IT’s Olympic Challenge: Live Streaming Employees

Computerworld: This year’s Olympic Games will be streamed live on the Internet, and because the games take place in London, many events will take place during work hours in the U.S. As a result, employees may be watching those feeds on corporate networks or corporate-paid mobile devices, which could lead to higher charges or overloaded networks. Daniel Rudich of mobile expense management firm Tangoe predicts the games could increase company’s mobile bills by 5 to 10 percent if they aren’t properly prepared.

How should IT managers prepare? Some are reminding employees about corporate policies regarding streaming sports events. Others have previously put procedures in place that will ensure employees–not employers–will pay any fees for excessive data use on mobile devices. And some companies have blocked streaming media sites entirely so as to avoid potential problems.