The internet has become ubiquitous. Access to it has become a requirement for businesses to manage data, accept credit credit cards, manage an online presence, and more.
Internet used to be provided over coaxial cable lines, copper lines, and other methods. Then providers started using ethernet and IP to provide internet services. Now, the next generation of internet connectivity is flowing through fiber optic cables, which can transmit large amounts of data at very high speeds.
Businesses in Iowa can get fiber internet, private fiber, and secure data storage with Heartland Technology Data Center. We’re in the Cedar Valley, close to Waterloo and Cedar Falls.
How Private Fiber Connections Keep Businesses Secure
When businesses use traditional internet service providers (ISPs)—many of which also do residential internet—you’re often sharing bandwidth with other customers in your area. This leads to slow-downs during peak hours and privacy concerns.
Even if you have fiber internet through one of these providers, it’s not the same as a private fiber connection. Businesses without private connections need to invest in making sure data doesn’t leak out, usually by using a virtual private network (VPN), installing and managing a strong firewall, and encrypting data that moves across unsecure connections.
With private fiber, businesses can ensure data privacy and security. Through one fiber connection, the business can have two different pipes—one connected to the internet and one private internal line that connects to your data. The two pipes can’t “see” each other, so data on the private line is never at risk of leaking into the public internet pipeline.
With a private fiber infrastructure, security is built in. If everything is behind a firewall, including data center connection, you don’t have to spend the time, money, and bandwidth on encryption.
A single private fiber line is simple, less convoluted, less complex, and more reliable than many other types of connections. If data is moving slowly or there’s another problem, it’s easier to figure out where the problem is when there are fewer things to diagnose and troubleshoot.
Using Fiber Connections and Data Hosting Together
As a data center that offers private fiber connections, we offer businesses a unique addition to data security and privacy. When you have a fiber connection with HTDC that includes internet access as well as a private VLAN, you have a direct—and completely private—connection to your data in our data center.
Whether you have all your data stored with us, just your backups, or something in between, a private fiber connection to the data center means you don’t have to have your hosting infrastructure on site but you don’t have to juggle the risks of the cloud.
If your business has uninterruptible power, you know you’ll always be able to access your digital assets at the data center. If you don’t have uninterruptible power, battery backups based on generator capabilities can serve a similar purpose.
If your data is hosted at your facility, a power outage there means you can’t access your data. If your assets are hosted in the cloud, you likely access them via an internet connection. If the power is out, so is that internet connection. When business continuity is vital to your business, make sure you have a solution for accessing your digital assets in the event of a power outage or disaster.
If something does happen, a direct connection is a simpler path, which means there are fewer possible points of failure. When it comes to troubleshooting, that makes it faster and easier to identify what might be going wrong and get it fixed as soon as possible.
HTDC’s Approach to Fiber
Our fiber services come with the same human-centered customer focus that our data center and other Heartland Technology offerings were built on. Our customers don’t get sent through a cumbersome automated ticketing system that’s frustrating, especially when there’s a problem. When you pick up the phone and call, we answer. We’re local and we care about our community.
We’re here in the event of a problem, but we’re also focused on building our fiber infrastructure in a way that helps avoid issues in the first place.
Because of our data center background, we’re built with reliability and redundancy in mind. Whenever possible, we use underground fiber connections, as opposed to overhead lines, because they’re less susceptible to down trees and Iowa weather. If an underground line does get cut, we usually have redundant lines for short-term stopgaps and are dedicated to repairing cut lines as quickly as possible.
We also believe in providing the speeds and bandwidth we promise—we don’t oversubscribe the network. If your business buys 100MB of connection, we have those 100MB available on our end. You’re not sharing a connection or splitting bandwidth with your neighbors.
Fiber internet and private fiber lines connected to the data center are a great option for businesses looking for network speed, security, and reliability. And HTDC is a great option if you want all that with a human on the other end.
Think fiber might be right for you? Let’s talk.