"Second Screens" Are Killing Enterprise IT Networks

Learn more about Gigamon

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 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 in June 2019 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.

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"Second Screens" Are Killing Enterprise IT Networks

Learn more about Gigamon

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 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 in June 2019 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.

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Gartner: Regular AI System Assessments Triple the Likelihood of High GenAI Value

Organizations that perform regular audits and assessments of AI system performance and compliance are over three times more likely to achieve high GenAI value than organizations that do not, according to a survey by Gartner ...

Beyond Autoscaling: What True Kubernetes Optimization Actually Requires

Kubernetes has become the backbone of cloud infrastructure, but it's also one of its biggest cost drivers. Recent research shows that 98% of senior IT leaders say Kubernetes now drives cloud spend, yet 91% still can't optimize it effectively. After years of adoption, most organizations have moved past discovery. They know container sprawl, idle resources and reactive scaling inflate costs. What they don't know is how to fix it ...

Is Your Network Ready for the AI Boom? 5 Overlooked Stress Points

Artificial intelligence is no longer a future investment. It's already embedded in how we work — whether through copilots in productivity apps, real-time transcription tools in meetings, or machine learning models fueling analytics and personalization. But while enterprise adoption accelerates, there's one critical area many leaders have yet to examine: Can your network actually support AI at the speed your users expect? ...

Keeping Your Business Stable When Going Through an IT Disaster

The more technology businesses invest in, the more potential attack surfaces they have that can be exploited. Without the right continuity plans in place, the disruptions caused by these attacks can bring operations to a standstill and cause irreparable damage to an organization. It's essential to take the time now to ensure your business has the right tools, processes, and recovery initiatives in place to weather any type of IT disaster that comes up. Here are some effective strategies you can follow to achieve this ...

How Engineers Can Use AIOps to Innovate Their Infrastructure

In today's fast-paced AI landscape, CIOs, IT leaders, and engineers are constantly challenged to manage increasingly complex and interconnected systems. The sheer scale and velocity of data generated by modern infrastructure can be overwhelming, making it difficult to maintain uptime, prevent outages, and create a seamless customer experience. This complexity is magnified by the industry's shift towards agentic AI ...

MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Podcast - Episode 19: The AWS Outage

In MEAN TIME TO INSIGHT Episode 19, Shamus McGillicuddy, VP of Research, Network Infrastructure and Operations, at EMA explains the cause of the AWS outage in October ... 

Cloud Migration Delays Are Putting Businesses at Risk

The explosion of generative AI and machine learning capabilities has fundamentally changed the conversation around cloud migration. It's no longer just about modernization or cost savings — it's about being able to compete in a market where AI is rapidly becoming table stakes. Companies that can't quickly spin up AI workloads, feed models with data at scale, or experiment with new capabilities are falling behind faster than ever before. But here's what I'm seeing: many organizations want to capitalize on AI, but they're stuck ...

Understanding the Plight of Today's IT Pro

On September 16, the world celebrated the 10th annual IT Pro Day, giving companies a chance to laud the professionals who serve as the backbone to almost every successful business across the globe. Despite the growing importance of their roles, many IT pros still work in the background and often go underappreciated ...

The Two-Way Relationship Between AI and Observability

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping observability, and observability is becoming essential for AI. This is a two-way relationship that is increasingly relevant as enterprises scale generative AI ... This dual role makes AI and observability inseparable. In this blog, I cover more details of each side ...

Unrelenting IT Issues Cost Millions of Hours in Lost Productivity

Poor DEX directly costs global businesses an average of 470,000 hours per year, equivalent to around 226 full-time employees, according to a new report from Nexthink, Cracking the DEX Equation: The Annual Workplace Productivity Report. This indicates that digital friction is a vital and underreported element of the global productivity crisis ...