Over the last 3 decades, the internet has transformed from a networking experiment to the backbone of all business operations. Even if your company doesn’t build hardware or software, it’s impossible to succeed in any industry unless you have solid infrastructure and technology backing your systems.
Employees need to be able to access internal resources around the clock, which means your network equipment must be ready to handle high loads of activity at all times. This becomes a tricky endeavor for companies that have offices spread around the world. Maintaining multiple networks is hard to do and any sort of outage can turn into a full-scale disaster very quickly.
A growing trend in the business world is the adoption of 4G solutions as a network backup system. Many cellular networks are just as fast, if not faster, than a typical WiFi connection, which makes it a compelling option for business leaders.
Primary benefits
Gone are the days when you had to carefully study a coverage map to determine whether a cellular carrier would be able to support your voice and data needs. Currently, 98 percent of Americans have access to 4G networks from their home or office. A signal may be hard to find in some more remote areas, but by and large companies can trust that their sites will be covered, especially if they are located near urban areas.
The cloud computing movement is all about allowing companies to only pay for the actual resources that they need to run their business on a monthly basis. This same approach translates to 4G failover solutions. When your normal fiber, copper or cable network is working properly, the 4G equipment will be dormant. It only gets activated in the event that an outage is detected and backup systems are required.
Disaster recovery is a critical planning tool for organizations of all sizes. Investing in a 4G failover solution reduces one common point of vulnerability. In the event of a natural disaster or local network glitch, your systems can move over to the 4G network seamlessly to support normal business operations.
Costs and considerations
As mentioned, the model for 4G failover solutions is to only pay for the usage and data required. Rates are typically set based on bandwidth amounts with a cap set as a monthly limit. Contracts with carriers will dictate what happens if an organization goes above that cap and must pay overage fees.
For businesses that are spread over multiple sites or geographical regions, be aware that many carriers allow you to pool bandwidth. This means you can use a 4G network as a backup in multiple areas and avoid paying overage fees if only a single site goes down.
Security implications
The big advantage for a company to maintain its own local network is the ability to secure it as they see fit. This may involve placing firewalls or intrusion detection devices at different points on the network to defend against cyberattacks and other treats. 4G networks are publicly accessible, but that does not make them automatically less secure than other backup options. In fact, many cellular providers offer VPN options to enforce that all data transmission over the 4G network is fully encrypted at all times.