What Is Backup Internet for Business?

This article provides a comprehensive understanding of what backup business internet is. We’ll explore how it works, the different configurations of backup internet that are available, the advantages and disadvantages of backup internet service, the industries that benefit from it the most, key considerations to make, and potential add-ons.

Business internet backup is a service aimed at ensuring your company’s connectivity in the event that your primary internet connection fails (goes down). It is your company’s backup plan for maintaining an internet connection.

In the event of such an outage, the internet router will redirect internet traffic to an alternate, or backup, internet connection. Essentially, your backup internet plan acts as a critical safety net by working to keep your business online and protect productivity even during unexpected network downtimes.

If your business relies on cloud services, e-commerce capability, or online collaboration, any disruption in internet connectivity can have impactful consequences. Here are some reasons for every business to consider putting a backup internet plan in place:

For a business, the risk of financial losses from internet downtime is real. Implementing a backup internet service helps protect operations and productivity, minimizing downtime and its associated costs.

Customers and clients likely expect your business applications and/or devices supporting your business to be available and responsive at all times. A backup internet plan improves your chances of that, fostering a greater degree of trust and satisfaction among those who count on you.

In many industries, data security is crucial. Keeping your network up-and-running, receiving time-critical updates, is a key aspect of safeguarding your data.

Internet backup enables your employees to continue working without interruptions - maintaining productivity levels, meeting deadlines, and collaborating with each other from various work locations, even during a connectivity failure.

Backup internet can help your business manage service disruptions, allowing for a transition to secondary internet and providing you and your employees with access to internet-hosted applications.

While backup internet is beneficial for businesses across sectors, certain industries rely on constant connectivity more than others. Here’s a look at which industries stand to gain the most from implementing a backup internet solution:

1. Retail and E-Commerce: Retailers and e-commerce platforms depend on the ability to handle online transactions and manage inventory in real time. Backup internet service minimizes disruptions in these crucial processes.
   
2. Finance and Banking: Financial transactions are time-sensitive, and any delay can result in lost revenue and damage to customer satisfaction levels. Backup internet helps banks and other financial institutions maintain the most up-to-date information available.  
   
3. Manufacturing: In the manufacturing industry, where automation and data-driven processes are prevalent, backup internet is an important precaution to take to try and steer clear of disruptions in supply chain management.
   
4. Healthcare: In the healthcare sector, where timely communication and access to patient records are critical, backup business internet works to protect connectivity, contributing to efficient patient care in real time.
   

The term ’business continuity’ refers to a company’s ability to remain functional during and after a connectivity disruption. That’s exactly what backup internet aims to achieve. Here’s how:  
 

1. Backup connectivity: When a primary internet connection fails, the internet transitions to a secondary business internet connection, minimizing disruptions in connectivity and online operations.
   
2. Support for critical functions: Mission-critical tasks, such as e-commerce systems, communication platforms and cloud services, can benefit from having a backup internet connection ready to kick in in case the primary connection fails.
   
3. Network monitoring and failure detection: Backup internet systems are designed to detect connection failures rapidly and respond automatically. This quick response minimizes internet downtime and keeps the impact of connectivity outages to a minimum.
   

Backup internet failover uses a variety of techniques to safeguard connectivity in the face of an outage. At its most basic, the service detects a connection failure and then automatically switches to an alternate connection. Here's a step-by-step breakdown of how backup internet works:
 

1. It monitors the primary connection: Backup internet systems continuously monitor the primary internet connection for signs of potential instability or failure. Examples of factors that a backup internet system might monitor are latency, packet loss, and complete loss of connectivity.  
   
2. It detects connection failure: When the backup system detects a failure in the primary business internet connection, it triggers the backup, or failover, process. This can be a result of physical issues, such as cable damage, or issues with the internet service provider (ISP).
   
3. It switches to a secondary internet connection: Once a failure is detected, the backup system redirects internet traffic to a secondary connection. This can be a backup wired-in connection, a cellular network, or another form of connectivity. 
   
