Posts Tagged ‘March Madness’
Friday, April 26th, 2013
 Use of sports apps by members of the Arbitron Mobile smartphone panel has been climbing steadily since their post-Super Bowl, mid-winter doldrums, thanks to the NCAA Tournament and opening days of the regular season of Major League Baseball.
In the two weeks following the NFL championship game on February 3, use of mobile sports apps by men, age 18 and older in the Arbitron panel, plummeted from 12.9 percent to 10.0 percent.
Starting the week of March 10, as fans starting filling out their brackets for the NCAA Tourney, use of mobile sports apps boomed, reaching 13.7 percent of men, age 18 and older during the week of the “Elite 8″ and the opening games of Major League Baseball.
While the Arbitron survey didn’t look at NASCAR’s new mobile apps, Tim Clark, director of engagement for NASCAR tells the TechJournal its new mobile apps “have been very successful this year.”
Next week we’ll post our interview with Clark, who is one of more than 100 digital thought-leaders participating in the upcoming Digital Summit in Atlanta May 14-15, where he’ll discuss NASCAR’s digital engagement strategies.
Men 35-44 Are the Most Avid Users of Mobile Sports Apps
It’s no surprise that sports app users are predominantly male. Slightly more than twelve percent (12.4 percent) of the Persons age 18 and older in the Arbitron Mobile smartphone panel use sports apps; by gender—18.4 percent of the men 18+ in the panel use mobile sports apps versus only 6.0 percent of the women 18+.
 Compared to men, the women who do use sports apps log on for fewer sessions (14.8 per month vs. 32.8 per month) and spend far less time with mobile sports apps (34.4 minutes per month vs. 63.8 minutes per month for men).
Men, age 35-44, are the most avid users of mobile sports apps in the Arbitron Mobile smartphone panel, representing the largest share of users within a demographic—22.8 percent, and the most time spent with mobile sports apps—77.1 minutes per month. Men, age 25-34 who use mobile sports apps, do check in with their app most often—42.1 sessions per month.
| Mobile Sports Apps
|
|
Men 18+ |
Men 18-24 |
Men 25-34 |
Men 35-44 |
Men 45-54 |
Men 55+ |
| % Using Sports Apps |
18.4% |
17.0% |
16.2% |
22.8% |
19.2% |
17.2% |
| Time Spent/Month |
63.8 |
60.5 |
71.7 |
77.1 |
47.2 |
50.0 |
| # of Sessions/Month |
32.8 |
35.8 |
42.1 |
35.1 |
22.1 |
22.5 |
U.S. Arbitron Mobile Trends Panels™ Service, March 2013
About Arbitron Mobile
Arbitron Mobile Oy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arbitron Inc., uses a proprietary, on-device software meter to provide marketers, the media, content providers, app developers, and wireless access suppliers with information on how mobile consumers use apps, surf the web, engage in social media, participate in e-commerce, and employ their devices to communicate.
For more information, contact: mobile@arbitron.com or visit the Arbitron Mobile website.
Available insights into the behavior of smartphone users in the Arbitron Mobile panels are included in previous releases regarding social media use, mobile VoIP use, and mobile data consumption.
Tags: Arbitron, basketball, Digital Summit, March Madness, MLB, mobile apps, NASCAR, NCAA, Super Bowl, Tim Clark
Posted in smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
 Mobile apps now represent 84 percent of traffic, up from 45 percent two years ago, according to March MobileSTAT from Jumptap.
Two factors contribute to this rise: consumer preference for speed and browse-ability of apps, and the explosion of apps available. The time consumers spend with apps each day has already surpassed the time they spend with PCs online.
As a result, advertisers are shifting budgets to play catch up to consumers who have already dramatically shifted their content consumption to mobile.
“Consumer mobile media consumption has increased across the board, and with the rise of tablet ownership, we’ll see time spent continue to grow,” said Matt Duffy, VP of Marketing at Jumptap. “The next step for advertisers is to ensure that they are delivering a holistic message, regardless of medium, and targeting audiences with relevant messaging from screen to screen.”
