Network demands have increased in recent years and as we rely so heavily on IT to underpin our business, connectivity is massively important. Often we’ll see organisations having just a single connection into an important site and because of the importance of IT, should that connection fail, it means that the organisation simply ceases to operate effectively. One way of dealing with this is to consider cellular connectivity.

So it’s clear that keeping network infrastructure up-to-date is a top priority. But with the business world demands changing faster than ever, what represents a ‘good’ modern network for an organisation?

How connectivity and cellular networks have evolved

Firstly, it’s important to understand just how mobile networking has changed over the decades. The 3G and 4G networks which were state-of-the-art as recently as the 1990s, are now in the process of being phased out and switched off by the UK’s major operators. The frequencies freed up by this phasing-out are being repurposed for 5G, which is much faster, more capable and energy-efficient, and is a real game-changer in enabling connectivity and productivity anywhere.

While 5G in particular is full of opportunity for organisations to transform the way they work, and the quality of the services they deliver their customers, there are some tricky hurdles to navigate along the way. These include (and are not necessarily limited to):

Network management

Greater demand for connectivity brings greater complexity in managing that demand. This can be especially taxing for IT and network teams to oversee manually, and automation is becoming essential to help them stay on top of everything quickly, cheaply and without errors creeping in.

Security

Cybercrime is rising in scale and sophistication all the time, and the scale of modern network and the designs that we need to deploy today to bring users closer to cloud and as-a-service software extends potential attack surface. Extending robust security through a network, including cellular connectivity, is vital.

Data management

With so much data around, and with it needing to be accessed by a range of devices anywhere and at any time, it can be difficult to strike the right balance between accessibility and security.

Keeping pace with change

Because IT is so prolific now in everything that we do, resilience and redundancy are important to ensure that the organisation remains connected at all times and cellular connectivity can help underpin this.

SCC’s impact on advancing cellular networking

Taking full advantage of the potential of modern cellular technology is critical for business success. This means being proactive in exploring the cellular landscape to find the right ways to harness the technology, so that you can empower employees and customers alike with faster, more efficient and more reliable services.

This isn’t necessarily a simple undertaking, and it’s one that many businesses don’t have the resources or skill-sets to handle in-house. And that’s where the experience, expertise and solutions of SCC comes in. Every day, we work with organisations big and small, across both the public and private sectors, helping them meet regulatory standards, reduce turnover and unlock revenue through better cellular connectivity, whether this be improving in-building connectivity, provide wide area network connections via cellular connectivity or using it when mobile.

Unlock your network potential

To understand where you should invest in cellular connectivity and networking, it’s vital to work out your current position first, so that you know where to focus your efforts for the best possible return. At a time when IT budgets are under renewed pressure, this is the best way to ensure that any investment is spent wisely.

It’s for this reason that all of our cellular connectivity deployments and partnerships start with a comprehensive network assessment. This assessment may uncover that a full network overhaul is required; alternatively, it may reveal that evolution is a better option than revolution and suggest specific areas for attention and investment. By completing the assessment, you stand a better chance of maximising your cellular networking capability, easing network management for the IT team, and delivering modern, efficient services for both your workforce and your customers.