NZ Internet Performance Index launched

Monday 18 December 2000

NZ Internet Performance Index launched

An online index, which measures the average response time of 20 key New Zealand web sites, was launched today - claiming firsts in New Zealand and worldwide.

Created by The Web Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of KPMG Consulting) and Keynote Systems, the index works in much the same way as the NZSE 40 index measures the overall performance of the NZ Stock Exchange. The index is available at http://keynote.co.nz/nz20, and is published on INL's Stuff.co.nz web site.

It is updated every 15 minutes with the latest performance data and shows the top five performing sites over the last 24 hours and seven days. New Zealand is the first country in the world to provide this data updated with such regular frequency.

The Web Limited's Technical Director, Dave Moskovitz, says for the first time, there is an objective performance measure of the entire New Zealand Internet.

"It's like a near real-time health report for the Internet," he says.

"If there's a lot of congestion, or other network problems, it shows up as poor performance on the index. Up until now, you had no way of knowing whether slow response time was a problem on your local network, or indicative of the whole 'Net just being slow. With the NZ performance index, you can pop in and have a look at how everyone else is going."

Internet Development Manager at Stuff.co.nz, Will Everitt, says the collaborative initiative recognises the importance of Internet performance.

"With more and more business being transacted over the Internet, being able to monitor performance becomes increasingly important," he says.

"This new service gives you a baseline measure of general New Zealand Internet performance."

Keynote Systems, based in California, run a large global network of more than 1000 computers, or measurement agents, whose sole purpose is to measure Internet performance.

Keynote publishes similar indexes for the US, France, Germany, the UK, and Scandinavia, but these are weekly indexes published offline in paper publications.

Keynote recently established local measurement agents in New Zealand and Australia in partnership with The Web Limited. The index is based on Keynote's Perspective service, which measures the performance of individual web sites.

"Keynote Perspective lets you measure your web site performance from New Zealand, Australia, or over 50 other locations globally," says Mr Moskovitz.

"The service is browser-based, and doesn't require any software installation either on the browser or the server. Site performance is measured hourly from each selected location, and then accessible through charts and tables online through any browser.

"You can immediately see all of the components of response time - from DNS lookup through network latency and content size graphically at a glance.

"Most importantly, the service is very easy to set up and use," he says.

Mr Moskovitz says Telecom, an early NZ user of the system, managed to shave 20 percent off their home page response time in their first week using the tool.

"We have also used the tool to point out network problems in several ISP's networks that they were previously unaware of.

"People learn a lot about their own site on the first use - it's a form of enlightenment for people to see themselves as others see them, performance-wise," he says.

"A number of studies have shown that response time is the single most important element of user experience. It will be increasingly important for e-centric businesses to understand this as more people rely on their services. We're delighted that the tools are now available to measure this objectively."

The Web Limited is offering two-week free trials of the Keynote Perspective service.

The Web Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of KPMG Consulting. ENDS

For more information, contact:

The Web: Dave Moskovitz, davem@web.co.nz, 025 964 132.

Stuff: Will Everitt, will.everitt@stuff.co.nz or 025 896 695.

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