Don't rely on a single ISP

Has your internet service provider ever failed you? Chances are it has, even if it was just for a short time. At the other extreme are ISPs that go out of existence - the ultimate downtime - showing every user must have a back-up plan.

Even the most technophobic of corporate bosses will tell you email is mission critical these days and how the company website is a Good Thing. But judging by the plans they put in place rather than the talk they talk, most have no real appreciation of just how important their internet connection is.

silicon.com knows this not only anecdotally but because a survey today has shown over half of UK businesses do not consider it necessary to have more than one ISP on their books.

When faced with a lifeless ISP connection, around one-third of UK companies sit and wait for it to jump back to life after it goes down rather than seek alternatives.

Let's state the obvious - it is important to have more than one ISP lined up in case a source fails. This can even be ISDN dial-up lines or a run-of-the-mill ADSL connection (should you be so lucky) but it must be there in the background.

The days of the one-stop shop are over. It is no longer fashionable or cunning to put all one's eggs in one basket. That basket can hit the floor at a moment's notice, severely harming customer relationships and more.

The alternative is accounts with more than one ISP. It's that simple. An industry that still sees massive uncertainty and has given us debacles like KPNQwest and WorldCom shouldn't make putting in place back-up plans a difficult decision.