Top 5 Upgrades to Speed up Your Network

​​Things happen a lot faster in a small business than they do in the corporate world. This is why, it is critical for small business owners to ensure their technology is up to date. Here are 5 upgrades you should consider including in your IT budget to help you get things done faster:

1. Get a faster Internet connection
   Surprisingly, many businesses which completely rely on internet connectivity still settle for slow internet speeds. It may not seem obvious at first; however, speeding up your internet connection will speed your business activities, such as file downloads and webpage loading. You might even consider signing up for a second internet line with another provider just so you can balance your internet access between the two. This will speed things up and provide a safety net in case one provider’s network fails.
2. Upgrade to Gigabit networking
   Upgrading your network speed to Gigabit Ethernet will give you a 10-fold increase in network throughput. GbE used to be expensive; however, there are today affordable gigabit network switches. In addition GbE works over CAT 5E cabling that is widely deployed, and it is typically built into most desktops and laptops.
3. Upgrade hard drives to SSD
   If you are not yet ready for a company-wide system upgrade, you can still stretch the lifespan of your desktops/laptops by upgrading the hard disk drive (HDD) to a solid state drive (SSD). An SSD can read and write data at a higher speed, which allows users to boot up their systems and launch applications faster. SSDs are affordable; even a lower-end model will deliver a significant system boost.
4. Switch to 802.11n wireless
   If your office runs on an 802.11b or 802.11g Wi-Fi network, this would be a good time to deploy the 802.11n wireless. This comes with a faster wireless speed that makes for a better experience and can support more wireless devices. Note that GbE is necessary to support 300 Mbps 802.11n Wi-Fi access points.
5. Upgrade computer RAM
   More RAM never hurts, and this is bolstered by the sheer affordability of RAM. While modern computers with 4GB or more of RAM generally have adequate memory for nearly all user demands, increasing your RAM allows you to reduce virtual memory or even turn it off. This makes for a much faster computing experience.