Liquid Web Data latency — the delay before data starts transmitting — has a bigger impact on your business than you may realize. This is especially true for ecommerce, where even brief delays in loading times can cause customers to abandon their carts.
For instance, Amazon attributed every 100 milliseconds of data latency to a 1 percent decrease in sales, which, for them, easily translates to millions of dollars in revenue lost.
Data latency doesn’t just frustrate your customers or disrupt business operations as an everyday annoyance. If you have a digital presence, data latency significantly impacts your bottom line.
In this article, we’ll provide practical and actionable information to help you manage data latency effectively and even develop a competitive advantage.
Table of contents
- What is data latency?
- Why data latency matters
- How to reduce latency
- Monitoring data latency
- Step-by-step: Implementing changes to improve data latency
- Securing your business against data latency
What is data latency?
Data latency is the time it takes for a data packet to travel from its source to its destination. This can become apparent in various ways, such as noticeably slow website loading times or delays in processing payment transactions. These instances tend to frustrate end users and hamper decision-making processes.
Because latency is measured in milliseconds, even small delays can greatly impact the user experience (UX). Thus, latency affects every aspect of a business that relies on data — from simple, day-to-day communications to complex, real-time data processing.
Understanding the different types of latency (propagation, transmission, and processing) is necessary for diagnosing and addressing delays. Each type directly impacts how data transfers across a network, affecting things like email delivery rates and web page load times.
What increases data latency?
Data latency can be exacerbated (or fixed) by many different technical and organizational factors, each significantly impacting business operations, transaction efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Common technical causes include network issues, server performance bottlenecks, and inefficient coding practices. Each of these directly affects how quickly data packets travel from source to destination, resulting in reduced overall system performance and slower response times.
Organizational factors, such as inadequate IT infrastructure planning or insufficient bandwidth allocation, also affect the volume and speed at which data transmits across networks.
Why data latency matters
Data latency significantly impacts cloud-based services, which are integral for SMBs offering cloud storage or SaaS platforms.
Increased latency affects real-time data processing, resulting in slower access times. This delay deters users and reduces digital trust, leading to missed business opportunities.
If your business relies on immediate access to data for customer interactions or operational insights, minimizing latency as much as possible makes sense.
By addressing latency issues through improved network configurations, optimized server performance, and efficient coding practices, SMBs promote the reliability of their service.
Impact on business operations
When latency reduces internet connection speed, it directly impacts revenue generation and business operations. This is true across multiple sectors, such as retail and the Internet of Things (IoT).
For instance, delayed data processing in retail leads to a loss of sales during peak shopping periods when checkout processes and consumers abandon stalls and carts.
In IoT, latency disrupts real-time data monitoring, reducing the efficiency of operations and the ability to respond promptly. A sensor’s delay in data transmission could cause equipment malfunctions or inaccurate monitoring.
Furthermore, when SMBs become invested in the user experience, they witness the gravity of these challenges firsthand. UX is a big factor in maintaining a competitive edge in customer satisfaction, which means understanding what causes latency will continue to be an area of concern in the future.
How to reduce latency
Reducing latency involves several strategic and technical steps, from upgrading physical hardware to optimizing software configurations. Below, we’ll explore three primary methods: hardware upgrades, software optimization, and improved hosting.
Hardware upgrades
Investing in advanced routers with Quality of Service (QoS) features brings faster, more responsive web pages that better handle higher volumes of login attempts.
Good hardware minimizes latency and improves your overall system’s reliability regarding access and transactions. Optimizing your hardware, while perhaps the most obvious step, is important.
If you’re in the market for reliable hardware, you can check out Liquid Web’s dedicated servers.
Software and configuration optimizations
Software and configuration optimizations can tweak settings and significantly reduce latency. Here are a few ways to configure and optimize software:
- Optimize how customer information is stored for easier and faster parsing.
- Use software that manages internet traffic to prioritize important data.
- Choose programs that work well with your server’s memory.
Choosing the right hosting service
Options vary from shared to dedicated or cloud hosting, each with its advantages and considerations for latency management:
- Shared hosting is the cheapest but the least reliable during busy times because resources are shared.
- Dedicated hosting costs more but promises more consistently fast speeds with dedicated resources.