March MobileSTAT Findings:
- Galaxy Tab Shines; Kindle Fire Loses Glow: Data from the Jumptap network show that iPad still sits atop the tablet market with 57 percent share. While Apple won’t lose its top position anytime soon, Jumptap predicts that Samsung – with 16 percent share – will narrow the gap this year, riding the success of its Galaxy line.
- Amazon Kindle Fire, which has lost some of its share since it burst onto the scene, will continue to struggle against the iPad mini and other mini-tablet competitors.
- Advertisers looking to reach consumers as they multi-screen during the NCAA tourney and other events should include Samsung and Amazon tablets in the mix, which represent one-third of the U.S. tablet audience.
- College Basketball Fans MAD for iPod Touch: Although iPhone is the number one smartphone among U.S. mobile customers, the top devices of choice for March Madness fans are the iPod Touch (12 percent of mobile traffic) and Samsung Galaxy 3 (9 percent of mobile traffic). Leveraging data from third-party partners in its Audience+ Insights Platform, Jumptap finds that March Madness fans skew slightly younger and less affluent than the overall mobile population – characteristics that are consistent with the demographics of iPod Touch users. Advertisers looking to reach March Madness spectators should include the iPod Touch and Samsung Galaxy S 3 in their media mix this season.
 March Madness Campaign Slam Dunk for National Food Chain: In 2012, a national restaurant chain tasked Jumptap to help it engage with college students and drive foot traffic to key store locations during the NCAA tournament. By leveraging Jumptap’s third-party data targeting, the campaign saw spikes during key points early in the tournament, and had an overall click-through rate of 160 percent above industry benchmarks.
MobileSTAT (Simple Targeting & Audience Trends) is a monthly glance into targeting and audience trends in mobile advertising through Jumptap’s network of over 46 billion impressions, 171 million U.S. users and 51,000 apps and websites. MobileSTAT contains analysis of dozens of terabytes of log data, powered by the scalable, efficient Jumptap technology. To download the full Jumptap MobileSTAT, click here.
Tags: advertising, app-happy, iPod Touch, Jumptap, Kindle Fire, March Madness, mobile apps, Samsung, tablets
Posted in Digital Devices, Internet/New Media, Mobile, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
 Three-quarters (73%) of Americans plan to keep track of the March Madness basketball games while they’re working, according to a sourvey of more than 500 workers by Teamviewer.
The most prevalent way of keeping track of March Madness included 52% who will read online sports news, followed by:
- Sneak a peek at my mobile device – 37%
- Watching streaming online clips, highlights and news – 32%
- Keep a television running at work – 21%
- Watch full-length games streaming online – 19%
It will have a big impact
And this behavior is set to have a big impact. The study shows that 45% of Americans will spend more than an hour of each workday following the games, with 8% planning to spend more than five hours.
Almost half (47%) of Americans say they will follow the March Madness tournament “closely” or “very closely,” and three-quarters (74%) will follow it at least somewhat closely.
It will affect productivity
 With all this attention being paid to the game, managers should take note that 42% of Americans overall admit the March Madness tournament will have effects on their productivity, and for sports fans who plan to watch the game very closely, that number rises to 75%.
Many say the best way for companies to cope with the expected impact on worker productivity is to get behind the games with work-sponsored activities and bracket challenges.
Fully 86% of the respondents say there are benefits to the company when employers encourage interested workers to take part in game-related activities, including:
- The company is seen as a more desirable place to work – 57%
- Employees feel more like part of a team – 56%
- Employees are more loyal – 46%
- Absenteeism is reduced – 44%
However, some employees would prefer to avoid the office altogether during March Madness – 68% say they would rather work from home during that time, and 88% of fans who will be closely following the games would prefer to do so.
