What Monsoons Might Have To Do With Your Start-up’s Productivity?
Some might assume that the 21st-century urban entrepreneur is free from the vagaries of nature. Some might assume that, apart from the agro-industry, no one really needs to care about the eccentricities of the weather and least of all Internet start-ups. They would be categorically wrong.
Monsoons have a surprisingly strong and unquestionably harmful impact on start-ups’ productivity.
Rain, rain, go away
Quite simply, the monsoon rains and storms damage the rather vulnerable infrastructure that is used to maintain the Internet connections.
Without an Internet connection or at least a reliable one, start-ups struggle to keep up their operations. Most transactions and data keeping and updating are online. These vital operations become difficult without the Internet.
How important is the Internet to Indian start-ups?
Start-up companies in India are increasingly being based on the Internet.
Popular examples include PepperTap, CommonFloor, and UrbanLadder. In fact, even if the core of their work doesn’t relate to the Internet, they at the very least heavily rely on the Internet for most of their operations.
Without the Internet, it is very hard to imagine that India would have such a budding and lively start-up culture.
Are there any solutions?
Well, theoretically, yes. Practically? Not so much.
Most start-ups use either underground fiber networks or overhead cables. These structures are quite vulnerable to damage due to the rain and monsoons. In fact, even the lightest of stormy weather could cause power cuts in some areas.
And because of these power cuts, the transmitters that relay Internet signals don’t work. The solution would be to invest in a leased line Internet connection.
What is a leased line connection?
Well, to avoid going into recondite engineering definitions, suffice it to say that a leased line is much more resilient to monsoon weather.
With a leased line, the bandwidth that the client has asked for is reserved solely for the client’s use. That is, the connection is dedicated. Moreover, the hardware design is such that it just isn’t harmed by rain or storms.
Then what’s the problem?
The problem is, that leased line connections cost too much money. At least, from the point of view of start-ups.
By definition, start-ups function on initially low reserves of capital money. They don’t have a lot to invest.
And leased line connections can cost up to and more than ten times the amount they are paying for with the other connections, depending on the speed and reliability they desire. These costs can understandably be prohibitive to the start-up founders.
The Money Problem
For start-ups, lack starting capital and need to invest in the latest technology present a daunting conflict. Many start-ups fail because of lack of investment, and/or poor technological infrastructure. Examples include Shubhamilana.com, SASLAB Technologies, HashTag – to name a few.
Is The Grass Greener On The Other Side?
Unfortunately, the urban, hopeful Indian entrepreneur isn’t the only one hit by the rains. Another important victim is the rural, hard-working farmer.
The unpredictability of the weather combined with a lack of information about sustainable modern farming methods causes untold misery to farmers who depend on the rains for their daily bread.Other URLs:
http://scroll.in/article/733519/startups-in-bengaluru-have-another-nightmare-monsoon-rains
http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/why-startups-fail/http://www.hso.co.uk/leased-lines/leased-line/what-is-a-leased-line-an-expert-explainshttp://monsoon.yale.edu/monsoon-affects-economy-health-in-india/LSI Keywords: agro-industry, technological infrastructure, modern farming methods, latest technology, unpredictability of the weather