- Cloud hosting is flexible — you pay for what you use — but offers reliability above shared hosting and handles traffic spikes well.
Investing more in dedicated or managed hosting is worth it if your business depends on online sales or customer interactions. These options guarantee faster loading times, less downtime, and better security.
If you’re an SMB looking for hosting options, Liquid Web’s VPS hosting is a great place to start.
Monitoring data latency
Advanced monitoring tools like Application Performance Monitoring (APM) offer insights into how applications perform in real time, detecting and diagnosing complex issues. These tools exist to maintain predetermined service levels in terms of speed and responsivity during high-volume traffic.
For example, a tool like SolarWinds monitors data latency, reducing packet loss and optimizing network performance. It also offers detailed analytics and proactive alerts to identify and resolve latency issues before they impact operations.
Benefits of continuous monitoring
Continuously monitoring latency has the primary benefit of securing a high level of digital trust through a consistently smooth user experience.
Here’s a look at the individual advantages gained from using the aforementioned latency monitoring tools:
- Identification of performance bottlenecks and network issues before they escalate.
- Mitigation of service disruptions on operations and customer interactions.
- Data-driven insights to optimize resource allocation, improving IT infrastructure and cost savings.
- Immediate visibility into application performance, granting timely adjustments to enhance system capabilities.
For businesses seeking advanced database hosting solutions that support effective latency management, Liquid Web’s database hosting provides tailored services.
Step-by-step changes to improve data latency
To reduce latency, dedicate efforts to building up your IT infrastructure. Here is where you’ll most directly impact customer satisfaction and business operations.
Step 1: Assess your network
Begin by assessing your current network setup. If you have network monitoring tools, use them here to identify areas where latency is most pronounced.
Analyze bandwidth usage and data transmission speeds, and pinpoint obstructions.
Next, determine which parts of your network infrastructure contribute most to latency issues. This could be due to old cables, slow switches, or geographical issues affecting data center connections.
Step 2: Upgrade network infrastructure
Upgrade old cables to higher specifications like Cat6 or Cat7, which can handle higher bandwidth and reduce crosstalk, thus minimizing latency.
Consider upgrading routers and switches to modern ones that support better data handling and QoS features.
The physical location of your servers significantly impacts latency. Upgrade servers or move to more efficient ones located geographically closer to your user base or within a more reliable data center.
Step 3: Optimize network configuration
Use advanced routing protocols like OSPF or EIGRP to optimize the route that data packets take through your network.
Configure these protocols to prioritize routes with the least congestion and shortest paths.
Set up QoS on your network to prioritize essential data traffic, such as real-time communications or critical business operations, which require low latency.
Step 4: Implement advanced solutions
Take advantage of content delivery networks (CDNs) to cache frequently accessed content, such as web pages and media, closer to end users to decrease load times and improve response rates.
For businesses leveraging IoT devices or those requiring real-time processing, this kind of edge computing can be invaluable.
Step 5: Monitor and optimize
Continuously monitor network performance using tools that provide real-time analytics and diagnostics.
Regularly check for improvements and regressions in latency metrics and adjust configurations as needed.
Establish a feedback loop with end users and IT staff to report performance issues. Use this feedback to continuously refine network settings and infrastructure.
Regular updates and training for IT staff on new technologies and optimization practices are also beneficial. Keep detailed records of all changes, observations, and performance metrics. These documents can help track the effectiveness of implemented changes and guide future network enhancements.
Step 6: Evaluate effectiveness
After implementing these steps, review the network’s performance metrics, such as round-trip time (RTT), throughput, and packet loss. These metrics help assess the direct impact of your changes and guide further optimizations to reduce latency.
Lastly, periodically review the entire network’s performance to ensure that latency remains within acceptable limits and to identify new areas for improvement as your tech and business needs evolve.
Securing your business against data latency
Effective data latency management isn’t just about enhancing network performance but securing a competitive edge and ensuring reliable business operations in a digital-first world.
By proactively addressing latency, SMBs gain operational efficiency, enhance user experiences, and foster business growth.
Explore our comprehensive solutions, and consider consulting with Liquid Web to learn how our tailored services can help you optimize your network for lower latency.