Good reasons to allow it
And there’s good evidence that companies would be well-advised to allow it. 93% say there would be benefits for the company, and 63% say they would see it as a more desirable place to work, followed by increased loyalty (59%), reduced absenteeism (53%), reduced turnover (42%), increased productivity (40%) and higher quality work product (32%).
“The study clearly shows that March Madness will have a big impact on the workplace, and it’s interesting to see how a company can benefit by participating in, rather than getting in the way of, the events,” said Holger Felgner, General Manager at TeamViewer.
Tags: employee morale, management, March Madness, NCAA tournament, productivity, team building
Posted in Events, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, March 13th, 2013
With the March Madness basketball tournament less than a week away, IT professionals around the country are preparing for the office network issues that often accompany it, according to a 2013 survey from Modis, a leading provider of information technology staffing.
The survey shows that 34 percent of IT professionals will take some action to prepare for March Madness, including banning March Madness video, throttling video feeds, or simply blocking content altogether. More broadly, 48 percent of IT professionals say their company takes action to block, throttle or ban the streaming of all non-work related content in the workplace.
This comes on the heels of other studies that showed allowing employees to watch March Madness events together can be a powerful team and morale building activity. See: Tips for keeping employees on the ball during March Madness
Interestingly enough, it seems the rules on content streaming may not be the same for all employees. Even though companies may have a policy banning streaming content during March Madness, more than half – 66 percent – of those surveyed indicated they would make an exception for the head of the company (i.e. CEO or president) and 52 percent would do the same for senior employees.
Content policies becoming the norm
Content policies are becoming the norm in corporations — and it looks as though they aren’t going to ease up anytime soon. Of the 48 percent of IT departments currently taking action against streaming content, including March Madness, 29 percent believe their company’s policies will become stricter over the next two years. Only 4 percent believe they will become more relaxed.
The March Madness tournament is a month-long series of college basketball games that draw attention from sports fans across the country. Because many of the games are played during traditional work hours, many people attempt to watch them streaming live from their office computers.
v”March Madness is one of the most popular sporting events in the country, so many fans don’t want to miss a minute of it — even if they’re at work,” said Jack Cullen , president of Modis. “However, streaming content can put a significant burden on networks and the IT professionals responsible for maintaining them. Instituting systems and policies to block or reduce access is really the most logical option.”
Among those companies that don’t completely block content, there are different ways IT professionals manage the effect of content streaming events, like March Madness. Of those surveyed 30 percent resort to monitoring for violators of content policies. Twenty-four percent of respondents say they remind employees about the company’s content streaming policy, while 23 percent ask employees not to visit sports sites, relying solely on the honor system.
Other findings include:
- IT professionals are just like everyone else. Despite admitting to giving their bosses special treatment, IT professionals put themselves in the same boat as everyone else with only 12 percent of those surveyed making an exception for themselves as far as content streaming policies.
- Bans aren’t exclusive to March Madness. A majority (68 percent) of IT professionals restrict employee access to various social networking and content streaming sites. At the top of the list are Facebook (44 percent) and Netflix/Hulu (40 percent).
- IT professionals burn the midnight oil. To help prepare for potential network burdens, survey respondents said they are putting in extra hours on the job. For example, nearly half (46 percent) of IT professionals said they have worked overtime either on the weekend or during the week due to situations that cause network strain, while 45 percent have had to skip lunch breaks to prepare for upcoming problems. Even worse, 34 percent have had to work during vacation and 39 percent have put in time overnight.
“IT professionals around the nation work hard to keep office networks from slowing despite a growing array of employee web habits that may impact them,” said Cullen. “In an era where network disruption means potential loss of real business dollars, it’s not an issue that IT professionals can afford to treat lightly.”
Tags: Content, IT, March Madness, networks, streaming, work policies
Posted in Events, IT, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 6th, 2013
 So, how does your firm handle March Madness at work? OfficeTeam recently asked more than 1,000 managers whether NCAA basketball tournament festivities in the office, such as watching game highlights or engaging in friendly competitions, affect morale and productivity.
