Our business needs for accessing the Internet increase substantially every year. We have WebEx for video conferencing, finance users on an ACCPAC server on campus, Kronos and WorkDay for HR needs, teams/groups use cloud storage such as Box, our region uses (or will soon use) the regional file server on campus. That is a good deal of traffic going in and out to the Internet.
Yes, our download speeds may be faster than before now that we have Time Warner cable, but it is still a limited resource. Please be mindful of Internet sites and programs where audio/video or large files are utilized.
What are some simple things you can do to help?
- Internet radio
(This is our biggest offender for causing our association's network speeds to slow to a pitiful crawl.)
I recommend that if you want to listen to the radio in the office, you should go "old school" on this one.... Dust off the radio player in the back of your closet and tune it to your favorite local station.
- Keep non-work related Internet usage to a minimum
We are an organization that embraces social media. It is a great way to reach our audiences, so we do use Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites for work-related purposes. I don't want to discourage their usage ever, but please keep your personal use of these sites and other sites to a minimum.
This means no watching the latest soap opera on your favorite network during lunch break... :)
- Know the symptoms of viruses and malware
When a computer is infected with a virus or malware, it can slow down your association network. Please read the previous blog posts about preventing and knowing the symptoms of viruses:
So You Think You Have A Virus?
SPAM - Phishing E-mails
If you suspect you have a virus, please let your local IT contact or me know ASAP.
- Steer clear of Google Drive's desktop application
Google Docs is great for sharing documents and collaborating with a team. But if you use Google Drive, please access it via the web browser (http://drive.google.com) and not the desktop program. Unfortunately, the desktop program will slow down your network, even when it's idle and not syncing your documents.
Mobile Devices connected to our WIRELESS - PLEASE remember: Even if your mobile device is connected to the guest wireless in the building, it's still connected to the same Time Warner Internet line that we use for business. This means if you are listening to internet radio on your smart phone, connected to the guest wireless, it's using our network bandwidth, the same as if you were listening to it on your computer.