Most people think bandwidth is all that matters when it comes to their network, but an equally important measure of performance is latency.
What is Latency?
Latency is the time it takes for a packet of data to go from its origination to its destination. Latency is measured in milliseconds. Just 50 milliseconds of latency —less than one-tenth of one second — can result in poor network and application performance.
For business operations that rely on real-time applications and data, a low latency network connection is critical. Replication cycles are nearly instantaneous, information can be accessed and updated without delay, customer experience can be improved and ultimately, more revenue can be generated.
A variety of factors can affect network latency, including the quality of hardware, internet and network connections, the physical distance data must travel and the geographic location of equipment.
Why Does Latency Matter?
Latency can have a serious impact on not just network performance, but your business, too. This is becoming increasingly relevant as companies are much more reliant on services within cloud-based applications and the Internet of Things (IoT) as part of their daily operations.
The importance of latency in today’s digitally driven landscape cannot be overstated. High latency can severely hamper the performance of fundamental business operations, casting a shadow on any digital transformation and innovation efforts. Consider critical applications such as smart sensors in industrial settings or automated manufacturing lines. When these systems experience high latency, the result is inefficiencies, interruptions and reduced product quality.
In essence, latency isn’t just a technical concern; it has profound implications for business sustainability, customer experience and the evolution of next-generation technologies. It is therefore vital for businesses to prioritize addressing latency challenges to remain competitive in their respective marketplace and ensure performance now and in the future.
Investing in a well-architected business fiber connection can address and often mitigate the challenges commonly encountered with older, piecemeal networks or outdated copper infrastructures. By prioritizing modern fiber networking solutions, businesses can significantly enhance their application performance and user experience.
Latency Speed
When measuring latency, less than 50 milliseconds is often considered “good.” A latency speed above this can start to cause noticeable delays in applications and services. For example, a company using a cloud-based CRM system to manage its customer relationships hosts the platform in a data center that is located far from the company’s office. If the company’s connection has high latency, users can experience delays when accessing and saving data. This can impact productivity for the company’s sales team, which can lead to lost sales.
At Everstream, our average network latency is less than 5 milliseconds, approximately 90% less than other providers. Learn more about this and our other differentiators that lead to the Everstream Difference.
Tips on How to Reduce Latency
If you identify high latency as a network connectivity issue that’s holding your business back, no need to fret, as there are steps you can take to reduce latency.
- Schedule certain IT workloads for off-hours to avoid congestion during peak times.
- Opt for wired connectivity over wireless: A direct, wired link assures swifter and more reliable data transfer compared to its wireless counterpart.
- Upgrade your network equipment: Outdated or inadequate network equipment can contribute to high latency. Upgrading your network equipment can help to improve latency and throughput.
If your business operation does not have tolerance for latency or if the applications running on your business network are mission critical, it may be time to talk to your provider about the following:
- Invest in a well-architected business fiber connection: A business fiber connection offers very low latency, making it ideal for businesses that rely on real-time applications and services to run their daily operations.
- Choose a high-capacity fiber connection: A high-capacity fiber connection will improve overall performance and throughput.
- Evaluate Direct Peering options: your provider’s network design may include direct connections to the CDNs your business uses. Direct peering connections bypass the public internet to provide direct access to upstream providers and CDNs.
Bandwidth vs Latency – What’s the Difference?
Bandwidth and latency are the two main levers to network performance. However, they are often confused with one another. As we already know, latency is the time it takes for a packet of data to travel from its point of origin to its destination and is measured in milliseconds. On the other hand, bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred over a network in any given period. It is measured in bits per second (bps), such as megabits per second (Mbps) or gigabits per second (Gbps).
Another way to think about it is that bandwidth is the width of the pipe, while latency is the speed at which water is flowing through the pipe. A wide pipe (high bandwidth) can carry more water, but if the water is flowing slowly (high latency), it will still take time for it to reach its destination.
Both bandwidth and latency are important factors in network performance, but they affect different things. Bandwidth determines the volume of data that can be transmitted over a network in a given time frame, while latency refers to the time it takes for data to travel from its source to its destination.
How High Latency Can Impact Your Business
In a digital-first world, businesses rely on a variety of applications and services to run their operations. Many of these applications and services are real-time, meaning that they require data to be transmitted and received quickly. If your network has high latency, it can cause delays and disruptions to these applications and services, which can have a negative impact on business productivity and profitability.
Real-Time Replication
Real-time replication is a crucial application of low latency networks, enabling seamless data synchronization across geographically distributed systems. Low latency networks minimize data transmission delays, ensuring that updates to a primary data source are reflected in replicas almost instantaneously. This real-time data consistency is essential for various applications, including: is there supposed to be something here?
Additional Examples of how High Latency Can Impact Your Business
- Video Conferencing: High latency can cause video and audio streams to lag, making it difficult to communicate effectively.
- Customer Service: High latency can make it difficult for customer service representatives to access customer information and resolve issues in a timely manner.
- Disrupted Business Continuity: High latency can disrupt business continuity by making it difficult to operate critical applications and systems.
Everstream Propels Business Connectivity in Today’s Demanding Market
Depending on the application, the role a low latency network can play in a business could be critical. In the healthcare field, for example, even a few milliseconds of delay can impact outcomes in a life-or-death situation. Most business situations aren’t this dire, but high latency can cost thousands, if not millions, over time.
Everstream’s average network latency is 5 milliseconds*, 90% less than other providers. we know that business connectivity is imperative in today’s business climate – that’s why we make it our mission to deliver the high-capacity, low-latency business connectivity solutions your business deserves.,
Upgrade to an Enterprise-Grade Fiber Network
Interested in learning more about why upgrading to an enterprise-grade fiber network is right for you? Contact us today.
*Latency is measured in market/in region from customer location to internet gateway or between in market customer locations.