21 Jun 2010

World Cup 'could impact on IT infrastructure'

The ongoing World Cup could have a detrimental impact on the ability of IT infrastructure to cope with increased data flows if workers stream games live, it has been claimed.

Nigel Hawthorn, vice-president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa marketing at Blue Coat Systems, said the popularity of watching games online has grown in recent months and means that businesses should be aware of the impact this can have on their networks.

He commented: "Most consumers share their bandwidth with their neighbours, so this may result in more congestion and more complaints to their internet service providers."

According to figures compiled by Blue Coat, over half (54 per cent) of IT managers believe that employees should be banned from watching the 2010 Fifa World Cup at work.

Indeed, it found that the majority of companies admit to having no policies (65 per cent) or technology (59 per cent) in place to prioritise vital business applications and ensure the most efficient delivery of video streaming.