One in five (20 percent) of those surveyed felt activities tied to the college basketball playoffs improve employee morale at least somewhat, compared to only 4 percent of respondents who viewed them negatively. The majority (75 percent) said March Madness events have no impact on morale or productivity.
Based in the Research Triangle, where teams from Duke, North Carolina University at Chapel Hill, NC State, and other regional schools compete at the highest levels year-after-year, we’ve seen how intense intereste is in the NCAA tournament.
But the Office Team survey shows that smart managers can use this to help office workers bond and significantly boost morale.
The survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a leading staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on telephone interviews with more than 1,000 senior managers at companies with 20 or more employees.
Managers were asked, “Do you feel March Madness (NCAA basketball tournament) activities in the workplace, such as watching games or participating in pools that don’t involve money, have a positive or negative impact on employee morale?” Their responses:
| Very positive |
5% |
| Somewhat positive |
15% |
| No impact |
75% |
| Somewhat negative |
3% |
| Very negative |
1% |
| Don’t know/no answer |
1% |
|
100% |
Managers also were asked, “Do you feel March Madness activities in the workplace have a positive or negative impact on employee productivity?” Their responses:
| Very positive |
5% |
| Somewhat positive |
11% |
| No impact |
75% |
| Somewhat negative |
8% |
| Very negative |
1% |
|
100% |
Executives who were asked the same questions in a 2010 survey were more divided, with 41 percent viewing college basketball playoff celebrations as a morale booster, and 22 percent saying these activities adversely affect employee output.
“It’s often better for managers to acknowledge the appeal of events like March Madness and provide opportunities for their staff to enjoy the festivities rather than ignore them,” said OfficeTeam executive director Robert Hosking .
“Employees need a chance to bond with coworkers over shared interests. Group activities — whether based on the NCAA basketball tournament or other events — provide a channel for team building.”
OfficeTeam offers five tips to help companies celebrate March Madness while keeping employees’ heads in the game:
- Grant time-outs. Allowing employees to take quick breaks to check scores or chat with coworkers about the tournament can help them recharge. An informal lunch or dinner at a restaurant to watch a big game also can build camaraderie.
- Foster friendly competition. Let staff wear their favorite teams’ apparel or decorate their workspaces, within reason, to get in the spirit. Consider organizing an office competition where individuals can win bragging rights or small items such as company-awarded gift certificates without the exchange of money.
- Go over the rules. Clearly communicate policies regarding employee breaks and Internet use so professionals know what’s acceptable when it comes to March Madness and other non-work activities.
- Take the lead. Set a good example by showing how to participate in tournament festivities without getting sidelined from responsibilities. If you complete assignments before talking hoops, employees will likely follow suit.
- Evaluate your bench. If team members want to take time off to watch the playoffs, ask them to submit requests as far in advance as possible. This will help you manage workloads and determine if interim assistance is needed to keep projects on track.
Tags: employee morale, management, March Madness, NCAA tournament, team building
Posted in Best Practices, Carolinas, North Carolina | No Comments »
Monday, March 26th, 2012
 Consumers dramatically increased their access of Sports content across all three primary screens for web access – computer, tablet and smartphone – as they tried to stay plugged into the first 32 games of the tournament in real-time, acording to comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR).
ComSocre disclosed the findings as part of a study of web usage related to the 2012 NCAA Tournament based on data from comScore Device Essentials.
“The NCAA Tournament, like the Super Bowl or the Olympics, is one of those events where sports fans don’t want to miss a beat of the action – especially if they can’t be in front of a TV,” said Debbie Bradley, Sr. Director at comScore.
“Over the past several years we’ve seen fans become more reliant on the web for NCAA tournament coverage, especially while they’re tied to their desks at work during the first round matchups. As media formats continue to evolve, we’re rapidly seeing America’s national college basketball obsession increasingly bleed over to other screens like smartphones and tablets.
“Given the emphasis large advertisers place on these events, it’s important to consider how other media channels can be leveraged to maximize a brand’s awareness and its communication with the consumer.”
