Business connectivity for a hybrid workforce

Discover robust connectivity solutions tailored for hybrid work environments, ensuring seamless collaboration. Explore Zen Internet's comprehensive offerings today.

The traditional 9 to 5 office model has changed over the last four years. Hybrid working – a flexible approach where employees split their time between working from home and the office – has emerged as the new norm for many businesses. This shift presents both challenges and opportunities for small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) as well as larger organisations to maintain productivity, collaboration, and employee wellbeing in this evolving landscape.

While hybrid working offers numerous benefits such as increased employee satisfaction, reduced commuting time, and improved work-life balance, it also poses unique challenges. One of the most critical aspects of supporting a successful hybrid workforce is ensuring robust and reliable connectivity solutions. In today’s fast-paced digital environment, seamless communication and collaboration between remote and in-office teams is essential for business success.

In this article, we’ll examine the importance of business internet for hybrid working and explore various connectivity solutions for hybrid workforce that can empower your hybrid teams to thrive. We’ll also discuss hybrid work technology that can help your organisation overcome the challenges of hybrid working and unlock its full potential.

Sounds good? Let’s continue…

The importance of robust connectivity for a hybrid workforce

In a hybrid work environment, where employees are dispersed across different locations, reliable and high-speed connectivity is the backbone of productivity and collaboration. Without it, businesses risk experiencing challenges that can hinder their growth and success. That’s why implementing effective hybrid working solutions is crucial for the modern workplace.

The consequences of poor connectivity

Imagine a scenario where your remote working employees struggle to join video conferences due to buffering, experience delays and lag while accessing critical files, or face constant interruptions in their workflow due to slow internet speeds. These issues not only lead to frustration and decreased productivity but can also have a significant impact on employee morale.

Poor remote working connectivity can also disrupt essential business operations, such as customer service interactions, online transactions, and cloud-based applications. In fact, in Zen’s recent survey of 500 SME decision-makers, 92% of businesses told us that their revenue generation would be impacted without internet connectivity, with 54% citing difficulty in accessing cloud-based services, 47% online transactions, 39% in taking card payments, and 33% generating quotes and invoices.

The numbers are clear: unreliable business internet is damaging to organisations of any size.

Unlocking the benefits of robust connectivity with hybrid working solutions

On the other hand, investing in robust business internet for hybrid working can yield substantial benefits for your organisation. High-speed, reliable internet for hybrid teams ensures seamless communication and collaboration, allowing employees to work effectively regardless of their location. This, in turn, can lead to increased productivity, improved employee satisfaction, and enhanced customer experiences.

In addition, a reliable connectivity infrastructure can enable your business to leverage cloud-based tools and applications that streamline workflows, enhance data security, and drive innovation. By embracing hybrid work technology, you can empower your people to work smarter, not harder.

In the next section, we’ll explore some connectivity solutions for hybrid workforce that can help your business overcome the challenges of hybrid working and achieve optimal performance.

Connectivity solutions for hybrid work

To effectively support a hybrid workforce, businesses need to invest in a combination of connectivity solutions that cater to both in-office and remote working needs. Here are some of the most popular options available to ensure seamless communication and collaboration for your hybrid teams:

Full fibre broadband (FTTP)

Full fibre broadband, also known as Fibre to the Premises (FTTP), is the gold standard for business broadband for remote workers. With fibre optic cables carrying data all the way from the exchange to the home or office, it offers lightning-fast speeds, low-latency, and exceptional reliability, making it ideal for bandwidth-intensive tasks like video conferencing, cloud computing, and large file transfers. With FTTP, your home working employees can enjoy the same seamless experience as their in-office colleagues, ensuring maximum productivity and minimal downtime.

To check whether full fibre broadband is available at your office or your employees’ addresses, simply enter your (or their) postcode here.

Part-fibre broadband (SOGEA)

Single Order Generic Ethernet Access (SOGEA) is a business broadband solution that combines fibre optic cables with existing copper infrastructure to deliver reliable hybrid office internet to homes and offices not yet able to access full fibre broadband. While not as fast as FTTP, SOGEA still offers significantly higher speeds than traditional ADSL broadband connections, making it a viable option for small to medium-sized businesses with moderate bandwidth requirements, or remote workers accessing their work files from home.

You can check for SOGEA availability by entering your postcode here.

