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Campus Networks Getting Schooled on BYOD says New Ipswitch SurveyLEXINGTON, Mass. --(Business Wire)-- A recent Ipswitch survey of 313 students attending U.S. colleges and universities revealed that they are largely unaware of the potentially severe impact that BYOD (bring your own device) and related online activity have on the performance of campus Wi-Fi networks. The survey commissioned by Ipswitch (News - Alert) found that more than two-thirds (67 percent) of students have between two to four devices connected to their campus networks at any given time. Laptops (86 percent) were the most popular wireless device on campus, followed by mobile phones (77 percent) and tablets (30 percent). Most students don't get the "D" in BYOD Nearly three-fourths of all students polled (73 percent) did not know what the "D" stood for in BYOD. More than one-third thought the "D" in BYOD stood for "dinner" while one-third thought it meant "date." One out of five students (27 percent) correctly identified the term. Concerns about campus Wi-Fi performance and awareness of BYOD policy The top concern registered by students regarding their campus Wi-Fi networks was slow connection time (63 percent), followed by accessibility issues (50 percent) and security (36 percent). Only approximately one in five students (23 percent) surveyed were aware of a campus-wide BYOD policy. Student wireless device uses: homework vs. home entertainment The vast majority of students polled use their wireless devices for coursework (94 percent), with more than half (60 percent) spending 1 - 3 hours day doing so. Only one-third of all students polled (33 percent) spend 1 - 3 hours a day doing homework via their wireless devices, while half (51 percent) spend the same amount o time chatting, texting or entertaining themselves. More than three-fifths (63 percent) of students polled spend 1 - 4 hours a day streaming media using services like Spotify, Netflix and YouTube (News - Alert). More than one-third (35 percent) of students indicated that they spend an average of 1 - 2 hours a day streaming media over their campus wireless networks while 28 percent admitted to spending 2 - 4 hours a day doing so. A high volume of online activity can lead to spikes in network traffic especially during popular events like the recent March Madness basketball tournament. IT professionals can mitigate the resulting problems with network monitoring technology that identifies not only the exact source, but also the people who are hogging wireless bandwidth. "This survey highlights the disconnect that exists on college campuses between students and IT professionals who work hard to keep up with the Wi-Fi demand," said Ennio Carboni, Executive Vice President, Customer Solutions, Ipswitch. "As a result, students blame the network for slowdowns while doing their homework when in fact the source of their frustration can be their fellow classmates who are watching shows on Netflix or listening to their favorite music on Spotify (News - Alert)." Survey methodology, infographic and full report The Ipswitch "BYOD on Campus" survey was taken on March 13, 2014 by 313 undergraduate and graduate students attending U.S. colleges and universities. The higher learning institutions represented in this survey ranged in size from less than 5,000 to more than 20,000 students.
About Ipswitch Ipswitch helps solve complex IT problems with simple solutions. The company's software is trusted by millions of people worldwide to transfer files between systems, business partners and customers; and to monitor networks, applications and servers. Ipswitch was founded in 1991 and is based in Lexington, Massachusetts with offices throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.ipswitch.com. Ipswitch is a registered trademark of Ipswitch, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. |