20 Percent of Sports Content During NCAA Tournament Viewed on Smartphones and Tablets
As part of the study, comScore analyzed computer vs. non-computer traffic (predominantly smartphones and tablets) for the Thursday and Friday of the NCAA tournament compared to the average of the three previous Thursdays and Fridays.
The data showed that nearly double the percentage of Sports category content was consumed on non-computer devices as other content categories. For all time periods studied, the percentage of Sports category traffic coming from non-computer devices was approximately 20 percent while other categories had approximately 10 percent of traffic coming from these devices. Friday, March 16, the second day of tournament action, saw non-computer Sports category traffic peak at 22.1 percent.
| Share of Web Traffic (i.e. Page Views) by Device for Sports Category vs. All Other Content
Thursday and Friday, March 15-16 vs. Average of 3 Previous Thursdays and Fridays
Total U.S.
Source: comScore Device Essentials |
| |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Avg. Thursday |
Thu, Mar. 15 |
Avg. Friday |
Fri, Mar. 16 |
| Sports Category |
|
|
|
|
| Computer Traffic |
80.2% |
79.4% |
79.6% |
77.9% |
| Non-Computer Traffic |
19.8% |
20.6% |
20.4% |
22.1% |
| All Other Content |
|
|
|
|
| Computer Traffic |
89.8% |
89.6% |
89.6% |
89.3% |
| Non-Computer Traffic |
10.2% |
10.4% |
10.4% |
10.7% |
Total Sports Content Consumption Nearly Doubles During NCAA Tournament
During the first day of opening round NCAA tournament games on Thursday, March 15, total sports-related traffic jumped 79 percent compared to the average of the three previous Thursdays.
In comparison, total traffic to all other web content declined 2 percent. The most significant gain in sports content consumption occurred via tablet at 94 percent, while smartphone activity jumped 83 percent and computer traffic jumped 77 percent. Friday, March 16 showed a similar story, though gains were not quite as steep as the previous day across all access screens, probably because of the greater interest in the tournament on the opening day.
However, gains in both smartphones and tablets were notably higher than computers in relation to Thursday, which may reflect sports fans’ greater likelihood of being on-the-go on Friday, perhaps due to the increased likelihood of taking a vacation day or an extended lunch break at the local sports bar.
| Increase in Traffic to Sports Category by Device During 1st Round of NCAA Tournament
Thursday and Friday, March 15-16 vs. Average of 3 Previous Thursdays and Fridays
Total U.S.
Source: comScore Device Essentials |
| |
% Change vs. Avg. of 3 Prior Thu/Fri |
| Sports Content |
All Other Content |
Total Content |
| Thursday, March 15 |
|
|
|
| Total Devices |
79% |
-2% |
5% |
| Computer |
77% |
-2% |
4% |
| Smartphone |
83% |
-1% |
14% |
| Tablet |
94% |
1% |
10% |
| Other |
78% |
-4% |
-3% |
| Friday, March 16 |
|
|
|
| Total Devices |
63% |
-4% |
1% |
| Computer |
59% |
-4% |
0% |
| Smartphone |
75% |
-1% |
12% |
| Tablet |
85% |
1% |
10% |
| Other |
54% |
-4% |
-4% |
“While all-encompassing media events like the NCAA Tournament might eat into the content people typically consume, it actually appears that most usage is incremental content consumption,” added Bradley. “When the content is highly time-sensitive – such as with news or sports scores – there’s a greater likelihood of it being consumed on-the-go via mobile devices.”
Tags: comScore, March Madness, NCAA, smartphones, tablets, tournament web traffic
Posted in Digital Devices, Events, Internet/New Media, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Thursday, March 15th, 2012
By Joe Procopio
 Joe Procopio Not every startup gets the lottery ticket launch. For every accelerator or grant program with a five-figure pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, there are hundreds of hungry startups vying for that same prize. Many of them will be better positioned and more savvy than you, and let’s face it, at least a few of them are more deserving.
