Businesses must fully embrace technology to remain relevant and competitive by developing a digital connectivity strategy - with particular emphasis on mobile technology and a reliable internet connection, writes Rob Lister, director of Lister Unified Communications.

With more office-based administration software being hosted in the cloud you can't afford to lose your internet broadband, because if that goes down you could lose your VoIP telephone service at the same time.

Fibre broadband uses the latest fibre-optic technology to provide faster speeds and a more reliable internet service. That means that fibre broadband can make your business run more efficiently and be more profitable. Unlike conventional broadband, that still relies on old copper connections, our fibre service offers 99.9% uptime with a full service level agreement.

The faster internet speeds provided by fibre broadband enable you and your staff to carry out more bandwidth-heavy tasks simultaneously (including sending and receiving large files, images and video) without experiencing slowdowns.

It also opens up your business to world markets, allowing you to instantly communicate with customers across the world using video conferencing and other internet chat systems.

Fibre also allows you to take advantage of hosted applications, such as instant data backups, to reduce equipment, software and licensing costs - so you only pay for the cloud hosted data.

The latest research from the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) reveals that the overall cloud adoption rate in the UK now stands at 88% for SMEs, meaning a great need for faster connectivity.

When you work out the cost and impact on your business of losing your internet connectivity, it doesn't take long to see the advantage of fibre. At Lister we can help with your digital connectivity and create solutions that are working for our clients right now.

For more information on how we can help you, talk to one of our knowledge base experts on 01453 829200 to find the best solution for your business or visit www.lister-communications.co.uk