--- title: 'Redundancy as Flexibility: Testing Small Business Resilience Off-Grid' url: 'http://secureaf.com.au/blog/redundancy-as-flexibility' markdown: 'http://secureaf.com.au/blog/redundancy-as-flexibility.md' date: '2026-10-01' description: "Need a break? Can't Step away for fear you'll miss something critical? Feeling shackled because you run the show? You're not alone. Let me tell you a story... We're back! We returned a few days early to avoid the worst of the forecast rain, but I'll still need to open everything up and air it out s…" taxonomy: tag: - 'business continuity' - 'business travel' - discussion - internet - resilience --- # Redundancy as Flexibility: Testing Small Business Resilience Off-Grid Need a break? Can't Step away for fear you'll miss something critical? Feeling shackled because you run the show? You're not alone. Let me tell you a story... We're back! We returned a few days early to avoid the worst of the forecast rain, but I'll still need to open everything up and air it out soon. This Sunday's *16 and partly cloudy* forecast is less than ideal but looking like the best option so far. It's still school holidays, we're back from camping - and I needed to keep the skeleton of the business running while away. Remote connectivity is something we've touched on before and our small-business concept of resilience offering flexibility is also one we've touched on before. We first explored the concept in twin posts ([here](https://secureaf.com.au/blog/connectivity-lessons-from-bright-why-business-internet-diversity-matters) and [here](https://secureaf.com.au/blog/what-i-use-for-business-resilience)) back in December 2025, then expanded the concept in our "Business Prepping" [discussion](https://secureaf.com.au/blog/business-prepping-pt-2). ## Dual Purpose Small Business Resilience If you're new here and not interested in reading the prior posts, here's the quick recap: In the simplest terms, internet resilience means having an automated backup plan (like a secondary connection and power source) so your business stays online and operational even when your primary internet drops out. While resilience in a large business will often be a simple "cost of doing business", in a small business we advocate for something more: Where possible resilience should also offer flexibility or at least some other tangible business benefit beyond just offering an insurance policy against outages. So in the interest of eating our own dog food, here's where things are at for our own internet resilience: - Our primary resilient internet connection is still 5G to handle momentary blips - Launtel is setup as a second NBN connection providing us with a secondary ISP (and flex if we need more bandwidth) - Starlink is the resilient connection for a cable-break in the street but I've taken the decision to manually re-activate it as needed In short, internet resilience is very much as it was in [June of this year](https://secureaf.com.au/blog/cutting-the-invisible-cord-rethinking-starlink-for-business-backup). The biggest change was in power. I noted in the "[Business Prepping](https://secureaf.com.au/blog/business-prepping-pt-2)" post that we had purchased a single 1000W battery for resilience. We have added an extra 1000W and a 2000W battery to the setup (so 1x 2000W and 2x 1000W in total) this is to permit us to alternate between which batteries are in use and which are hanging off the side of a solar panel. For the purposes of staying online half-days while camping the original 1000W battery was plenty but we have the flexibility to adjust as needed now. ## Practical Experience Returning to our late September camping trip - we chose to go somewhere with no mobile coverage. It's actually a place I originally chose years back *because* it's outside of mobile range. - That's great because the ultimate goal was to disconnect. - That's problematic because I need to be able to work a half-day each morning. Here's where the Starlink dish doubles as not just business resilience but also flexibility. We can still largely disconnect (personal devices aren't connected to the dish), but I also have the flexibility to use the dish so I can work in a remote location. Using the setup was initially a bit mixed. The speeds and latency; while no-where near what's possible on my normal fibre NBN connection are more than enough for document review, video calls and moderate file transfers. I remember the days of ADSL. I remember the days of Dial-Up. This feels like living in the future. ![sl-speedtest.png](http://secureaf.com.au/user/pages/04.blog/18.redundancy-as-flexibility/sl-speedtest.png) So why did I say mixed? There were two issues I faced, the first is that camping in the Australian bush doesn't always afford you views of clear sky, and clear sky is the life-blood for Starlink. There was a lot of tree canopy where we were staying and my initial attempts at a connection resulted in periods of data drop-outs (seemingly 5 to 10 seconds at a time) as the satellites were blocked by foliage. If you're thinking of a Starlink based solution it's worth understanding how it works (and why clear sky is so critical). Unlike a TV antenna or a fixed 5G tower that just needs to point at one stationary spot, Starlink relies on a network of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites that are constantly shooting across the sky. To keep you connected, your dish needs a wide, clear view so it can switch your connection from one moving satellite to the next as they pass overhead. If a satellite is blocked by tree canopy without first switching to another satellite you get the drop-outs I was experiencing. ![quickbenchsetup.jpg](http://secureaf.com.au/user/pages/04.blog/18.redundancy-as-flexibility/quickbenchsetup.jpg) The second issue is so much more pedestrian, but the constantly shifting sun required me to keep moving the battery, and solar panel around so there was enough sunlight to maintain battery levels. Trying to chase enough sun and enough clear sky at the same time was often a distraction from work. ![chasingsun.jpg](http://secureaf.com.au/user/pages/04.blog/18.redundancy-as-flexibility/chasingsun.jpg) By constantly shifting the battery and solar panel we were able to maintain a consistent 80% battery charge. If we *had* decided to stick it out and stay for the rain this would have given us the headroom to hunker down to 2 days of constant rain while still managing to run the Starlink dish and keep the laptop charged. ## Your Ticket to Freedom Mind you, calling these "issues" is really unfair, they're nit-picks. Minor inconveniences perhaps. The reality is I was able to maintain my business (albeit at half capacity) while otherwise completely disconnected. I often think of the number of small business owners who I know that even have staff and have translated their role to working *on* their business rather than *in* their business - people who should be able to take a break but just find they can't out of fear they will miss something. If this is you, then a similar setup could be your ticket to freedom. ![onedesk.jpg](http://secureaf.com.au/user/pages/04.blog/18.redundancy-as-flexibility/onedesk.jpg) I'm back in my office now as I write this, but that's entirely the fault of the weather. If not for that, I could still be out there. Still popping open a folding chair and table for my laptop, still sitting down with a hot drink while the kids run around and try to raid the pantry tub, still balancing the competing demands of needing to disconnect while also needing to run a small business. ![screenandcoffee.jpg](http://secureaf.com.au/user/pages/04.blog/18.redundancy-as-flexibility/screenandcoffee.jpg) ## Ready to Escape your Shackles? [Book a free consultation with secureAF today](https://secureaf.com.au/contact-us), and let’s design a reliable, secure network that gives you the flexibility to work on your business from absolutely anywhere. --- ## Navigation - Parent: [Blog](http://secureaf.com.au/blog.md) - Next: [The early 2000s called - they want their blog back](http://secureaf.com.au/blog/the-early-2000s-called.md)