4. It monitors the secondary connection: While a business internet backup is active, the system continues to monitor the secondary connection. Once the primary connection is restored, it again becomes the default for connectivity to optimize performance.
   

There are multiple types of internet backup solutions, and each carries its own strengths and vulnerabilities. The most common kinds of business internet backup services are Hot Failover, Warm Failover, and Cold Failover.

Hot failover, also known as active-standby failover, involves maintaining a secondary business internet connection that runs actively alongside the primary internet connection. The secondary connection is continuously updated in real time for the purpose of being ready to take over instantly if the primary connection fails. This approach provides the fastest response in the event of a business internet failover but can be more expensive due to the need to establish and maintain two internet connections at the same time.

Warm failover offers a middle ground between hot and cold failover. In this setup, the secondary business internet connection is operational but does not actively process transactions or data in real time. If the primary internet connection goes down, there will be a brief lapse in connectivity while the secondary connection synchronizes data and configurations before taking over. Warm failover attempts to create a balance between speed and cost-effectiveness.

Cold failover, also known as passive failover, involves maintaining a secondary internet connection that is not actively up-and-running. If the primary connection fails, the secondary connection needs time to become active and operational. It goes from an offline signal to data synchronization and configuration setup. Although cold failover involves a longer period of internet downtime during a failover, it’s a more cost-effective option.

The terms internet backup and internet redundancy are sometimes used interchangeably, but they refer to different parts of the backup internet process. Internet backup is about the automatic move to an alternate internet connection when the primary connection fails. It’s a reactive measure designed to minimize internet downtime and support your company’s productivity.  

Internet redundancy is a crisis management strategy centered around having multiple internet connections ready at all times. Redundancy is not triggered by a connectivity failure but is instead a continuous state of having backup connections available to distribute the load or provide backup service if one business internet connection becomes unstable.

Internet redundancy is the plan for handling connectivity disruptions, and internet failover is the action that will be taken to manage such disruptions.

As a business owner, you have a choice between wired and wireless internet backup options. You’ll want to make this choice based on the nature of your business, your budget constraints, and your system requirements. Here's a look at what each type of setup has to offer:

In the same way that you can have a wired-in primary business internet connection, you can have a wired-in backup internet connection.  

Pros:

• Generally, more reliable with more consistent performance
  
• Higher bandwidth options are often available
  
• Suitable for businesses with fixed locations and infrastructure

Cons:

• Vulnerable to physical damage, such as cable damage or infrastructure issues
  
• Installation and maintenance costs can be higher
  

You can go cord-free with an internet backup plan as well, if it’s what will work for your business.

Pros:

• Provides flexibility and mobility, ideal for businesses with dynamic or temporary setups.
  
• Resilient to possible problems with physical infrastructure, apart from potential issues with the cellular networks that it relies on.

Cons:

• Bandwidth may be limited, compared to wired-in options.
  
• Performance can be affected by cell signal strength and interference.
  

The needs of your business should dictate whether you choose a wired or wireless business internet backup plan. If having the highest possible chance of connectivity at all times is your top priority, you might opt for a combination of both types of backup services.

Another way to enhance your backup internet system is to integrate a Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN). Here's how SD-WAN enhances internet backup:

1. It offers intelligent routing: SD-WAN can dynamically re-route traffic to your strongest available business internet connection, based on real-time analysis of network conditions. This intelligence helps protect connectivity for the sake of keeping mission-critical tasks feasible.
   
2. It prioritizes key tasks: SD-WAN allows businesses to prioritize applications, ensuring that essential job functions and productivity tools get preferential treatment during internet backup.
   
3. It centralizes management functions: SD-WAN enables businesses to configure and monitor failover policies from a single, centralized interface. This simplifies management of the multiple networks involved in a backup internet plan.
   
4. It helps control costs: SD-WAN can help intelligently utilize multiple internet connections, choosing the most cost-effective option based on real-time conditions.

If you seek greater control and flexibility over how your network resources are managed, consider integrating SD-WAN with internet backup.