The majority of businesses in the country today use the computer for the bulk of what they do. There are those companies that do not do anything that is not controlled and maintained directly from the computer. Those companies need to make sure that they are using their computers and their internet access in the most efficient way, including the right speeds that can handle the tasks that need to be done even during high traffic periods of the day. The best way to make sure that you are really getting the internet speed that you are actually paying for is to perform an internet speed test, a simple method of keeping your company on track.

The biggest concern for most computer users is the speed of downloads and uploads. What is the difference between the two? In general terms, there is no difference between an upload or a download speed; the only difference is the direction. An upload is what you are sending; a download is what you are receiving. It is that simple. In the old service days, especially for the really slow dial-up modems, the speed for both uploads and downloads was the same, referred to as a symmetric system; however, this is rarely used any longer. Cable and ADSL internet access allows for faster download times but the upload speeds remain slower. When you rely on sending many things to the internet, such as continually updating web pages or eCatalogs, this might be a major problem.

It is simple to find out what your internet speed. There are several sites that perform these tests for free. It is important to use a neutral site to do these tests because the provider will not want you to know that your internet connection speed is not actually as fast as what you are paying for. After performing the internet speed test, you should look at what your internet provider contract says for general speeds and discuss the findings with your managed services provider. If you are seeing a number that is greatly reduced from what you were told you would see by the provider, you should consider whether there are reasons that your speed would be affected or whether your provider overstated their capabilities. There are several factors that can affect your speed even during the speed test, including other downloads or programs that are running at the same time. If you are truly unhappy with the speed that you see with the test, run it again when there are fewer people accessing the internet and see if the speed has changed from what you saw with the original test.

There are several ways to connect to the internet, each with different levels of upload/download speed. After determining what your company needs, you can discuss these needs and pricing with a managed services provider that can help you find the best provider at the best price.