2020 was a year where connectivity mattered more than ever. As millions of us worked from home or spent time away from loved ones, the networks on which we depend took centre stage. Microsoft Teams saw usage jump by 50% by October, and Linx, the London Internet Exchange, says traffic on its main platform went up by 40% in the pandemic year. At Colt, we saw a 60% increase in the internet traffic on the Colt IQ Network.
In our latest brand research, we wanted to find whether those who relied on connectivity did so through necessity, or whether they were delivered a good service throughout.
The survey covered around 1,200 IT decision-makers in high revenue companies in the US, Europe and Asia and asked them how they would rate their current network provider during the pandemic, in several key areas. These decision-makers covered a mix of Colt customers and those who work with our peers. We found that, as an industry, we have much to be proud of – and Colt is leading the way.
When it came to reliability, 90% of respondents rated their provider as good or excellent. For Colt customers, this was even higher at 93%. With many of us still working remotely and mission critical application tools hosted in the cloud, networks are critical to our work and home lives. Scoring highly is a great testament to the work from our global network and engineering teams.
A vital part of Colt’s strategy is customer experience and we know we’re part of an industry with a poor reputation. So it was encouraging to see that 85% rated their provider good or excellent, with Colt customers scoring us higher again at 93%.
We also asked how they would rate their provider when it came to security, a critical aspect given the growth in attacks over the last 12 months and the challenge of managing remote workers. 90% said their provider was good or excellent, rising to 92% for Colt customers in the group.
These results are a chink of light from a tough year but we know there’s much more to do. Our customers judge us on what we do for them today and how we can help them with the challenges of tomorrow, so we’re constantly moving forward to deliver an even better experience.
Robin Farnan, Executive Vice President Operations and Engineering, Colt Technology Services
Footnote:
Survey asked ‘What overall rating would you give to your current external network connectivity and telecommunication provider during COVID-19,’ and asked for ratings on reliability, security, network reach, tech leader, customer service, on-demand capabilities and price. The survey was carried out by Brunswick Insight in November/December 2020.
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