Pixel Bar founder on social gaming and finding the right connectivity
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When dedicated gaming bars started to open in Leeds, Craig Ryan became a regular customer, but something wasn't hitting the spot.
He and two others started Pixel Bar when they realised they weren't getting what they needed with the ‘gimmicky' bars already open.
‘We enjoyed the concept of it, but it was quite often I'd be sat there thinking I'd do it this way and that way,' says Ryan. ‘It's easy to say, we kept talking the big game but made it happen.'
Finding connectivity: Pixel Bar uses TalkTalk Business' dedicated leased line for a faster, more reliable connection
By focusing on hospitality first and gaming second, Ryan was in a position to create better experiences for customers.
‘I think that's where some of them come short, they focus on the gimmick first.'
While the hospitality side was cared for, Ryan and his team needed to ensure they had reliable connectivity at their Leeds venue, which could see up to 250 people come through their doors on a busy evening.
Ryan knew that conventional broadband wouldn't be up to the task and that Pixel Bar would need a faster, more resilient internet connection. Luckily for him, Ryan had a relative who works as a network engineer and was able to recommend a solution - a dedicated leased line.
Many businesses struggle with an internet connection that doesn't meet their needs. And when we talk to TalkTalk Business, it's clear that in the business community, there's often a lack of awareness around leased lines, and how they can help overcome the limitations of a typical broadband connection.
Most people will be familiar with the constant battle with your nearest and dearest for reliable internet, when one person is streaming, another is gaming and another is trying to do a work call.
This drop in performance is because the bandwidth is stretched by users at home, but also because your residential connection is shared with everyone else. So, when the whole street is online during peak hours, the overall speed of the internet slows down.
While unreliable internet is at home is frustrating, for a business it's much more than an annoyance. A slow or unstable connection can disrupt critical operations, impact customer service and ultimately affect the bottom line.
TalkTalk Business offers its customers a dedicated leased line - a private internet line that provides faster speeds and a more reliable connection that isn't shared with anyone else.
For a business like Pixel Bar, a resilient connection that they can depend on is essential. Not just for its gaming PCs and consoles, but for running cloud applications and processing payments, all while ensuring it can still handle other day-to-day business-critical tasks.
Pixel Bar found that a leased line worked well for its first venue in Leeds and found it the best option for their Manchester venue too.
In addition to 13 PCs and 30 consoles, the bar has a music service, tills, and around 100 customer devices connected to the Wifi at each site.
A dedicated leased line is ideal for businesses that rely on high-bandwidth connectivity for everyday operational needs.
Another key difference is that a leased line's upload and download speeds are symmetrical, while shared connections have much faster download than upload.
For typical residential users who stream Netflix and browse the internet, upload speeds aren't so important. But for a business that relies on video calls, cloud-based software or is regularly uploading large files, fast upload speeds are essential.
What's more, with a leased line, speeds are guaranteed no matter the time of day, whereas a shared connection can be affected in peak traffic periods.
‘One big thing was making sure that things were not running off a typical business fibre connection. That's definitely one of the issues where a business connection is shared with other people,' says Ryan.
For Ryan, it's all about meeting the needs of today's customers, who are increasingly online at all times - whether that's engaging with digital content in real time or posting photos and videos of their night out on Instagram. The dedicated leased line helps Pixel Bar create great experiences for customers by delivering the seamless connectivity that their patrons expect.
‘What we went for from day one was a dedicated leased line connection. It doesn't matter if it's on a Friday night, we have our dedicated line. It means the customers get a really good service all the time.'
One of the biggest benefits has been the service provided by TalkTalk Business, including a dedicated account manager that's on hand to help with any problems.
‘There's a peace of mind that if there were any issues, I've got someone that can be on the phone, particularly in a business where our hours are out of their office hours. It's really important.'
A TalkTalk Business leased line also includes 4-hour break/fix SLAs, meaning in the unlikely event of a problem with the connection, they guarantee to resolve it and have everything back up and running within four hours. Fortunately, Pixel Bar has never had to call on this aspect of the service, but having this guarantee provides huge peace of mind.
By the time Pixel Bar opened a third venue in Liverpool, it was a ‘no-brainer' to keep using TalkTalk Business.
‘They do what they say they will. It's fantastic price and the service works. So why would we consider chopping and changing suppliers? Having everything with one provider makes so much more sense.'
The installation process was so quick that Ryan didn't yet have keys to the venue which meant that TalkTalk Business rearranged the engineer visit to accommodate his needs.
‘As soon as we'd agreed on the leased line with TalkTalk Business, we booked it in but we hit a roadblock which left us in limbo. However, throughout the process, the TalkTalk Business team was always responsive, flexible and did everything in its power to help us meet our deadline.'
Ultimately, a dedicated leased line, and the reliability that it comes with, has been fundamental to Pixel Bar's business.
As businesses use more innovative technology on a day-to-day basis, whether its cloud-based software or AI, connectivity will be crucial.
A fast and Goa Escorts reliable private connection will become the future of how businesses operate. For Pixel Bar, they'd be unable to run their business and provide their customers with a genuinely enjoyable experience without a leased line.
‘All customer facing businesses should be thinking about levelling up their service, whether it's a broadband line or a leased line for bigger venues or more online, demanding businesses,' says Ryan.