Ethernet leased lines / Direct Internet Access (DIA)

For businesses with high bandwidth demands and mission-critical applications, Ethernet leased lines, also sometimes known as Direct Internet Access (DIA), provide a dedicated, uncontended connection with guaranteed speeds and symmetrical upload and download capabilities (the same speed in both directions: different to the asymmetrical bandwidth of most broadband connections). This makes them ideal for hybrid office internet setups where multiple users need to access cloud-based services, transfer large files, or participate in video conferences simultaneously.

To find out more about leased lines from Zen, visit our site.

SD-WAN

Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) is a hybrid work technology that allows businesses to intelligently manage their network traffic across multiple locations. By prioritising critical applications and optimising bandwidth usage, SD-WAN can ensure a seamless user experience for both in-office and remote workers, regardless of their location or device. This is particularly beneficial for businesses with multiple locations or remote workers.

You can read more about Zen’s SD-WAN services and discover whether SD-WAN is for you here.

4G backup

While primary internet connections are generally reliable, having a backup solution in place is essential to ensure business continuity in case of unexpected outages. 4G backup provides an automatic failover to a mobile network in the event of an outage, ensuring employees stay connected and productive. This is particularly crucial for businesses that rely heavily on online operations or have employees working from home who need to maintain constant access to critical systems and data.

4G backup is available as an optional add-on for both our full fibre and SOGEA business broadband packages.

Hybrid work in action: Connectivity solutions that deliver results

The theoretical benefits of hybrid working are compelling, but how do they translate into real-world success? Let’s explore a few examples of businesses across different industries and locations that have leveraged the power of connectivity to create thriving hybrid work environments.

Real-world example: Zen Internet’s seamless transition to hybrid work

Who better to talk about than ourselves! As a leading UK internet, cloud, security and communications service provider, Zen experienced firsthand the transformative power of hybrid working during the COVID-19 pandemic. With a workforce of more than 550 employees, we quickly transitioned to a remote work model by leveraging our own cloud-based phone system, CloudComms. In addition, many of our employees use Zen broadband connections for fast, reliable business connectivity. This combination of high-performance connectivity and communications technology allowed employees to seamlessly connect and collaborate from home, ensuring uninterrupted service for Zen’s customers.

To learn more about how Zen successfully embraced hybrid work, you can watch the video case study on our site here.

Other hypothetical examples

Scenario 1: A small design agency in London

A boutique design agency in London embraced hybrid working solutions to attract top talent and foster a more flexible work culture. To ensure seamless collaboration and productivity, they opted for a part-fibre broadband SOGEA connection from Zen, which provided sufficient bandwidth for their design software and video conferencing needs at an affordable price. Additionally, they implemented a 4G backup solution to guarantee uninterrupted connectivity in case of any outages, ensuring that designers could continue working from home without missing deadlines.

Scenario 2: A manufacturing company in Manchester

A manufacturing company in Manchester with multiple sites and a large remote working workforce faced the challenge of maintaining efficient communication and data sharing across different locations. They opted for an SD-WAN solution to optimise their network performance and prioritise critical applications like CAD software and ERP systems. This allowed engineers and technicians to collaborate effectively, regardless of whether they were on the factory floor or working from home, resulting in improved productivity and faster decision-making.

Scenario 3: A healthcare provider in Bristol

A healthcare provider in Bristol with a distributed network of clinics and a growing number of remote consultations needed a reliable and secure connectivity solution. They chose of a combination of full fibre broadband (FTTP) for their main clinic and leased lines for their remote locations, ensuring high-speed, stable connections for patient data transfer and video conferencing. This allowed them to provide seamless care to patients, regardless of their location, while maintaining strict data security and confidentiality standards.

Each of these examples demonstrate how the right connectivity solutions can empower businesses to successfully navigate the complexities of hybrid working and achieve their goals. By investing in the appropriate technology, organisations can create a more flexible, productive and engaged workforce, regardless of where their employees choose to work.

Ready to equip your hybrid workforce with reliable connectivity?

A robust and reliable internet connection is a must for businesses embracing hybrid working. Don’t let poor connections hinder your team’s productivity and collaboration.

At Zen, we understand the unique challenges and opportunities that come with hybrid work. We’ve implemented it ourselves and are enjoying the benefits. Our comprehensive range of business internet solutions, tailored for both home working and in-office environments, can empower your hybrid workforce to thrive.

Whether you’re a small business looking for an affordable yet reliable SOGEA or full fibre connection, or a large enterprise in need of a dedicated leased line, we have a perfect solution to meet your specific needs.

Explore our range of connectivity solutions for hybrid workforces today and discover how Zen can help you unlock the full potential of your hybrid teams.