By this stage we’ve all heard about the many benefits associated with broadband, but as yet, few of us have been lucky enough to experience the technology in action for ourselves.
If the experts are to be believed, high-speed Internet access is likely to change the way we conduct business in the future. Not only will broadband allow companies to improve productivity and cut costs, but it can also enable firms to become much more competitive.
Operators are finally beginning to roll-out high-speed services around the country and as this process escalates more and more small firms are likely to sign up for them. But just what sort of a difference does having a broadband connection make to a small business? Is it as good as everyone says, or is it yet another hyped service that’s going to fail to take-off?
Broadband in Tipperary
One of those lucky enough to already have a high-speed broadband connection at work is Alan Carew of Michael’s Jewellers in Thurles, Co. Tipperary. Michael’s Jewellers is a family-run business which was first established some twenty years ago. Since then, it has built up a steady clientele and a great reputation. Now, the firm is hoping to go even further in the business world thanks to the introduction of broadband.
Carew freely admits to being an early adopter of technology. The firm has been computerised since 1987 when Alan first bought a PC so that he could keep track of repairs. Carew was also quick to realise how important the Internet was going to be for companies. He says, ‘I first went online about eight years ago. I had just finished college and entered into the family business when I became interested in how companies were adapting to conducting business online. Ever since, I’ve been a regular Internet user and have found it indispensable as a work tool.’
Carew has tended to use the Internet for a number of different reasons, however, like the vast majority of Net users in Ireland, he previously had little option but to connect to the Net via a dial-up modem. While the firm did briefly consider opting for ISDN when it became available, they decided to hold on for broadband. Once Carew heard that Esat BT were going to make DSL available to companies’ operating in Thurles, he was quick to get in touch with them. The line was installed in November 2002 and according to Carew, it was a straightforward process.
Convenience, not speed
Michael’s Jewellers don’t currently have a website presence, and Carew says that the fast download speeds obtainable from broadband weren’t the main reason for signing up for the service. So what was it that made the firm opt for broadband?
Carew says, ‘the main selling point for us is simply the convenience that the connection gives us. High-speed data transfer isn’t particularly essential to us at present, but being able to go online when we want too, is’.
Carew continues, ‘since we got the connection, life has changed dramatically. The majority of our work is on the floor at the retail end and therefore the main reason we use the connection is to contact wholesalers and for ordering stock. We also use the Internet to check up on our competitors both here and abroad to see what they’re doing and the Net is invaluable in helping us to locate rare parts and old timepieces’.
Perhaps more importantly, Carew says that ditching dial-up in favour of broadband has resulted in some serious cost-savings. ‘We estimate that we’re paying around 40 percent less now compared to what we were previously paying in phone calls,’ he says.
While being initially concerned about the security implications of having an ‘always-on’ connection, Carew has quickly come to realise that providing businesses play safe and take the right security measures, there should be no concerns. He says, ‘when we first got the connection, I was worried about the possible security threats that arise from being online all the time and was reluctant to network our two computers so that they could share the line in case something went wrong. But then I did some research to see what security measures we could take and we set up a firewall to protect us’.
Carew continues, ‘we may if anything, be being overly-paranoid about security but I believe that as broadband becomes more widely available the risks are likely to rise, so we just want to ensure that we are safe’.
Having a broadband connection has already begun to have an impact on Michael’s Jewellers day-to-day operations and Alan Carew is hopeful that once other businesses switch over to broadband that he’ll be able to conduct more business via the Net. ‘Only a handful of suppliers that we deal with have things like webforms on their websites to make it easier to order stock online. This is a pity because its so convenient, but hopefully this will change in the near future’.
While they may not have their own website at present, Michael’s Jewellers is currently looking into the idea of setting one up. For now though, Alan Carew is more than happy with his broadband connection. He says, ‘we’ve found that having a high-speed Internet connection has really encouraged us to go online more often and I have to admit, there’d be bitter, bitter tears if we had to give it up and go back to dial-up!’.
10/06/2003
Ltd