‘I think that we'll be followed by a lot of businesses which maybe might not have expected to need a leased line over the next few years, just so that customers can have that best possible experience.'
He and two others started Pixel Bar when they realised they weren't getting what they needed with the ‘gimmicky' bars already open.
‘We enjoyed the concept of it, but it was quite often I'd be sat there thinking I'd do it this way and that way,' says Ryan. ‘It's easy to say, we kept talking the big game but made it happen.'
Finding connectivity: Pixel Bar uses TalkTalk Business' dedicated leased line for a faster, more reliable connection
By focusing on hospitality first and gaming second, Ryan was in a position to create better experiences for customers.
‘I think that's where some of them come short, they focus on the gimmick first.'
While the hospitality side was cared for, Ryan and his team needed to ensure they had reliable connectivity at their Leeds venue, which could see up to 250 people come through their doors on a busy evening.
Ryan knew that conventional broadband wouldn't be up to the task and that Pixel Bar would need a faster, more resilient internet connection. Luckily for him, Ryan had a relative who works as a network engineer and was able to recommend a solution - a dedicated leased line.
Many businesses struggle with an internet connection that doesn't meet their needs. And when we talk to TalkTalk Business, it's clear that in the business community, there's often a lack of awareness around leased lines, and how they can help overcome the limitations of a typical broadband connection.
Most people will be familiar with the constant battle with your nearest and dearest for reliable internet, when one person is streaming, another is gaming and another is trying to do a work call.
This drop in performance is because the bandwidth is stretched by users at home, but also because your residential connection is shared with everyone else. So, when the whole street is online during peak hours, the overall speed of the internet slows down.
While unreliable internet is at home is frustrating, for a business it's much more than an annoyance. A slow or unstable connection can disrupt critical operations, impact customer service and ultimately affect the bottom line.
TalkTalk Business offers its customers a dedicated leased line - a private internet line that provides faster speeds and a more reliable connection that isn't shared with anyone else.
For a business like Pixel Bar, a resilient connection that they can depend on is essential. Not just for its gaming PCs and consoles, but for running cloud applications and processing payments, all while ensuring it can still handle other day-to-day business-critical tasks.
Pixel Bar found that a leased line worked well for its first venue in Leeds and found it the best option for their Manchester venue too.
In addition to 13 PCs and 30 consoles, the bar has a music service, tills, and around 100 customer devices connected to the Wifi at each site.
A dedicated leased line is ideal for businesses that rely on high-bandwidth connectivity for everyday operational needs.
Another key difference is that a leased line's upload and download speeds are symmetrical, while shared connections have much faster download than upload.
For typical residential users who stream Netflix and browse the internet, upload speeds aren't so important. But for a business that relies on video calls, cloud-based software or is regularly uploading large files, fast upload speeds are essential.
What's more, with a leased line, speeds are guaranteed no matter the time of day, whereas a shared connection can be affected in peak traffic periods.
‘One big thing was making sure that things were not running off a typical business fibre connection. That's definitely one of the issues where a business connection is shared with other people,' says Ryan.
For Ryan, it's all about meeting the needs of today's customers, who are increasingly online at all times - whether that's engaging with digital content in real time or posting photos and videos of their night out on Instagram. The dedicated leased line helps Pixel Bar create great experiences for customers by delivering the seamless connectivity that their patrons expect.
‘What we went for from day one was a dedicated leased line connection. It doesn't matter if it's on a Friday night, we have our dedicated line. It means the customers get a really good service all the time.'
One of the biggest benefits has been the service provided by TalkTalk Business, including a dedicated account manager that's on hand to help with any problems.
‘There's a peace of mind that if there were any issues, I've got someone that can be on the phone, particularly in a business where our hours are out of their office hours. It's really important.'
A TalkTalk Business leased line also includes 4-hour break/fix SLAs, meaning in the unlikely event of a problem with the connection, they guarantee to resolve it and have everything back up and running within four hours. Fortunately, Pixel Bar has never had to call on this aspect of the service, but having this guarantee provides huge peace of mind.
By the time Pixel Bar opened a third venue in Liverpool, it was a ‘no-brainer' to keep using TalkTalk Business.
‘They do what they say they will. It's fantastic price and the service works. So why would we consider chopping and changing suppliers? Having everything with one provider makes so much more sense.'
The installation process was so quick that Ryan didn't yet have keys to the venue which meant that TalkTalk Business rearranged the engineer visit to accommodate his needs.
‘As soon as we'd agreed on the leased line with TalkTalk Business, we booked it in but we hit a roadblock which left us in limbo. However, throughout the process, the TalkTalk Business team was always responsive, flexible and did everything in its power to help us meet our deadline.'
Ultimately, a dedicated leased line, and the reliability that it comes with, has been fundamental to Pixel Bar's business.
As businesses use more innovative technology on a day-to-day basis, whether its cloud-based software or AI, connectivity will be crucial.
A fast and Goa Escorts reliable private connection will become the future of how businesses operate. For Pixel Bar, they'd be unable to run their business and provide their customers with a genuinely enjoyable experience without a leased line.
‘All customer facing businesses should be thinking about levelling up their service, whether it's a broadband line or a leased line for bigger venues or more online, demanding businesses,' says Ryan.
‘I think that we'll be followed by a lot of businesses which maybe might not have expected to need a leased line over the next few years, just so that customers can have that best possible experience.'