When your business selects a business network system, it’s important to select the amount of bandwidth you need. Bandwidth is the speed at which your network transfers data. However, a common mistake is to think that if your network is running slowly, you need to increase bandwidth.
Latency, which is the time it takes for a packet of information to move from one place to another, can also affect processing speeds. Lowering latency not only speeds up your network but improves your business decisions.
How to Reduce Latency
High latency means your network doesn’t send data as quickly. To resolve problems with latency, it’s helpful to understand what latency is. Latency is closely tied to propagation, which is the travel speed of a packet of information through the internet from one location to another. Some measure it by the total time it takes to send the data, others by the round trip of sending information back to the sender.
If a network bogs down (latency is high), the data never even enters the network. To keep data moving, you must improve transmission which includes bandwidth, the medium of the network (optical fiber, cable, or wireless), and the amount of processing your system is undertaking.
How do you optimize a system that has high latency?
There are several ways to optimize a system that has high latency so that the network is more effective and data is properly transmitted. Here are some such ways to optimize.
- Close unneeded applications
- Check your internet connection
- Reset your modem to reset the connection to your network
- Add redundancy to your system to protect against information loss
How to Speed Up Decision Making
Many businesses experience high latency in their computer systems at one time or another. However, accessing business data can really enable businesses to see what is happening to their business in real time. Waiting for data can turn into waiting to make strong business decisions.
Business data includes sales numbers, changes in inflow and outflow, call volumes, and speed of manufacturing, processing, or distributing. Whatever business numbers you gather, you need to develop a system to use that data effectively.
Use Business Data Applications
There are a variety of applications that help you to capture and analyze business data (such as CRM or accounting software). Some gather that data from your system while others require you to input information. Most businesses have lots of information. And having a business computer system with low latency allows you to see that data in real time. For example, a strong network can gather sales data in real time and tell you what products are selling the most at any given moment.
Make Decisions Based on Data
The next step would be to make decisions based on that information. Strong businesses reduce both latency in data retrieval and latency in decision making. A good way to use data is to capture it, analyze it within a preset framework, then make decisions in quick response to accurate assessments. For example, you might decide to get high selling items to market more quickly to respond to demand.
Communicate Effectively
Finally, communicate the direction of the company quickly through a quality business communication system. Reducing latency adds agility to both your business network and your decision making process.
if you’re having issues with latency, Beacon Telecom can help. Contact us today to see how we can reduce latency in your business.
