Low Network Latency: Critical for Sectors like E-commerce, Cloud, and Healthcare

blog Thursday, September 5, 2024

A low latency in the network is in fact important for any industry. After all, as an organization, you usually want a sublime IT application user experience and maximum reach for your (web) applications. However, there are certain industries that are especially sensitive to network latency, some more than others. In this blog article we will describe the ins and outs.

The following are some specific industries where ultra-low network latency is critical to the proper operation of IT applications and an industry-appropriate user experience. For example, in industries like finance, particularly in the trading sector, low network latency is absolutely crucial. Here it can mean the difference between winning and losing. Other industries that may significantly benefit from low latency networking include healthcare, media & entertainment, e-commerce, education, and cloud gaming. We will outline in detail what low network latency means for these sectors.

As an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) company with a low latency global backbone, Worldstream has expertise providing IT infrastructure services including public and private clouds, dedicated servers, storage, and network bandwidth in various business domains on a global scale. The ultra-low latency connections between our own data centers in the Rotterdam/The Hague region and data centers in Amsterdam, as well as direct access to an AMS-IX PoP in our data centers, is an extra advantage that may lower the network latency for our clients.

As a result, we can attest from Worldstream’s own client experiences, like AppSignal, that low network latency can be crucial for a variety of business sectors worldwide, as it may significantly impact the successes of industries such as finance/trading, healthcare, media & entertainment, e-commerce, cloud gaming, and office & industry.

Trading - Low Latency for Closing Financial Trading Deals Timely

In the financial sector, especially when it comes to (international) trading activities, network speed can be all-important. Latency causes delays in the network, whereas in the case of financial trading there shouldn’t be a second between submitting a trade order and having the deal confirmed. High frequency trading (HFT), a financial trading method in which extensive compute power using advanced algorithms is able to do rapid market analysis and place instant orders in the face of suddenly changing market conditions, has further reinforced the need for low network latency. In fact, to stay ahead of the competition and maintain a strong market position, financial traders now have an interest in trading environments where millisecond and even microsecond delays can make the difference.

E-commerce – Low Latency to Maximize Sales Results

As an IaaS services provider with a global-reach e-commerce website that includes dedicated servers, DDoS protection, network services, cloud and storage solutions, we have firsthand knowledge with what speed in the network does to buyer experiences and sales conversion. The loading time of a web shop has a direct impact on customer satisfaction and conversion rates for purchasing products and/or services being sold. To back this up with some numbers, back in 2006 already, Amazon concluded from research that every 100ms of network delay cost them 1% of potential sales. For large webshops with substantial sales, revenue loss from network latency can thus take on serious proportions. So, low latency in the network is also vital within the e-commerce sector.

Healthcare - Low Latency for Telemedicine and Remote Consultations

Also known as telemedicine, the worldwide practice of remote care in the healthcare industry is growing. It may involve physician consultations via video links, or remote monitoring of patients with chronic diseases and continuous monitoring of vital signs. Telemedicine can also involve doctors consulting medical data remotely, such as x-rays or laboratory culture results, to determine the proper diagnoses. In addition, telemedicine can be beneficial in acute medical situations such as strokes, myocardial infarctions or cardiac arrests, particularly when patients are located in rural areas but also in urban situations before patients arrive at the hospital by ambulance.

In the context of healthcare, low latency network connections - often mobile supported by 5G - can genuinely make the difference between human life and death. Surgeons can even perform remote operations these days. To prevent surgical errors in remote surgery, network latency should stay even below 100 ms. So, low network latency is definitely also vital within healthcare.

Cloud Gaming – Low Latency to Empower Responsive Gameplay

When playing online games in a cloud environment, network latency may cause a poor gaming experience. Consequently, players of a cloud-based game may easily quit. Especially multiplayer games, with genres like shooters, racing or fighting genuinely require very low latency values. For a good cloud gaming experience in these types of games, the required latency value is usually even less than 20ms.

Until 2019/2020, cloud gaming initially got off to a somewhat difficult start. True gamers typically stick with gaming-oriented dedicated servers, such as those provided by Worldstream from our data centers in the Netherlands and Germany, because they come with the highest processing power and extremely low latency network connections. However, cloud gaming has really taken off now and become a billion-dollar market, particularly since cloud gaming’s network latency is better manageable these days.

Media & Entertainment - Low Latency for Best Streaming Videos

Network lag in video streaming can cause the video to buffer or pause. A hiccup in a streamed video can be quite annoying to viewers anyway, but when sports games are streamed live it can be extremely unpleasant if they miss a goal or other great action. A media and entertainment organization may provide its viewers with an optimal viewing experience by streamlining video with low network latency, which guarantees that the delay in sending and receiving the visuals is absolutely minimal. In video streaming, although the viewer experience depends on several technical aspects, the low latency quality of a network and the available network bandwidth play a significant role. With ample amount of available network bandwidth and extremely low latency values, Worldstream’s worldwide network backbone assists several of our customers in offering excellent streaming experiences.

Office & Industry - Low Latency to Enable (Live) Streaming and Real-Time Operations

For cloud infrastructure in the broadest sense, low network latency is important, but real-time applications within the working environment reinforces that. Employees use Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype and Google Meet to meet each other remotely. In addition, phone calls between employees, prospects, customers and partners take place via Voice-over-IP (VoIP). Furthermore, real-time (remote) analytics can play a role in various business applications, including the reading of smart sensors, generating data from point-of-sale systems, or collecting data from edge devices in real time. For these kinds of applications, low network latency is crucial. The organizational need for low network latency also plays a role outside of office automation. For example, when it comes to Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), that means keeping accurate control of machines and processes within a manufacturing environment. Fast data analysis and (real-time) communication amongst smart appliances are two factors that can support a production line’s efficient operation and, ultimately, an organization’s success. So, these kinds of applications definitely require low latency in the network.

About Worldstream’s Global Low-Latency Network

Worldstream was founded in 2006 by childhood friends who shared a passion for gaming. Worldstream has evolved into an international IT infrastructure (IaaS) provider. Our mission is to create the ultimate digital experience together with you and our partners. If you want to discover the low latency network options that Worldstream has to offer, visit this page or to get in touch with Worldstream’s engineering staff to receive custom network guidance.

As an IaaS solutions provider with a global backbone, Worldstream offers ample opportunities for IT service providers and MSP’s alike to professionally shape a portfolio for both upcoming and enterprise IT architectures. These solutions are building blocks for emerging service providers. For example, Worldstream offers secure, low-latency cloud on-ramps from the data center to well-known American public cloud providers (e.g. Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud). In addition, our proprietary  WS Cloud public cloud platform, powered by Virtuozzo open-source technology, provides a cost-effective European cloud alternative. The infrastructure solutions we offer are perfect for integrating managed services. These solutions also include dedicated servers,   private cloud,   file,   block  and  object storage,  and  colocation.