Cloud: why latency often matters more than speed
When everything still ran on a server in the building, the connection to the outside world was a side issue. Now it's the cable your entire business runs through.
What changed
Email, documents, telephony, accounting, often the core applications too: it increasingly no longer runs in the building but somewhere else. The building only provides the route to it.
That shifts where the vulnerability sits. A slow server in the meter cupboard was your problem; a slow connection to the outside world is everyone's problem at once. And if the connection drops, it's not part of the work that stops but all of it. See network redundancy.
Bandwidth and latency
Two terms that are often confused, and that determine very different things.
- Bandwidth. How much data can pass through at once. Determines how fast a large file transfers.
- Latency. How long a signal takes to travel. Determines whether a video call feels natural or lags just a fraction.
- Why that matters. A connection with plenty of bandwidth and high latency feels slow, however impressive the number in the brochure. For video conferencing and interactive applications, latency is decisive.
- And stability. A connection that's fast on average but stutters regularly is worse for the user than one that always performs the same.
This is exactly why the IT-Label measures instead of reads
A connection that's generously specified on paper can disappoint in practice, because of the route, because of equipment along the way, or because you share the capacity with other tenants. That's why the audit assesses connectivity, latency and stability as they actually perform.
What this asks of a building
For cloud use, the route to the outside world matters most: fibre optic with sufficient available capacity, low latency, and a second connection if downtime is unacceptable.
For organisations that rely heavily on the cloud, IT2 PLUG & PLAY is usually at the lower limit, and IT1 HIGH PERFORMANCE or higher is more comfortable, especially once AI applications are added on top.
Is your building ready for cloud use?
The audit measures capacity, latency and stability under actual load.
How the audit worksRelated information
Knowledge base
Background on the components the IT-Label assesses: from fibre optic and WiFi coverage to Smart Building, cybersecurity and the impact of AI on real estate.
Fibre optic in buildings
Why fibre optic forms the basis of the higher IT-Label levels, and why 'up to the building' means something different from 'into your space'.
Network redundancy
Redundancy means there is a second route if the first one fails. Why that's no longer a luxury for many organisations, and how the IT-Label looks at it.
AI and real estate
The rapid growth of AI and data processing is increasing the load on networks. What that means for the digital infrastructure of commercial real estate.