By Maura Mahoney
Sept. 15, 2011
Low latency has become a major area of focus across a variety of industries, as customers’ applications require more efficient network connectivity.
New, bandwidth-intensive applications and increased cloud adoption are fostering innovative business operations across industries. The potential performance delays associated with these applications have implications that range from frustration from slow load times and delayed graphics to far more serious and costly consequences.
Once an imperative only for the financial services industry, low-latency connectivity is now important across all major industries as minimizing delays in transactions and increasing data speed are critical to business success. 88 percent of IT decision makers cited low latency as one of the most important qualities of their network, according to a survey by Sidera Network.
Education
In education, high-speed networking solutions allow institutions to leverage innovative technologies that provide new ways of teaching, learning, and collaborating. Gone are the days of the simple chalkboard. The “new” classroom relies on high-speed connectivity and includes applications such as video conferencing, live-streaming, rich learning content, e-learning platforms, presentation applications, and dynamic administration tools.
Network speed in the classroom creates a more innovative, interactive learning environment. While applications such as live-streaming and electronic whiteboards vastly improve creativity and collaboration, they become less effective if they are sluggish or delayed. In a 2008 survey of students in higher education conducted by The Economist, 52 percent of the respondents cited collaborative technologies as the top online tool to improve academics. Students can use high-speed connectivity to complete coursework outside their class or dorm rooms in student centers, quads or outdoor spaces, creating their own dynamic learning environments and promoting collaboration.
Campuses across the world are accessing cloud-based applications over fast, secure low latency networks. Cloud computing solutions, such as Software as a Service (SaaS), provide educational institutions increased flexibility and accessibility to information and applications that can be used both on- and off-premises. By providing consistent, high-speed access to information systems and research data, low-latency networks facilitate connections between key stakeholders and other academic institutions worldwide.