You can’t win, but there are alternatives to fighting.
Last night, I attended three local events that allowed startups to make noise, get seen, and get introduced to people who can help them. Actually I attended two. They were all on the same night and even though I have thinking robots at my disposal, none of them are good conversationalists and, frankly, they’re all kind of lazy.
But if you have time and intestinal fortitude, here are three ways to get noticed.
1. The Public Introduction
Startup Madness was a day-long competition in Durham featuring students from all the schools in the ACC, from Boston College to Miami. Timed to kick off March Madness, the event culminated in a public pitch with one $5,000 check to the winner of the overall and another to the winner among the North Carolina schools.
Chalk.
Said overall winner was Miami’s Cohealo, with 2nd place going to Clemson’s Mushroom Mountain , 3rd place handed out to Mekong Greentech from Georgia Tech, and 4th going to TeeGee from Virginia .
Locally, Duke’s Neurospire edged UNC’s Gift Boogle. But that’s not the end of the story. I had seen Gift Boogle when I judged the Carolina Challenge last month, and I liked the team quite a bit. I introduced them to Scott Kelly and his Startup Madness program, which they applied for and obviously got into. During the Madness, I introduced them to a couple more people who might be able to open a couple more doors.
My point is, a loss isn’t always a loss (the Carolina Challenge is ongoing, by the way). Sometimes, even a loss is a win. These types of public introductions are becoming more and more popular and, even though the public pitch isn’t my favorite means of startup expression, it can’t hurt a fledgling company in their quest for connections.
2. The Private Introduction
When the madness had ended, a whole bunch of people joined a whole bunch of other people a few miles away at Fullsteam Brewery to partake in Startup Happy Hour, hosted by Zach Mansfield from Square Roots, the startup-focused program at Square 1 Bank.
I have some bias here, of course, but this is the best way to interface with the startup community and these types of socials aren’t hard to get into and aren’t hard to attend. If you’re willing to spend a couple hours with a beer in your hand and have the guts to walk up to a stranger or group of strangers, you have the opportunity to pitch without pitching.
You’re not going to land any seed money doing this. You’re probably not even going to land a meeting, but you will make connections, and there’s a time and a place to activate those connections.
Pro tip: That time and place is not at the social. It’s later.
3. The Online Introduction
The one I missed was the Innovate Raleigh meetup to introduce the TriangleWiki. This is another step in the waking up of the Raleigh area to entrepreneurial energy, and while it’s still very early, there are already pages dedicated to entrepreneurial efforts.
Again, bias here as I run ExitEvent, an online resource dedicated to startups, but this is a must for getting your startup into the public consciousness. This type of program is growing too. TechCrunch has had CrunchBase forever, and yesterday (another example of the West Coast following our lead), competitor PandoDaily announced a partnership with AngelList to create another database of startups.
If you’re not actively pursuing these kinds of introductions, then you can’t complain about a lack of attention. Yes, it would be hyper-awesome-wonderful to win a $50K grant or land in a $50K accelerator program, but the odds are long, and even then there is no guarantee of success.
I’m not saying it’s about the money, but it’s about the money. Just keep in mind it doesn’t happen overnight, but it will never happen if nobody knows who you are or what you do.
Joe Procopio heads up product engineering for automated content startup Automated Insights. He also founded and runs startup network ExitEvent, consulting marketplace Intrepid Company, and the Intrepid Media writers network. You can read him at http://joeprocopio.com and follow him at http://twitter.com/jproco.
Tags: AngelList, Carolina Challenge, Cohealo, Exit Event, Gift Boogle, Joe Procopio, March Madness, Mushroom Mountain, Neurospire, Pando Daily, Square 1 Bank, Square Roots, startup databases, Startup Happy Hour, Startup Madness, TeeGee, Triangle Wiki, Zach Mansfield
Posted in Carolinas, Columns, entrepreneurship, Internet/New Media, IT, North Carolina, Startups, Viewpoint | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012
March Madness may be an exciting time for college basketball fans around the country, but it is a stressful season for IT professionals whose job it is to maintain network security and functionality.
