Christchurch · Dunedin · Nationwide
Business Internet and Managed Failover
Exodesk supplies and supports business internet, with the connection, equipment and optional failover scoped around your site and the work that depends on it.
Our Christchurch and Dunedin teams check availability at your address, configure agreed equipment and handle faults with the network operator, so you have one contact for billing and support.
Supporting New Zealand businesses since 1989
The short answer
What does business internet from Exodesk include?
Business internet from Exodesk covers the connection to your site, the agreed router or firewall, addressing and fault support. Failover and connection monitoring are optional, scoped where they suit the workload and the risk.
Exodesk supplies the connection and bills it as part of your agreement, and we are your first contact for faults and account questions. Repairs to the physical network are carried out by the operator that owns it, and we raise and chase those on your behalf.
Exodesk has supported New Zealand businesses since 1989. Today, our Christchurch and Dunedin teams support businesses nationwide, with availability, installation and any on-site work checked for each address.
What we look after
One contact for the connection and what depends on it
The external connection is one part of a working network. Our service keeps the connection, the edge equipment and any backup path under one agreement.
Connection
Supply and setup
A connection and plan selected for your address and workload, supplied and billed by Exodesk.
Equipment
Router or firewall
Agreed edge equipment and addressing configured, with firewall management included or separately agreed.
Resilience
Optional failover
A second path, configured and tested for the applications you rely on, where it suits the risk.
Wireless coverage inside the building sits with business WiFi, and physical data cabling with network cabling. We link the work where responsibilities meet.
Failover
Plan what happens when the main line fails
A second connection gives your site another route to the internet. It does not guarantee that every session continues, so we plan the backup path around the work that matters during an outage.
Switchover depends on the equipment, settings and applications. Calls, VPNs, uploads or payment sessions may need to reconnect, and the main connection’s static IP may not be available on the backup path. We agree which applications need to work during an outage and test their behaviour on the selected setup.
A different supplier does not by itself mean a separate route. We check what routes, building entry, upstream systems and local equipment are shared, and include the ONT, router or firewall, switches and relevant access points in the power protection plan. Where automatic failover does not suit, a documented manual fallback such as a mobile hotspot can still help.
Choosing a connection
Choose the connection for the workload
A connection is chosen from the plans available at your address and the traffic your team creates, rather than a staff-per-megabit rule.
- Availability. Fibre, fixed wireless, cellular and satellite options depend on the address. We compare availability, installation, obstructions, performance, data terms and shared dependencies for each.
- Capacity in both directions. We look at simultaneous calls, cloud applications, file transfers and backup windows, upload and download, with headroom for busy periods.
- Plan attributes, not labels. A business label is not a dedicated circuit, a fixed contention ratio or a restoration guarantee. Business broadband, enhanced assurance and dedicated access are different offers, so we compare the support, fault commitments and addressing of the actual plans.
- Addressing. A static IP is arranged where the design needs one, such as some VPNs or supplier allow-lists. Cameras and remote desktop are not exposed directly to the internet; Own Your Online recommends a VPN or other secure alternatives to internet-exposed RDP.
- Contract dates. We check current contract dates, installation and exit costs before agreeing a change.
Where calls run over the connection, our business phone systems team plans call quality and fallback alongside it. Traffic priority can help voice on your own network, but it cannot create bandwidth or guarantee priority across other carriers.
Faults and changes
Agree who handles faults and changes
Your agreement sets out what Exodesk supplies and manages, support hours, fault escalation and any monitoring, with response and restoration targets stated separately for the service ordered.
The responsibility boundary is the agreed handover point and equipment list, not the wall socket. Firewall configuration, access rules and updates can sit with our managed firewall service or be agreed separately, and the wider support arrangement is described on our managed IT services page.
Before recommending a faster plan, we check the network around the connection. WiFi, cabling, switch health and port rates, devices and the application itself can all produce symptoms that look like a slow line, so we compare affected and unaffected devices first.
How it works
How a business internet change is set up
Each change starts with your address, current services and what the connection carries today.
Review
Record the address, current provider and contract dates, applications, calls, backup traffic and recurring problems.
Proposal
Set out the connection, plan, equipment, addressing, support hours, any failover or monitoring, and one-off and recurring charges.
