NEWS / EVENTS
2007 Articles
Gomez maintains an online archive of two years of selected articles written about the company or its products. All articles are maintained at the sites of the publications or blogs where they originally appeared, or if a link is not available, an abstract will appear here. The articles will appear in a separate browser window.
Note: By clicking on a link you will be leaving the Gomez site to view the article. We are not responsible for the content or policies of third-party sites.
E–commerce Sales Soared on Cyber Monday
CIO Magazine December 3, 2007
Gomez measured the response time, consistency and availability of 64 top e–commerce sites during four weeks in October and November, pitting retailers against each other in successive brackets similar to the NCAA’s “March Madness” tournament. Amazon, Wal–Mart and Target went down in the first round. Amazon’s performance was hurt by a home page heavy with images, in–house ads and other promotions, says Matt Poepsel, Gomez’s vice president of performance strategies.
Overstock.com rated “Best in Class” for Holiday Shopping
Overstock.com November 28, 2007
“We learned early on that a fast site creates happy shoppers, and happy shoppers buy more, and buy more often,” said Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne. ”From a business perspective, building a fast website has been a top priority, and it's very satisfying to see the results reflected in Gomez's performance testing.”
Cyber Monday really clicks with consumers
USA Today November 28, 2007
“So many people rushed to the websites for Costco, Toys R Us and CompUSA that slowdowns hampered the sites starting Monday morning,” says Matt Poepsel, vice president of performance strategies for research firm Gomez.
Blockbuster knocks out Overstock to win Gomez site performance tournament
Internet Retailer November 27, 2007
“The strong performance throughout the tournament of retail chains like Blockbuster suggests that companies best known for their stores have come to recognize the importance of e-commerce,” says Matt Poepsel, vice president of performance strategies at Gomez. “It’s good to see those physical store retailers are getting serious about performance,” Poepsel says.
Cyber Monday performance: Generally good, but with some outages
Tier1Research November 27, 2007
The best performers? According to Web performance firm Gomez, Blockbuster Video has the most robust site, followed by Overstock.com, REI and Zappos. Dell, JC Penney, FreshDirect and Foot Locker were also highly rated. Sears’ poor performance was predicted early; the retailer was knocked out in the very first round of Gomez’s Merchant Madness tournament.
Toys ‘R’ Us, Costco struggle on Cyber Monday
InfoWorld November 27, 2007
“When a Web site becomes so slow that customers give up on it and leave, the negative effect of the experience goes beyond that particular instance of a lost sale,” Poepsel said. “The inconvenience and disappointment customers feel erodes their confidence in and loyalty to the company and damages the brand.”
CyberMonday Victim: Costco Melts Down
eWeek November 27, 2007
In the middle of Cyber Monday, Costco.com melted down, with its time for a full transaction soaring to 200 seconds, from a typical Costco average of about 18 seconds, according to Matt Poepsel, performance strategies vice president for Web traffic tracking firm Gomez.
Overstock.com Divulges Secret to Its Cyber Monday Success
Information Week November 27, 2007
Overstock.com also ranked second, after Blockbuster, in a four–week measure of availability and response time among online retailers’ sites, conducted by Web site monitoring firm Gomez, that concluded on Cyber Monday.
More Cyber Monday Problems
The Wall Street Journal Online November 26, 2007
Gomez, a company that monitors Web site performance, tells us that Costco.com, which normally takes about three seconds to load, is taking 30 seconds today.
E-Tailers Pin High Hopes on Cyber Monday Windfalls
eCommerce Times November 26, 2007
While the e-commerce niche overall is better prepared for the holiday season, some retailers still experience slow response times or even outages. The Web site of discount retailer Costco was experiencing problems early on Cyber Monday, Web monitoring firm Gomez said Monday.
Cyber Monday: No Bang, But No Whimper
Investors.com November 26, 2007
Gomez says warehouse club Costco was hardest hit by slowdowns on Monday. Matt Poepsel, vice president of performance strategies for Gomez, says the heavy visitor traffic led to the slowdown and “frustrated the user experience at these sites.”
Cyber shopping demand may be too high
Chicago Sun Times November 26, 2007
“User expectations are higher than ever, and the architecture of these (e–commerce) systems are complex,” Poepsel said. “Any little thing that goes wrong potentially can cause problems.Customers aren’t interested in explanations. Once they have a bad experience on a store’s Web site, they may abandon that retailer altogether.”
Online Retailers Offer Deals to Cash In On Cyber Monday
Information Week November 26, 2007
Since the end of October, Gomez has held “Merchant Madness,” a competition measuring online performance of 64 retailers’ Web sites. The two sites vied for the top spot on Monday. Gomez will name the winners Tuesday.
Developers are increasingly treating AJAX as a must-have component for their Web applications
AjaxWorld Magazine November 20, 2007
AJAX continues to raise user expectations for interactivity and performance, and developers are increasingly treating AJAX as a must–have component for their Web applications. As more code is moved client–side and the network model changes, the community is responding by building tools to address the unique performance challenges of AJAX. This article provides a working introduction to these tools and their use evaluating the performance of an AJAX application.
