With only days to go until the first ball of the Ashes Series is bowled in Brisbane, businesses are urgently seeking a way to protect their networks from an anticipated deluge of media streaming, according to internet and email management innovator Netbox Blue.

"Businesses have good reason to be concerned," says Netbox Blue Chairman John Fison.

"I think it's almost inevitable that when the most eagerly anticipated cricket series starts that tens of thousands of Australians will be streaming the event live on their computer. The consequences for a business network could be massive."

"To make sure that patriotic enthusiasm doesn't bring down the whole network, we recommend establishing a clear policy and managing internet use during the Ashes Series, rather than blocking it entirely," Mr Fison says.

Netbox Blue has seen a surge in interest in category web filtering, real-time reporting and traffic shaping technology as managers look to protect mission critical applications and prevent their networks from being overloaded by background streaming of major sporting events.

"Put a television in the staff room during the Series so people can watch some of the cricket when they grab a coffee. That way they don't need to be clogging up the network downloading coverage onto their computer and potentially racking up huge costs for the business," Mr Fison says.

The real impact on a network

To give businesses an idea of the impact of media streaming, a typical news site such as a radio service running in the background (even when minimized on the user's computer screen) would equate to 60 Mbytes of data being downloaded per hour of use – per PC. For a video service such as ABC News 24, the data costs escalate to approximately 250 Mbytes per hour.

The impact can be colossal – if just 10 people leave a video service running in the background for just 8 hours a day, the data downloaded would be 20 Gbytes per day – often the sum total of a smaller company's internet data plan – leading to potentially huge excess usage charges and abysmal internet performance.

Tips for Avoiding Ashes Network Meltdown

URL Filtering: A URL filter, which is standard on all Netboxes, enables a manager to block certain sites. These can be blocked permanently, at certain times of the day, or for certain departments. Businesses can restrict access to sports coverage to lunch time or after hours, or whatever suits the business culture.

Category Web Filtering: This premium service offers managers a more comprehensive way to mange internet use by controlling access to categories of web sites, such as sport and gambling. This filter can also be deployed selectively.

Reporting Tools: Reports generated by the Netbox give managers a clear idea of which staff members are spending time on non-work related websites. Just by letting staff members know that their internet use is transparent, behaviour changes will normally follow.

Traffic Shaping: This technology enables a business to prioritise its network traffic to ensure mission critical data has priority even when internet use is heavy. This is a valuable tool at times when the internet is in high demand.

Application Controls: This capability gives managers the ability to manage and control web-based application use such as instant messaging, chat and gaming.

Laptop Controls: Netbox Blue's Laptop Protector offers businesses the ability to gain transparency and control over remote users who are using company laptops.

About Netbox Blue

Netbox Blue is a leading provider of internet and email security, filtering and management solutions. Netbox Blue provides organizations with the tools to protect their network from internal and external threats, control data leakage and ensure staff use the internet productively. The company offers a broad portfolio of products and services including Unified Threat Management appliances, email filtering appliances, soft appliances (for virtual environments) and OEM-ready solutions. The company was established in 1999, is privately held and is based in Australia. Netbox Blue has a presence in over 19 countries and has partnerships and distribution agreements with some of the world's largest IT providers.

Media contact: John Fison – Chairman, Netbox Blue on 1300 737 060 or john [dot] fison [at] netboxblue [dot] com