Slow network speeds can have a significant negative impact on one’s business. Not only do slow speeds reduce productivity, but they can also reduce the quality of the services that your business provides. As such, it is important to resolve the issue causing your slow network speed as soon as possible. Here are some of the most effective ways to improve your business's network speed.
Switch From Copper to Fiber Optic Cables
If your network is operating at slower speeds, the reason could be because the bandwidth or maximum data transfer speed of the cabling it uses isn’t large enough to accommodate the amount of data it needs to transfer. Most older and smaller networks are equipped with copper wire cabling, which uses relatively low bandwidth.
If your network has grown or will continue to grow, you may want to consider investing in fiber optic cabling instead. One of the many benefits of fiber optic cables is that they have a substantially larger bandwidth than copper wire cabling. As such, they can help facilitate faster data transmission speeds and prevent network congestion.
Locate and Eliminate Potential Bottlenecks
Another way to improve your business's network speed is by locating and eliminating potential bottlenecks. A network bottleneck refers to a condition that limits data flow because of network resource insufficiencies.
Examples of network bottlenecks include overloaded servers, malfunctioning devices, or a surplus of devices. To identify bottlenecks in your network, make sure to do a comprehensive check on the data transmission speed in every area of the network.
Keep an Eye Out for Viruses
As cyberattacks become increasingly advanced and prevalent, it’s important to regularly scan your network for any viruses or malware that may have snuck in. Such malicious network activity is notorious for slowing down networks or even crashing them altogether, which can result in excessive downtime.
By regularly scanning your network for nefarious activity at least once a week, you can eliminate viruses before they have the chance to spread and wreak havoc on your network—havoc that may cause significantly more damage than just slowing down network speed. It is important to note that running malware and virus scans may temporarily slow down your data transfer speeds. As such, it’s a good idea to conduct such scans outside of office hours to maintain productivity.