In fact, in a recent survey of 500 IT professionals conducted by Braun Research on behalf of Modis, 42 percent of IT professionals say March Madness historically has impacted their network. Of those affected, 37 percent report their networks have slowed down, while 34 percent report March Madness activity has essentially shut down their networks for a period of time.
Starting in the second week of March and extending through the first week of April, March Madness is the NCAA‘s Men’s Division I Basketball Championship. It ranks as one of the most popular annual sporting events in the nation.
Because many games occur during standard business hours, fans often attempt to monitor their favorite teams real-time by watching the games online at work. The increase in web usage can put added stress on the stability and operation of office networks.
Increase in streaming content a problem
In response to the increase in streaming content, some IT departments institute procedures that block or slow down web video. Other IT professionals, specifically those who do not block or slow down/throttle streaming content and video within their organizations (35 percent) say March Madness has impacted their network (55 percent) with 48 percent saying it has slowed it down and 43 percent saying it caused their network to shut down.
“With the increasing popularity and availability of streaming video, it has become easier than ever for workers to watch sports games at their desk—and March Madness is a time when streaming sports content consumption is at an all-time high,” said Jack Cullen, president of Modis.
“It’s an event that boosts office morale and builds camaraderie for many American workers, but it can put a significant burden on office networks, and the IT professionals responsible for maintaining them.”
Many IT departments prepared
Many IT departments are already prepared for the risks March Madness can pose to their network. According to the survey, 65 percent of respondents report their department takes action to hinder or prevent the consumption of streaming video.
This includes blocking streaming content (64 percent), throttling/slowing down streaming content (64 percent), and instituting a company policy that bans streaming (62 percent). Perhaps to help mitigate disappointment among employees, almost half (45 percent) of IT professionals say their company offers workers an alternate location to watch games.
Some other findings include:
- IT professionals keep an eye on employees. To protect the office network, 42 percent of respondents say they monitor employees who are trying to access March Madness video streams. A smaller number (27 percent) simply trust employees to be honest and not visit sports sites while at work.
- IT departments in different regions handle streaming content differently. Interestingly, IT departments in the South are more likely than those in other regions to not take any action against streaming content (58 percent) compared to the Northeast (14 percent), Midwest (27 percent) and West (26 percent.)
- IT professionals’ personal opinions also vary by region. Three in four (75 percent) IT professionals say employees should not be allowed to watch sporting events like March Madness during the workday. When divided by region, IT professionals in the Midwest (49 percent) are less likely to feel this way compared to other regions (96 percent in the Northeast, 79 percent in the South, 75 percent in the West.)
- March Madness can be maddening to IT professionals. The preparation, execution, and consideration for March Madness season adds stress to the lives of 29 percent of IT professionals.
- Network stability is a key reason for blocking content. Of respondents, 82 percent block streaming content primarily to maintain a stable office IT network, while 71 percent do it to remove any distractions in the workplace.
- Networks are vulnerable during other online activities. Throughout the year, there are other key moments and web activities that cause concern for IT professionals. Respondents said networks can be negatively impacted by Cyber Monday/holiday shopping (43 percent), general daily usage of social media sites (42 percent), as well as major tennis championships (37 percent).
- The employee/IT relationship is still healthy. Though 54 percent of IT professionals often or sometimes receive feedback from employees complaining about their content-streaming, or specifically March Madness policies, 71 percent still believe employees find their respective content-streaming policy to be fair.
“To ensure that the office network remains operational for the workforce as a whole, IT professionals need to make tough decisions,” said Cullen. “In the end, a fully functioning network with streaming video restrictions is better than no network at all. When users can’t access the web, it’s the IT department who has to be on task to fix the situation.”
Tags: impact on networks, March Madness, Modis, NCAA tournament
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, social media, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech Culture, TechLife, video | No Comments »
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