Gomez adds three to management team, necessitated by healthy growth
Tier 1 Daily October 24, 2007
Web performance monitoring provider Gomez hired three industry veterans, bulking up its management team. Successfully riding emerging market trends (most notably, offering on–demand applications for its web performance management), Gomez has seen aggressive growth, necessitating the expansion of its management team. Ed Murray was appointed senior vice president of research and development, J. Scott Burnett was appointed vice president of worldwide network operations and engineering and Craig Cohen was appointed vice president of lead generation programs.
The Evolution of Quality Assurance in OSS
ebizQ September 17, 2007
The Quality Assurance (QA) role has existed for as long as software itself. While “bugs” have evolved from real bugs eating away on vacuum tubes to much more difficult to identify typos and oversights in code, the need to identify and stamp out these bugs as quickly as possible remains as important as ever.
Thankfully, our industry no longer has to literally stamp out real bugs, but the job is probably just as messy. QA has, unfortunately, been relegated to the back seat of the development process, often treated as second class citizen.
Amazon gets fresh challenge with new grocery business
CNBC August 27, 2007
Amazon.com, already a giant in online consumer shopping, is moving into the grocery business. Gomez VP of performance strategies Matt Peopsel comments on why the company is likely to succeed.
Gomez Named Top Vendor in the Web Performance Monitoring Category
Internet Retailer August 10, 2007
This report by Internet Retailer takes a look at vendors in their respective technology categories most often cited by Top 500 companies. The top two vendors in each category were determined by research for the Top 500 Guide conducted by Internet Retailer from January through April of this year. The rankings are based on the frequency suppliers were cited by merchants in this year's Top 500 Guide. Gomez is named top vendor in the "web performance monitoring" category.
An E-Commerce Must: Get iPhone-Friendly
E-Commerce Times August 2, 2007
With a comprehensive iPhone optimization strategy, e-commerce executives and Web developers can take control of the entire iPhone application experience and, for those who care, support the success of the device. In this "Expert Advice" column, Gomez CTO Imad Mouline provides tips for ensuring quality web experiences on the iPhone platform.
Smart Start Hotel Executive Report: Trending
Hotel Executive August 1, 2007
Up to this point we’ve been writing about the month to month results and the changes experienced by the sites monitored in the benchmark. This month we will focus on trending. Much like the benchmark gives perspective on how sites are doing compared to the industry, trending gives perspective on how a site has performed over an extended period of time
Smart Start Hotel Executive Report: Aggregator Performance Should Matter to You
Hotel Executive July 19, 2007
Aggregator sites play an important part on expectations for your sites performance. Users normally shop around and will more than likely start at the aggregator sites and then move on to the individual hotel sites. So it is fair to say that the performance of your site will be compared to the performance of the aggregator sites the user visits.
Performing Well in a Web 2.0 World
Network World July 18, 2007
Web 2.0 is more than a buzzword for those charged with tracking application performance when apps get flung around the globe through a Web browser with data coming from multiple sources. Network World's Jason Meserve talks with Imad Mouline, chief technology officer at Gomez, about the challenge of measuring Web 2.0 application performance. (15:54)
Will Anarchy Kill the Web Experience?
SmartBiz July 10, 2007
The Web 2.0 vision promises many great things, including rampant social networking, grassroots content creation and broad-based collaboration.
Why are Radisson and Marriot on top and Hyatt and Hotel-Guides on the bottom?
Hotel Executive June 26, 2007
Gomez's Roger Lopez explains in his May analysis of The Gomez Hotel Performance Index for Hotel Executive.
Ecetera to Resell Gomez Services
Australian Retail News June 20, 2007
Major Australian reseller publication reports on Gomez's first partnership in that country with Ecetera.
Ten ways to improve testing, performance of web 2.0 applications
SearchSoftwareQuality.com June 11, 2007
Gomez' Patrick Lightbody discusses ten different ways to improve the testing and performance of Web 2.0 applications.
Campaign 2.0: Whose Web Site Is Winning?
E-Commerce News May 12, 2007
There may still be another 18 months or so before the next presidential election, but it's already become very clear that Web 2.0 technologies have changed the terrain of the political campaign process.
Silverjet monitors web site performance
Computing UK May 9, 2007
Business class-only airline Silverjet is using web site availability and performance monitoring technology to ensure its site can meet demand following its recent launch.
Many moving parts - How online retailers handle site performance and the customer experience as web stores load up on new features and functions
Internet Retailer May 1, 2007
It's an old adage that a merchant must know who its customers are. But today web merchants need to know a whole lot more about site visitors than demographics or purchase history if they're to deliver an online experience that keeps customers coming back. They must measure and understand such metrics as where customers are connecting from, what operating system they're running, what browsers they're using, what versions of browsers they have, and what ISP they're using.
Online Campaign Contributions Keep Clicking
ABC News April 17, 2007
Ever try to purchase something online, only to be frustrated by how much time it takes to get through the process?
One company says that is exactly the experience facing web-savvy users who want to donate money online to the 2008 presidential candidates.
