5 things to ask your landlord about connectivity

We’ve spent the past year adapting our working habits to a (mainly) remote working model. Zoom calls and Google hangouts have become the norm, digital dependence is at an all-time high, and we’ve all developed an acute awareness of the importance of great connectivity.

When it comes to productivity, connectivity is king. With 98% of office workers linking digital connectivity to productivity, what’s clear is that reliable and resilient connectivity is a must have for any business and, by extension, any building.

But, how do you know you’ll be going back to a building ready to cater for your connectivity needs, and support new working habits? Will your building be able to cope with the new hybrid way of working (ie: employees operating both in the office and at home), and does it have the infrastructure to support a disparate workforce?

Here are the five key questions you need to ask to scope out the connectivity capacity of your office building:

Is there a fiber connection?

Fibre broadband provides the fastest and most reliable connection with the lowest rate of lagging and outages. However, not every building has one. Assuming yours does, ask who the internet service providers are (you should have a choice of at least two).

Is the entire building connected?

Once you’ve established that your building has a fiber connection, check whether it’s available on every floor (especially yours, of course). Otherwise, you’ll have to spend time and money getting a connection to that location.

How resilient is the connection?

When it comes to business, a slow and unreliable connection can be crippling. Companies need a resilient connectivity infrastructure to ensure continuity of trade and to keep their workforce operating productively.

Fully resilient connectivity requires at least two points of entry for fiber, and the option of an alternative internet service provider as a back-up (in case yours goes down).

Is mobile coverage reliable and consistent?

It’s not just your internet connection you need to think about. Poor mobile service can affect your business and communications, so it’s worth finding out what the signal is like throughout the office, in the reception area, on the lower floors and even in the elevators.

How well protected are you in an emergency?

No business is 100% secure from cyber security breaches. But an inadequately secured communications infrastructure can make your network more vulnerable and cause significant financial and reputational damage.

Unforeseen events such as power outages, flooding, or damage to the building can also impact an office’s connectivity and result in loss of business. Speak with your landlord to find out how your building’s telecommunications room(s) are protected from threats.

Asking the right questions is a great start but, when it comes to ensuring the best connectivity will be available, there are further important factors to consider:

Moving back to an in-office working model is the perfect opportunity to assess your existing IT capabilities and identify what needs to be improved.
It’s likely that you will want to upgrade some equipment and, if you haven’t already done so, make the switch to new cloud-based systems.
Assessing your business’ needs ahead of the workforce’s return will allow you to establish the digital requirements of any new technologies and troubleshoot any potential issues early on.

Consider how your team will communicate on a day-to-day basis.
Will you need a landline for everyone, or will you mostly rely on mobile? Bear in mind that mobile signals don’t always penetrate well into a building, so find out whether there is any mobile signal enhancement equipment in the building. It’s also a good idea to take a few phones with you (on different networks) and check the signal by making test calls in different areas of the office.

There are a few further questions to consider. How do different people in your office go about their work? Do they mostly sit at a desk, or move around different areas of the office? Do you operate activity-based working, or have a large number of meeting rooms? Will your staff be operating on a flexi-working model, or will everyone be in the office at all times? All of these factors will influence the size and strength of the Wi-Fi system you’ll require.

Think about what your company will look like next year, and the year after.
It’s important that the digital connectivity infrastructure of your office can accommodate your business growth. Maybe you have more staff now, or are more heavily dependent on cloud computing (which requires a lot of data). Whatever new considerations you might have, they will probably have an impact on the capacity requirements you’ll have for your Wi-Fi.

Is your office future proof?
New tech advancements such as 5G and Wi-Fi 6 are here and will quickly become part of everyday working life. So it’s worth making sure that your building has factored in these developments, or is prepared to invest.

Beyond asking and considering the above, if you’re looking for a fast and reliable way to see if your building has the connectivity capacity you need to thrive as a business, look to see if the building has achieved WiredScore certification.

If a landlord’s building meets our strict criteria for fast, reliable and secure connectivity, they are awarded one of our four WiredScore certification levels that reflect true digital excellence. WiredScore certified buildings allow businesses to be more productive by ensuring their office spaces deliver fast, resilient and future-proofed digital infrastructure.

WiredScore certification serves as an invaluable tool for companies, providing transparency and reassurance that an office has the infrastructure in place to meet the digital demands of modern business.