In the current business environment, organizations must ensure that they have adequate network bandwidth to support employees’ online activities. These days, workers cannot afford to wait for a bandwidth bottleneck to clear. Therefore, it is important to understand which programs consume more network resources than others. This way, businesses can work to guarantee that their connected infrastructure is being utilized optimally.
Top bandwidth consumers: Streaming video services
According to Incognito Software CEO Stephane Bourque, the type of programs that are “by far the largest bandwidth user” are streaming video platforms like YouTube and Netflix, InformationWeek contributor Kevin Casey reported. While these services can have legitimate work purposes, if employees are simply using them to check out the latest music video or show their co-workers cute cat compilations, they may be taking valuable network bandwidth away from more mission-critical resources.
HD Telepresence platforms
Along the same lines, high-definition telepresence programs are also heavy consumers of broadband resources. GigaOM’s Stacey Higginbotham noted that these platforms need 24 Mbps and approximately 50-millisecond latency to adequately function as they should. This can represent a major drag on the network. However, Higginbotham stated that many organizations deal with this takeaway as the systems can save significant amounts in travel expenses.
Real-time content backup
Another prominent bandwidth user is real-time data backup services, such as those utilized in large enterprises for information security and business continuity. While Higginbotham stated that these platforms require less resources than telepresence programs, they can still consume a considerable amount of network bandwidth. However, without enough resources, these backup efforts could be interrupted.
How to effectively manage network bandwidth
Although many of these systems are invaluable assets to business processes, they can considerably strain network bandwidth. By implementing WAN virtualization and WAN optimization, organizations can make the most of the current resources and ensure that all activities are supported.
To help you learn more about WAN solutions, we’ve created a matrix and checklist that help explain which features you may want to include in your “must haves.”
