NCAA Basketball Tournament Creates More Madness for Corporate IT 

MARCH. 8, 2016 | HANOVER, MD | For media inquiries, please contact us at media@TEKsystems.com.

TEKsystems survey reveals growing concern for network security during annual collegiate sporting event

Heading into next week’s NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, TEKsystems^®, a leading provider of IT staffing solutions, IT talent management expertise and IT services, today released the results of a survey that explores the anticipated impact of the games on corporate networks. The survey results represent the views of more than 400 IT professionals, including help desk support analysts, developers, systems administrators, database administrators, network administrators and others.

Key highlights from the survey include:

Vast Majority Expect Increased Usage; More Than Half Expect Their Company’s Network to be at Greater Risk

• TEKsystems’ Take: Eighty-nine percent of IT professionals anticipate increased Internet usage at their organizations due to the NCAA tournament. Additionally, the percentage reporting that their networks will be at greater risk increased from 47 percent to 60 percent. 

Despite Policies and Tracking, Majority of Employees Bypass Mandates; Tax Network Bandwidth

• TEKsystems’ Take: While the majority (59 percent) indicate they have a policy regarding Internet usage for events unrelated to work, and tracking has increased (from 49 percent to 58 percent), employees seem determined to continue their behavior. More than 7 of 10 respondents indicated they have seen “work arounds” to company policies. As a result, more than half now indicate a negative impact on network bandwidth.

“This data shows that network administrators should definitely be concerned about their network’s health during mass appeal sporting events,” said TEKsystems Research Manager Jason Hayman. “Additionally, the increased use of alternative devices such as tablets and smartphones within the corporate environment is exacerbating the problem and will likely continue to increase. Many savvy IT departments have actually put on a “full-court press” to develop calendars of extraordinary events to help ensure the network is exposed to as little as possible.”

TEKsystems’ Jason Hayman is available for additional commentary. For more information about the survey, or to schedule an interview, please contact Rick McLaughlin at TEKsystems@teamlewis.com.

About TEKsystems

People are at the heart of every successful business initiative. At TEKsystems, an Allegis Group company, we understand people. Every year we deploy more than 80,000 IT professionals at 6,000 client sites across North America, Europe and Asia. Our deep insights into IT human capital management enable us to help our clients achieve their business goals–while optimizing their IT workforce strategies. We provide IT staffing solutions and IT services to help our clients plan, build and run their critical business initiatives. Through our range of quality-focused delivery models, we meet our clients where they are, and take them where they want to go, the way they want to get there.