Blue Coat brings Spotify control to PacketShaper

Spotify can affect network performance if too many workers are logged on

Application delivery firm Blue Coat Systems has announced that its PacketShaper appliances can now discover, classify and prioritise the Spotify music streaming service.

A new plug-in can identify the peer-to-peer music application, and limit the bandwidth, reduce its priority or block it completely.

"Visibility is fundamental to optimising application performance, and we intend to continue to invest in our PacketShaper appliances to provide enterprises with an expanded view into the applications that are running on their networks," said Carrie Oakes, vice president of product management and marketing at Blue Coat.

"Granular visibility is the lynchpin in the Blue Coat Application Delivery Network infrastructure, and provides enterprises with the actionable intelligence they need to optimise application performance and align IT investments with business requirements."

Oakes believes that, rather than just block Spotify completely, many companies may be willing to let employees use the service, as long it does not negatively impact network performance.

Spotify claims that average listening times are over one hour per user per day, and the recommended bandwidth requirement of 256Kbit/s can have a substantial impact on the network if many workers are using it at the same time.

PacketShaper appliances can identify more than 600 applications, including Flash, peer-to-peer, Oracle and Facebook, allowing IT managers to offer bandwidth guarantees for business applications such as videoconferencing or customer relationship management systems.

The new software plug-in for Spotify is available immediately, and is free of charge to Blue Coat customers with a current maintenance agreement.