The pervasive use of second screens endangers corporate IT networks

Despite techies having argued for years that having a second computer screen is a great way to improve productivity in the workplace, a new study from Gigamon has revealed that many people today use their additional monitor to stream music and watch sporting events and companies are struggling to cope with the extra internet bandwidth.

The study, which was carried out at Infosecurity Europe and studied the attitudes of 217 IT professionals, revealed that 84 percent of organizations today offer their employees a second screen, however 59 percent believe these are or could be being used for non-work-related activity, like streaming music or watching videos.

With the Women’s World Cup already underway, many employees today will be using their second screens to watch games, however this will be putting a significant amount of strain on corporate IT networks.

The study also revealed that 36 percent of IT professionals believe that more than half of their organization’s internet-traffic is non-work-related and, worryingly, 73 percent do not have the software in place to handle the extra bandwidth this is putting on their IT network.

This added pressure could also be having a damaging impact as it could result in customers having a poor digital experience, with website performance appearing sluggish. During major global sporting events, it is anticipated that employees will be streaming games which could put even more pressure on networks, or even topple them.

The study also asked respondents which applications bring the most malware into the work place and 17 percent said TV streaming apps.