In a 24/7, cloud-based, mobile-first digital society connectivity is key – and businesses in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire are being given a helping hand towards transforming their connections.
Eligible small and medium businesses in the region can tap into a Government voucher scheme to upgrade their business broadband to a Gigabit-capable connection.
Up to £3,000 is available to support the capital costs of getting new gigabit capable connections – which in some cases can help double connectivity speeds.
As one of the registered suppliers for The Gigabit Voucher Scheme, run by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, leading managed services provider
IFB can help to deliver better connectivity to eligible SMEs across the UK.
Graeme Gordon, CEO of IFB wants to dispel the general misconception that infrastructure isn’t available to help businesses gain improved levels of connectivity.
He says: “We hear comments around there being a connectivity shortage in one place, other places being starved of connectivity or businesses can’t get enough connectivity for what they want to do.
“We recently carried out a desktop survey to relevant business postcodes across the UK and found we could deliver full Gigabit services using a variety of services and technologies, but of course at varying costs.
“If you want to be better and faster in everything that you do – delivering the best service to customers, performing the way your business needs to, then great connectivity is essential – it’s that simple.
“For over 20 years we’ve been helping to get customers connected and keeping them connected. Connectivity needs will continue to grow – it’s vital for SMEs and helps them gain a competitive edge. Every time that your business experiences a disruption to its communication systems, reputational damage occurs, and revenue could be lost.
“Conversely, having reliable and efficient connectivity can lead to a host of benefits – like mobility, flexibility and agility which are hallmarks of successful businesses.”
Eligible SMEs in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, Bradford, City of Calderdale, Chichester, Coventry, Crawley, Horsham, Kirklees, Leeds, Mid Sussex, North Warwickshire, Wakefield, West Sussex and Worthing, can also benefit from the scheme.
It’s part of a £200m programme helping to fund local led projects across the UK to leverage local and commercial investment in full fibre, regarded as a “gold standard” for fast and reliable broadband. The pilot seeks to encourage full fibre infrastructure extension in the UK by increasing demand and reducing the cost to customers.
Benefits of a full fibre gigabit connection include:
- allowing businesses to upload and download massive files in seconds
- enabling widespread use of videoconferencing throughout an organisation
- providing unprecedented reliability whilst greatly enhancing resilience
- future proofing - making sure that businesses have tech in place to deal with ever-increasing demands for internet speed and connectivity
- allowing businesses in remote communities to compete on a technologically-level playing field with those companies based in major cities who may already have full fibre connectivity
For more info on the scheme see http://info.ifb.net/could-you-benefit-from-the-gigabit-voucher-scheme
Graeme Gordon, CEO of IFB is urging businesses to take advantage of a Government support scheme to help improve connectivity.