Install and cut over
Agree installation dependencies, site access, the change window and fallback, and check connected services before anything is cancelled.
Handover and support
Check agreed applications on the main connection and, where included, test failover and the return to normal service.
Timing depends on availability, provider dates, consents and any physical work at the site. Moving premises? Tell us the date early, so the dependencies can be confirmed before you commit.
Support and cost
What affects the cost of business internet?
Cost depends on the connection type available, capacity, equipment, installation and support. Failover adds its own service and may add equipment or data charges.
- Recurring charges. The connection, plan, any backup service, monitoring and support, billed by Exodesk.
- One-off work. Installation, equipment, configuration and any investigation, quoted before work starts.
- Terms. GST, minimum term, data allowances, equipment ownership, cancellation, inclusions and exclusions, set out in the proposal.
When weighing a backup path, estimate the work an outage would interrupt, any extra recovery costs and lost sales. Avoid counting the same impact twice. Some work can continue offline, and some payment terminals and services use their own connection.
Questions
Business internet questions
What is business internet?
Business internet connects your site to external services such as cloud applications, calls and remote access. Plans differ in capacity, support, addressing and fault commitments. Exodesk supplies and supports a suitable connection, with failover and monitoring added where agreed.
Can a business use a residential broadband plan?
Sometimes, subject to the terms of the plan and what the business needs. Compare the actual support, fault commitments, addressing, capacity and resilience options. A business label alone does not establish a guaranteed repair time or a dedicated connection.
Is 100 Mbps enough for a small business?
It may be, but staff numbers alone cannot decide it. Check simultaneous calls, file transfers, cloud applications and backup traffic in both directions, with headroom at busy times. Measure the workload before selecting the plan.
What is internet failover?
Failover moves traffic to another connection when configured failure conditions are detected. The interruption depends on the equipment, settings and applications. Some calls, VPNs or transactions may disconnect or need to be restarted, so the services your business relies on are tested.
Does a business need two internet connections?
That depends on what an outage stops, how long you can tolerate it and the alternatives available. A backup path can reduce disruption, but shared infrastructure, power, equipment and application dependencies still matter. Compare the protection and total cost with the business impact.
Does a business need a static IP address?
Some VPNs, supplier allow-lists and systems need a fixed public address, while other services work without one. Check the design and what happens on failover, including whether the backup connection provides suitable addressing. Avoid exposing cameras or remote desktop directly because a static IP is available.
Why is the internet slow when a speed test looks fine?
A single test may miss intermittent loss, latency or congestion under working load. WiFi, switches, cabling, devices, DNS and the application itself can also affect performance. Compare affected and unaffected devices and test the relevant applications before upgrading the line.
What is a contention ratio?
It describes how capacity is shared between users of a network. It does not by itself predict performance across the whole internet path, and a business plan does not establish a particular ratio. Ask about the actual access product, capacity commitments and service terms.
How much does business internet cost?
The total depends on availability at the address, the plan, equipment, installation and support. A backup connection brings its own charges and data terms. Your proposal shows one-off and monthly costs separately, with GST, minimum term, inclusions and exclusions clear.
Does Exodesk supply business internet across New Zealand?
Yes. Exodesk has supported New Zealand businesses since 1989, and our Christchurch and Dunedin teams supply and support business connections nationwide. Availability, installation and any on-site work are checked for each address, so tell us the site address when you get in touch.
How long does installation or a provider change take?
It depends on the existing connection, availability, provider dates, equipment and any building work or consents. We confirm the dependencies before committing to a date. The change window and fallback are agreed, and connected services are checked before the old arrangement is cancelled.
Next step
Discuss your business internet connection
Tell us your address, current provider, main applications and what needs to change, including a moving date if relevant, and we can discuss the options. Please leave passwords and account details out of your enquiry.
Get in touch
Discuss business internet
Tell us your business name, site address, current provider and what you need from the connection, and we will be in touch to arrange a time that suits.
Prefer to talk?
Christchurch
Level 1, 85 Riccarton Road
Christchurch 8011
03 343 3124
Dunedin
Level 3, Bartons Building
2 Stafford Street, Dunedin 9016
03 479 2941