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The last few months have been a busy time for sports fans, with Euro 2016 and the Rio Olympics and Paralympics. But while some people may be disappointed that these have now concluded for another four years, many businesses and network managers may be breathing a sigh of relief.
Events such as these pose a big challenge for companies when they occur inside working hours, as many employees will want to watch them at their desks - whether with the approval of their management, or more surreptitiously.
But it's not just productivity that can take a hit as a result of this. Networks can also come under pressure as many workers turn to high-quality video streaming to keep up with the latest goings-on.
In fact, a study conducted prior to this summer's events by Riverbed Technology found seven out of ten companies planned to limit their employees' ability watch the Olympics via their business network, while 85 per cent said they were likely to monitor the performance of their wireline and Wi-Fi networks more closely during this period.
Of course, big sports occasions are far from the only reason a business could experience a spike in its network traffic. For instance, the Black Friday sales and major product launches are among the events that Riverbed noted can lead to increased pressure within enterprise networks.
Steve Brar, director of product marketing at the firm, said: "Companies still have concerns around providing unfettered access to some of this rich media content that may impact their networks. While companies are getting smarter about anticipating demand from these type of events, we still hear about big events that cause application performance issues."
Almost seven out of ten companies (69 per cent) admitted they had experienced network performance issues in the past due to such traffic spikes, while nearly a third reported this was a recurring issue.
While connectivity technology has come a long way in recent years, so has consumer demand for rich media such as video, while the growth of video sharing and streaming on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter may also have an impact.
So what can businesses do to ensure their operations aren't unduly affected by major events that cause spikes in traffic? For starters, it's important to have good visibility into what is occurring within a business, so implementing end-to-end, real-time monitoring tools is a key first step.
Effective traffic management is essential in countering the demands caused by these spikes. Businesses need to be able to prioritise and optimise company traffic, so that bandwidth is reserved for business-critical applications.
Being able to distinguish between company assets and personal ones, such as bring-your-own-device gadgets is also important, as this allows companies to restrict access accordingly without affecting their essential operations.
Businesses may be able to predict some spikes, such as sports events and Black Friday sales which will be known about well in advance, but others might still take them by surprise, such as a major news event. Therefore, having a robust network and a strong management policy is vital in coping with this.
