Companies that rely on the web for success quickly learn that the Internet isn't always "up to snuff" when it comes to the task of delivering Web content reliably. A quick peek of this week's technology headlines will most likely reveal the severity of the problem. As when is the last time a week went by and you didn't hear of one or several high-traffic Web sites experiencing an outage due to customers looking to access content or execute transactions?
And, in today's rapidly expanding world of technology, marketing has taken on a new meaning. With the birth of Web sites, marketing your business means more than creating a stellar product or service and implementing the perfect customer service policy. Because, no matter how good your product or service is, if potential customers can't get on your Web site due to Internet traffic jams ˆ those potential customers will soon be buying from your competition.
Cyberspace traffic jams are hurting commercial Web sites and costing companies billions of dollars. A recent study, conducted by Jupiter Communications, LLC, a New York City, NY based research firm, showed that 47 percent of end users who experience technical problems for the first time they try connecting to a Web site will simply go to another site ˆ and 9 percent of that number will never return. And if that isn't enough bad news to ruin your cyberspace day, keep in mind that every frustrated web surfer who quits trying to access your Web site is a potential customer for your competition.
The truth is out there
I know it sounds terrible but don't get your knickers in a twist as there is a solution out there. Companies, which have Web sites, can use content distribution services. These services build "content delivery networks" (or CDNs) which install servers on ISP nets all over the world so that your Web site content is as close to the customer as possible. What this means to you is an increase in the speed in which your Web site downloads. Content distribution services deliver Web pages from the nearest server to a customer's location, bypassing router hops. They even say that they can deliver content quickly enough to keep page views, as well as revenues, high. In simple terms, this means that your Web site will work the way you always expected it to work ˆ make profits for your company.
Avoiding traffic jams on the Web
Sandpiper Networks, Inc., Thousand Oaks, California, boasts that it was the first company to improve web site performance by changing the way that information moves through the Internet. It's product, Footprint, has more than 400 high-end servers around the world. This network includes Sandpiper-deployed servers as well as ISP caches that have been Footprint-enabled. In addition, Footprint has distribution points in 25 networks including AOL, AT&T WorldNet, Earthlink, Cable and Wireless, NTTPC, Sprint and UUNet.
By serving content from multiple locations around the globe, Footprint can avoid traffic jams at the Internet's major intersections. What does this mean for your Web site? Faster download times no matter how busy your site happens to be. For more information about Sandpiper Networks, Inc. visit its web site at http://www.sandpiper.com.
Conducting e-business globally
Adero, Inc., Cambridge, MA, is a global turnkey service that enables companies to create a quick, consistent and reliable Internet experience for online customers anywhere in the world. Adero's network of intelligent nodes and patent-pending GeoTraffic Managerä technology allows companies to overcome the complexities of managing infrastructures in foreign markets, as well as to reap the benefits of improved Web site performance and custom-tailored content.
The company recently unveiled AderoWorld Service, which addresses the challenges of conducting e-commerce globally. "AderoWorld Service makes conducting e-business globally as fast, easy and convenient as conducting business locally," says Majed Tomeh, Interim CEO at Adero, Inc. "Adero is packaging a cost-effective solution for the vast majority of companies doing business on the Web. We have already built a strong domestic and European customer base, offering a competitive edge to companies seeking a global business presence," continued Tomeh. For more information about Adero, Inc, visit its Web site at http://www.adero.com
Over 40 billion served
Headquartered in Cambridge, MA Akamai's beginnings lie in the challenge posed by World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee to academia at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in early 1985. The father of the Web foresaw the congestion that is now very familiar to Internet users today and challenged colleagues at MIT to invent a fundamentally new and better way to deliver Internet content. Together with several of his colleagues, Berners-Lee founded Akamai.
Akamai (pronounced AH kuh my) is a Hawaiian word for intelligent and clever. Informally, it means "cool." And, Akamai's Internet delivery services enable major Web site owners to speed up Web site performance and improve reliability. To enable its service, Akamai deploys servers around the globe and close to Internet users, closing the distance that Web content needs to travel. This worldwide server deployment helped to form the foundation for the company's fist service, FreeFlow SM. According to the folks at Akamai, FreeFlow SM has already served over 40 billion Web site hits this year for customers such as CNN, GO Network and Yahoo. So what does that mean? In true computerese ˆ it means that FreeFlow has delivered over 2000 terabytes of information. That's a lot considering a terabyte is approximately 1,099,511,627,776 (one trillion) bytes. For more information about Akamai Technologies, Inc. visit its Web site at http://www.akamai.com.
Just the facts, Ma'am
Before you consider jumping on the content delivery service bandwagon, keep in mind that CDNs are not built into every ISP network ˆ so traffic jams may still occur depending on the route the information takes. Also, make sure that the provider you choose is capable of handling your type of content by asking, "what type of content can your service handle?" Make sure you get the down and dirty on geographic and network coverage and thoroughly read the details of the architecture which will inform you how the nuts and bolts work to boost performance.