The pandemic has changed business for good. Covid lockdowns may (we hope) be over, but business will never go back to exactly the way it was before.

That’s because the lockdowns of the last 18 months or so have proved we can do things differently. Many of us worked from home, and managed. Businesses connected to more cloud services to facilitate a ‘work anywhere’ philosophy. They relied more than ever on e-commerce and cashless payments.

At the heart of the pandemic response was digital transformation. The kind of transformation that might otherwise have taken years to complete happened in months during lockdown. The result is that small businesses rely on their online services far more in 2021 than they did in 2019.

Connectivity is key

In this new era, reliable connectivity has become even more of a business necessity. If your data slows to a crawl during peak periods of the day, you can lose sales or paralyse core operations. If your connection drops out, your business effectively drops out with it, for however long it takes to get back online.

The digital transformation that was accelerated by Covid is unlikely to slow down. Supporting remote or semi-remote (hybrid) workers with appropriate cloud services is an ongoing priority. Even the most cautious consumers have got used to online ordering and cashless payments.

In addition, the ISDN switch-off in 2025 means that all businesses will have to switch to IP-telephony in the next three or four years, further highlighting the importance of reliable connectivity.

The case for DIA

Modern businesses have to strike a careful balance. You need high-performing connectivity that you can rely on absolutely as you drive digital change. At the same time, cost is clearly an issue in these straitened times.

Direct Internet Access (DIA) gives you that balance. Also known as Leased Lines, this is direct access internet designed specifically for the needs of business. It’s the perfect mix of speed and resilience and, considering what it gives you, it’s also a cost-effective connectivity solution.

The great benefit of DIA over standard broadband is direct access. A leased line gives you exclusive, uncontended bandwidth for your connection. You don’t share bandwidth with anyone else, so it won’t slow to a crawl during peak times of the day. Also, upload and download speeds are equally quick, making DIA perfect for simultaneous applications like SIP, video conferencing and real-time business services. Combined, the speed and reliability of DIA make it perfect for cloud services and private networks.

DIA is also more reliable, and - with TalkTalk Business - comes backed with a business-grade SLA that means we’ll fix any issue within hours, or you’ll start getting money back.

Quite simply, DIA is built for business in a new digital era. It gives you great speed, superior bandwidth and the confidence to experiment with new digital tools and new ways of doing business.

Our Dedicated Leased Line offering is an end-to-end fibre line that gives flexible speeds of up to 10Gb/s. Fibre all the way means Dedicated Leased Lines are especially robust, and easy scalability means opting for this solution will future proof your business for almost any eventuality.  

DIA from TalkTalk Business

If you struggle with speeds or feel that your current connectivity might hold you back, now is definitely the time to upgrade. And if you do decide to take the plunge, TalkTalk Business has got your back. We’ve been supporting UK businesses for over 20 years, with award-winning support and real dedication. We have an 'Excellent' Trustpilot score of 4.7 (out of 5), and a philosophy that’s all about being easy to deal with.

If you need to contact us, you’ll deal with a 24/7 365 UK-based support team, and we’ll aim to solve your problem in a single call. You won’t need to call us often. Our network has 99.995% reliability and coped easily with the extra demands generated by the pandemic. Reliability is further enhanced by our free best-ever Wi-fi hub, designed to maximise speeds.

It’s time to think about better, more reliable internet, and DIA from TalkTalk Business offers a perfect balance of high speeds and unmatched resiliency. It’s a big step up from standard broadband, giving you the confidence to drive your own digital transformation and future proof your operations.