Earlier this week Proctor and Gamble announced that it was banning their employees from using online media services such as Pandora, Spotify and Netflix. The reason… it was sucking up the bandwidth needed to access cloud applications and data.

Any solution provider who has implemented cloud solutions has probably run into this problem. Online music has moved from being a rarity to a norm. It is a $6.3 billion industry that is not slowing down. It is not uncommon to see 90% of users in a company each streaming their flavor of music; to get the juices flowing or to sooth the stressed out soul.

While I do not believe, as many do, that bandwidth is the single biggest problem that impedes cloud adoption, it is definitely something that needs to be on the radar of all solution providers that implement cloud solutions.  Left unchecked, clients might feel shafted by the cloud and by you!

The solutions are pretty straightforward:

1. Build a Bigger Highway
2. Block the Offender
3. Prioritize the Traffic

In many cases the solution might be a combination of these options. It is important to note that these kinds of problems should be handled in the sales process, not after implementation. Being up front with clients changes how they operate and then working with them to workout a solution will keep them happy and pleased that there were no any unexpected surprises.

What other bandwidth suckers do you see when implementing cloud at your clients?