Keynote Simplifies Web Transaction Measurement and Management With Transaction Perspective 3.0

Business Wire, Dec 3, 2001

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 3, 2001

Self-Service Recorder is Fast and Easy to Use; In-Depth Error

Diagnostics For Immediate and Accurate Root Cause Analysis

Keynote Systems (Nasdaq:KEYN), the Internet Performance Authority(R), today announced Transaction Perspective Version 3.0, which simplifies and provides greater control and accuracy measuring the performance and identifying the root cause of problems affecting multi-step, interactive Web-based transactions, such as online purchases and stock transactions.

With Transaction Perspective 3.0, IT managers and Web site operators can reduce lost revenue due to transaction abandonment; assure end users are able to complete critical transactions; understand the impact of Internet latency on performance and revenue; and diagnose the root cause of problems more efficiently, whether on the network, at the backend, or in page components -- now from locations worldwide as well as in the U.S.

Keynote Transaction Perspective 3.0 introduces:

-- a new, easy-to-use self-service recorder so that customers can automatically
script and record the transactions to be measured themselves, providing greater
control and making transaction measurement easier and faster;

-- instant automated error graphs and page level breakdowns that increase the
range and granularity of error messages for faster root cause analysis
(including page download, connection timeout, and other metrics by region and
backbone);

-- on-demand traceroutes for fast problem resolution.

The service provides transaction measurements over all the major backbones, and includes individual page results plus overall results for all pages in the transaction. In addition, the new recorder can be used as a quality assurance tool to test the transaction prior to deployment across Keynote's measurement network, indicating Missing Keyword errors, total page timings, etc.

Zona Research, in its "Need for Speed II" report issued in May, 2001, calculated that $25 billion in Web business is lost annually due to poor transaction performance. The report, based in part on transaction performance data provided by Keynote, studied the economic impact of Web performance and abandonment of multi-page transactions, and cites Savoia's Law, which states that users abandon sites based upon demerits, or "dissatisfiers," accumulated as users wait beyond their patience threshold. Zona's report observes that consumer Web sites, particularly retail sites, have actually increased latency times, or user wait, by over 20% over the past year, based in part on heavy graphics and dynamic banner ads. It concludes that transactional latencies will eventually become the dominant factor in Web site abandonment.

Keynote's transaction measurement results for the current online holiday shopping season, underscore the wide variance in performance for the same transaction on different sites: ranging from 3.64 seconds for a three-page search for an item of apparel on jcpenney.com, to 13.69 seconds on PacificSunwear.com, which is slower than the same transaction, done in five pages, on Talbots.com, averaging 9.64 seconds. It is apparent that transaction performance has little to do with the number of pages in the transaction.

"Performance measurements for transactions need to capture the complexity of multiple pages, yet the measurement process itself needs to be fast and simple," said Roopak Patel, product manager for Keynote's Transaction Perspective service. "IT managers need instant and accurate error detection, with the ability to pinpoint problems to individual pages. Keynote's transaction service gives IT greater control and swifter problem resolution to maximize Web-based transactions."

Keynote Transaction Perspective 3.0 creates an extensible platform built on the most current technologies. The new version is based on Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 and the document object model (DOM), the most advanced method for scripting created by the World Wide Web Consortium, giving customers greater flexibility when sites change and creating a platform for new functionality in the future.

More About Keynote Transaction Perspective 3.0

Transaction Perspective measures transactions as recorded by the customer, from the time a user from his keyboard requests a page to be downloaded, through all the steps and pages required for the desired transaction, whether it's searching for or purchasing an item or buying a stock. To use Transaction Perspective, customers download the Transaction Recorder from Keynote's Web site; record and edit the transaction to be measured; submit the recording to Keynote to be deployed across the company's measurement network, and within 24 hours can start accessing the results from their account using the MyKeynote browser-based interface.

Transaction Perspective measures all types of complex transactions including JavaScript, secure pages and logins, cookies and nested frames. Every transaction measures the complete business process and reports page-specific metrics to diagnose performance-related problems with greater accuracy. Page components measured include: DNS Time; Time to Opening Page (including network connection setup time, redirection time, SSL session setup time, and page download time prior to browser rendering of the page); and Content Download, executed for all pages in the transaction.