. Using software this way can
provide your business with access to sophisticated programs such as
customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource
planning (ERP) that may be too expensive for your company to own or
maintain.
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Look into value-added services
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A reliable, high-speed Internet
connection can also serve as the foundation for a range of value-added
network services. Virtual private networks (VPNs) "carve off" a
private slice of Internet bandwidth to shuttle information back and
forth between your network and remote workers. With a VPN, remote
users access your network through a standard Web browser. Voice over
IP (VoIP) provides real-time, two-way transmission of voice
information over the Internet, and can be a cost-effective alternative
to traditional long-distance service.
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