Businesses clogged up by Web 2.0 addicts.
Odiham, UK - 5 June 2008 - The UK's next-generation of managers are web 2.0 addicts feeding their personal habits whilst at work, according to a survey of office workers carried out for leading network solutions provider, Telindus. Nearly eighty per cent of 18-24 year olds log on to social networking websites; 63 per cent download music and 58 per cent watch videos on YouTube during office hours. Despite using bandwidth hungry applications for personal use, nearly three quarters get annoyed when they experience slow access to work email, internet and administration programmes.
Office managers looking to restrict personal internet usage need to be wary about the impact the decision will have on staff morale - 39 per cent of 18-24 year olds would consider leaving the company if such a policy was introduced and a further 21 per cent would feel annoyed. Older generations are less concerned about their access being restricted - with just 16 per cent of 25 to 65+ year olds saying they would consider leaving the company and 13 per cent saying they would be annoyed. Nearly half of office workers believe it would be better to restrict personal internet usage to lunch or out of work hours, rather than banning access completely.
When asked whether they would be happy to use a separate work station dedicated to personal internet usage if their company banned widespread access to certain websites - nearly forty per cent said they would use it once or twice a day and a further 23 per cent said they would use it once a week. Just 13 per cent said they would not use it. Interestingly, such a move would prompt one in seven office workers to buy a home PC.
Mark Hutchinson, managing director of Telindus comments: "An outright ban on personal internet usage is clearly not the right approach to tackle a sluggish corporate network. However, the challenge is to achieve the right balance between allowing employees personal internet time without jeopardising the bandwidth required for business applications.
As we all know it is commercially unwise to have a free-for-all for bandwidth, especially when you consider that downloading a single half-hour TV show consumes more bandwidth than receiving 200 emails a day for a full year*. Considering that one in five of office workers admit to downloading TV programmes at work, the pressure of personal internet usage on the corporate network is phenomenal compared to what it was five years ago."
When quizzed over which applications consumed the most bandwidth, office workers believe that the worst culprits were film and TV downloads. YouTube downloads and monitoring online news sites were perceived to be the second most bandwidth-hungry applications, with 18 per cent. Music downloads and watching podcasts came in joint fourth place with 14 per cent. Despite office workers believing that YouTube consumed the second most amount of corporate bandwidth, it was the second most prevalent application after social networking websites.
"Interacting in the new digital age, both on a personal and business level can bring numerous benefits and should not be ignored. Organisations wanting to stay ahead of the curve ball and avoid an 'internet gridlock' need to manage their bandwidth appropriately. Organisations can no longer expect the availability of any application at any time, without assigning bandwidth appropriately. The prevalent use of web 2.0 applications revealed in this research, has confirmed everything that we have been working towards to help our customers address these issues. Bandwidth solution provision is now a critical part of our business and we are already working with a number of customers on this," concluded Hutchinson.
About Telindus
Telindus is a group of companies offering ICT Solutions and Services. Telindus serves business and public market needs as a solution and sourcing partner, delivering secured converged networking, and secured systems & applications underpinned by management and support services.
Telindus is a group of companies offering ICT Solutions and Services. Telindus serves business and public market needs as a solution and sourcing partner, delivering secured converged networking, and secured systems & applications underpinned by management and support services.
With over 38 years experience in ICT, Telindus is investing considerably in expertise to service modern IT and telecommunications infrastructures throughout their life cycle. Telindus' enviable track record and longstanding partnerships with leading equipment suppliers offers a safe route for enterprises, telecom operators and government bodies looking to deploy long-lasting ICT solutions.
In January 2006, Telindus joined the Belgacom Group to become the IT Services Branch of a new business leader in the market. Belgacom SA/NV [Euronext Brussels:BELG] is the leading telecommunications company in Belgium and a market leader in a number of areas, including retail and wholesale fixed-line telephony services, mobile communications services, broadband data and Internet services. Together, Belgacom and Telindus are building a Belgian champion in the European IT landscape, presenting the market a unique offering, uniting Connectivity and IT Services. http://www.belgacom.be/
With a highly skilled international team of 2,753 employees, Telindus is present in 15 countries in Western Europe, Hungary, China and Thailand. Telindus is headquartered in Belgium. http://www.telindus.com/
Telindus is an ISO 9001:2000 (Quality Management System) and ISO 27001:2005 (Information Security Management System) accredited company.