Keynote Shines Light on Internet Dial-Up Performance; Consumer Edition v. 2.0 Measures ‘at Home` and Remote Internet User Experience
PRESS RELEASE
Lycos, Gateway, Trip.com and Ameritrade Lead in Performance in Four New Vertical Industry Dial-Up Benchmarks
SAN MATEO, California, September 5, 2001 -- Keynote Systems (Nasdaq:KEYN), The Internet Performance Authority®, today announced the immediate availability of Web Site Perspective Consumer Edition™ v. 2.0, with new capabilities that emphasize the company`s performance management service measuring users connecting to the Internet over DSL, cable modem and 56Kb dial-up connections-- including AOL.
In addition, Keynote is introducing four new vertical industry benchmarks as standards for dial-up Web site performance in each of four consumer-oriented categories: Portal/Search, e-Shopping, Travel and Brokerage. Lycos (Nasdaq:LCOS) is the fastest-performer in the Portal/Search Benchmark for the week of August 26 at 5.80 seconds on average; Gateway (NYSE:GTW) led in the e-Shopping category at 19.17 seconds on average for the week; Trip.com was at the top of the Travel category at 15.17 seconds on average and Ameritrade (Nasdaq:AMTD) came in number one in the Brokerage category at 4.34 seconds on average. (See - http://www.keynote.com/company/overview/public_services/consumer/cons40_index.html)
"Keynote`s customers have indicated a desire for more granular measurements within industry segments so that they can compare their performance more closely against competitors," said Bill Jones, director of public services for Keynote. "The introduction of these four new vertical benchmarks address that need."
Keynote Web Site Perspective Consumer Edition provides mission critical Web site performance data to businesses whose sites are accessed by ‘at home` e-commerce consumers, and employees and business users working remotely over 56 Kb modem, DSL and cable modem connections, including performance data for secure pages (SSL) accessed over phone lines. The new features expand the performance data available to Web site operators concerned about the performance of their sites for lower-bandwidth users, including the impact of a Web page`s graphical content, which is a key factor affecting download performance over slower speed links.
Keynote Web Site Perspective Consumer Edition is the only service which accurately measures the ‘at home` user experience by connecting to the Internet using the same equipment a typical consumer would use on a dial-up line, as well as providing performance data for secure sites accessed over phone lines.
According to research conducted by Keynote, to be presented at the 2001 Computer Measurement Group International Conference in December, "dial-up emulation" methods, using a variety of techniques such as bandwidth restriction of high-speed lines and network latency emulation, had deviations as high as 45% from true dial-up measurements, primarily due to the hardware characteristics of modems. "This massive error in emulated measurements is the reason that Keynote has invested in the infrastructure to deliver true dial-up measurements to our customers," said Eric Siegel, principal Internet consultant at Keynote and one of the authors of the study "There`s no point in a measurement if it isn`t accurate." (See - http://www.cmg.org/conference/prelim2001/2001prelim.html)
According to recent figures from Forrester Research supporting the ongoing significance of dial-up access to e-business, U.S. consumers spent $3.98 billion online in July up from $3.2 billion in June and the number of household shopping online increased to 14.7 million in July from 13.1 million in June. Jupiter Media Metrix, Inc. estimates that by 2005 the number of U.S. households using the Internet for banking transactions will grow to 43.5 million. Jupiter also predicts that approximately 40 percent of all U.S. households will use Web banking to check bank balances, pay bills and research credit options as casually as they use ATM banking today.
"Businesses engaged in e-commerce ignore the experience of the home user at their peril," said Matthew Parks, director of product management for Keynote. "With the introduction of these enhancements to the Consumer Edition of our Web Site Perspective service, Keynote continues to expand its commitment to providing the most accurate, actionable, in-depth performance data to the enterprise so that companies can assure all customers a high quality of service no matter how they connect to the Internet."
Pricing for Consumer Edition remains unchanged with measurement packages available from single city, US5 or US10 locations. Customers who sign for new Consumer Edition measurements with a six-month subscription commitment before the end of September will receive a discount of 15%. Keynote Consumer Edition is built on Microsoft Internet Explorer, acknowledged by IT managers and Web site operators as the most common browser accessing their sites. Keynote`s use of Internet access from MSN, AT&T, Earthlink, Mindspring and AOL represents roughly 50% of the total consumer access market of over 67 million subscribers.
Each of Keynote`s new vertical consumer benchmarks is based on Consumer Edition dial-up measurements, and altogether comprises the Keynote Consumer 40 Internet Performance Index™. Web site operators can now benchmark their performance against competitors within a specific market. The data can be viewed in the MyKeynote interface as well as in the customer`s daily e-mail report. Each benchmark is available immediately and priced at $5995 per month per benchmark.
Keynote`s Consumer Edition combined with its other benchmarking, diagnostic and load testing services for the enterprise continues to strengthen and expand the range of solutions Keynote provides which are critical for superior online customer service and customer retention.
Keynote Systems, Inc.
Keynote Systems (Nasdaq "KEYN"), The Internet Performance Authority®, is the worldwide leader in Internet performance services that improve the quality of e-business. Keynote`s services enable corporate enterprises to benchmark, test and manage their e-business applications both inside and outside the firewall. By improving the quality of their e-business, companies reduce costs, gain operational efficiency, protect and grow revenue and stay ahead of the competition. More than 2,900 corporate IT departments, Web hosting companies and Internet service and content delivery providers around the world have implemented the company`s easy-to-use and cost-effective services.
Keynote Systems, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San Mateo, California. The company can be reached at www.keynote.com or by phone in the U.S. at 650-403-2400.
© 2001 Keynote Systems. The Internet Performance Authority, KeyReadiness, and Perspective are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Keynote in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Editorial Contacts:
Dan Berkowitz
Keynote Systems
(650) 522-1168
dberkowitz@keynote.com
Della Lowe
Keynote
(650) 403-3233
dlowe@keynote.com
Back...
