Sir,
Forget the tubes and trains; with less than a year to go until the Olympics gets underway in London, I’m becoming increasingly concerned about the capital’s ability to cope with the extra pressure the games will place on IT infrastructure.
Business users working from home will rise considerably, causing a spike in VPN access which will put pressure on bandwidth and security requirements. To add further strain to networks, users at work and at home will be accessing sites such as the BBC and ITV to stream live feeds to their desktops to watch the events.
But are businesses prepared and undergoing the necessary network upgrades to ensure that their IT infrastructure will be able to cope with the spike in bandwidth demand? You only have to look at the disruption caused by employees watching live streams of the London riots to get a glimpse into the potential effect the Olympics could have.
IT directors should take Beijing, a games based on IPv6 and high bandwidth infrastructure, as the blueprint for smooth operations and effective IT. With under a year to go until the opening ceremony, the race is already on for businesses; planning and implementation should start now.
Jeff Smith, senior director, Connectivity Services EMEA, Level 3.
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