S3 Blog

An ISP or Internet service provider is the name that is given to a company that gives its customers access to the Internet. Some of the ISPs will also offer e-mail accounts as standard as part of their pricing plan and some may offer other services such as data storage. Choosing an ISP for your business can be quite tricky, obviously businesses want to have the best deal from their Internet service provider which is both cost-effective yet gives the business the Internet access they require.

One good way of choosing an ISP business is to take a look at some of the ISPs that are around on the Internet. BT offers a very good packages for business which can include broadband Internet connections and phone lines for one very reasonable price. In addition to this businesses can also have support from business broadband experts at any time of the day night - something which a business may need if they run into difficulties online which need to be sorted out immediately. BT also offers business e-mailing, a data backup service web hosting and even VoIP so that making and taking calls from all over the world is a breeze. You might even want to take advantage of the web hosted conference calls and video options that BT offer its business customers.

Smaller businesses who are wanting to choose an Internet service provider should look towards a provider such as PlusNet who are an excellent ISP for small to medium-sized businesses. Many of the packages which this provider offers are tailored towards a smaller business, which is perfect if you only have a handful of employees yet still want your business to be connected to the Internet and to have all the advantages and features that are larger business would have online.

It may be a wise idea to note down what your business needs are when you are looking to choose an ISP to your business. Doing this will enable you to see which of the ISP providers are unable to best meet the needs of your business. There is nothing worse than choosing an Internet service provider and then a month or so down the line of realising that they are not providing exactly what your business needs for its Internet connection.

When you have chosen your ISP for your business you to get in contact with them and arrange to set up an account with them. By speaking to one of the online advisers you might even be able to arrange for a package which will meet your needs exactly which is a mixture of two or more different plans. Internet service providers want to go the extra mile so you may find that speaking to provider directly is more beneficial than just using the information that is contained on their website. So choose your Internet service provider and start to make the most of using the Internet to your business and branch out into new markets.

Email is one of the most well used and recognisable forms of communication today, it is fast, efficient and when using many online email accounts – free. Add to this the fact that using an online email account means that you can access your own personal email account from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection and it is easy to see why so many people have them.

Many small businesses find that using online email accounts is a better option for them as it saves a great deal of money rather than having to pay for a dedicated in-house email solution. As with any type of service there are advantages and disadvantages to using online email accounts:-

Advantages
Accessibility – as you are able to access your own personal email account from anywhere in the world you are able to stay in touch with the office and friends where ever you are. This means that you do not have to take your own laptop with you on business trips so you can log into the network just to read your emails.

Cheap – many of the online email accounts are free, or very cheap to use.
Features – many of the online email accounts today offer advanced features such as unlimited storage (something which many users of email accounts such as Outlook will tell you is a massive bonus), virus protection, spam protection, unique graphics and fonts.

Extra capabilities – many online email account providers are also offering free instant messaging or software alongside their main product to encourage users to sign up.

Disadvantages

Privacy – as you are not contributing to the running costs of your online email account the owner must make up revenue somehow. This can be through ads on the site or through selling information – primarily yours. Read the small print of the terms of use to make sure that your provider will not sell things such as your name, email address, contents of your address book and so on.

Security – sending passwords and usernames in plain text means that they pose a security risk. Check to see that your provider has SSL encryption as this will protect your sensitive login information.

Reliability – if you rely heavily on your email account you need to make sure that it is always up and running. If you use an online email account you could find that unplanned maintenance disrupts our routine. Or do you know what would happen if the provider closed down their email facility – how would you retrieve your messages?

Online email accounts are very useful and can provide you with a reliable and secure method of accessing your emails from any PC anywhere in the world (with an internet connection). However if you need to have access to your emails and do not want to run the risk of the provider’s maintenance plans or security throwing a spanner in the works you could be better off paying for your email account.