Gomez introduces QA services offering
Tier 1 Research April 17, 2007
Gomez Inc., best known for its website performance measurement, asked itself an interesting question: what now? They've moved downward with an on-demand offering and expanded internationally. That being said, what's next for a company founded around the idea of website performance?
Quality Assurance is a significant issue for Web developers. For one thing, there are now many different browsers to support: Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer 6 and 7. Browser support issuers are complicated by the popularity of Firefox among developers, but widespread usage of IE among consumers. There are also more popular operating systems, including Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X, and several variants of Linux. Web pages are also far more complicated with the widespread usage of Web 2.0 technologies, such as AJAX. Finally, the use of acceleration techniques, from TCP acceleration to content delivery networks (CDNs), can complicate the QA process...
...T1R thinks that the company's QA test suite is a logical extension to Gomez's current product line and is a great upsell to existing customers, as well as a way to attract a new set of developer customers.
The race for speedy online donations: Clinton in first place, Obama dead last
Computerworld April 11, 2007
The 2008 presidential campaign is shaping up to be the first to be widely played out in the Web 2.0 world, where Web site performance may play a critical role in campaign fund-raising.
Based on campaign sites up and running today, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) will be able to fill her campaign's coffers much faster than fellow Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), according to a report released today that measured the performance of the online donation features of the sites.
At 33 seconds, Obama's online donation process was 10 times slower than Clinton's and the slowest of the 17 sites surveyed, according to the report compiled by Gomez Inc., a Lexington, Mass.-based company that monitors Web site performance. The study also found that the online donation feature in the site of Democratic candidate John Edwards is five times slower than Clinton's.
Gomez Counsels Customers on Relationship Management
Etailer March 1, 2007
Learn about how websites need to establish strong customer relationships to prosper.
Gomez Grabs LinkedIn and imeem as Clients
Mass High Tech February 26, 2007
Gomez reports it has signed two social networking websites as new customers. LinkedIn Inc., an online business network, and imeem inc., an online community for social media, plan to use the Gomez ExperienceFirst network to test, monitor, manage and optimize the performance of their websites, officials say.
Gomez's Poepsel: Web Metrics Key for E-Commerce Success
E-Commerce Times February 23, 2007
"One of Gomez's customers, Office Depot, used the metrics to both improve experience over time and, most recently, in the holiday season," Poepsel noted. "They tested their new application before it went live. So, they had a lot of confidence going into production saying, 'Let's go ahead and flip the switch - we're ready to go,' but some retailers out there today just hope for the best."
December Smart Start Hotel Executive Report: Who’s Manning the Front Desk and Who’s Not: Website Availability Among Leading Brands
HotelExecutive.com February 19, 2007
This month we look back at 2006 and focus our analysis on how consistently hotel web sites performed in the Gomez Hotel Performance Index. Hoteliers strive for consistency of experience offline across different hotels and brands. The same is true when their guests come online to book and access special programs. Online consistency measures how much variation there is (regardless of where the end-user is) in terms of how long it takes to book a reservation online. The average consistency for the benchmark in December was 7.15 seconds, essentially flat, from 7.17 seconds in November. The most consistent hoteliers for the period were Radisson and Expedia at 3.45 and 3.48 seconds respectively. 16 of the 25 hoteliers performed above the benchmark average.
Online Retailers still have room to grow: eTail delegates
DM News February 16, 2007
"[That] the online retail environment is becoming more and more complicated" is a constant refrain of attendees in Palm Desert, said Matthew Poepsel, vice president of professional services at Gomez Inc.. "The performance of their Web site comes as a surprise to so many retailers," Mr. Poepsel said. "Yet, by delivering a better performance, it is easy to increase conversion rates."
eTail 2007: Online Retailers Get Personal
E-Commerce Times February 16, 2007
Gomez helps companies answer Web site questions like: “When it was slow, why was it slow?” Matt Poepsel, vice president of professional services for Gomez. “We’re the grade card. We keep the IT group from chasing their tail,” he stated. During one session, Poepsel and Office Depot Senior Manager of Global E-commerce John Napper discussed the office supply firm’s substantial Web site upgrade in December, which was executed with Gomez’s guidance.
Gomez Acquires EU Performance Measurement Firm Sysformance
Tier 1 Research February 7, 2007
Why the acquisition? I mean, isn’t Gomez, growing fast enough, all by itself? To figure that out, its useful to take a close look at Sysformance. Where Gomez tends to focus on larger firms and applications, with a customized approach, Sysformance allows for a service-on-demand version of web performance measurement. Additionally, Sysformance has an EU footprint for their server deployments, as opposed to Gomez’s largely North American rollout. What do we get when the two companies are combined? First, a broader product set, one that will adapt to the customers as they evolve and grow. Today’s service-on-demand customer becomes tomorrow’s custom measurement customer. Second, Gomez is clearly looking to sell this expanded product set across an expanded geography, incorporating both North America and Europe. Finally, offering an expanded product line across a wider geography means that Gomez needs to build a larger infrastructure - more measurement servers, more cities. If the reader hadn’t guessed, T1R likes the combination and looks forward to Gomez fully integrating their newest acquisition.
Gomez Shows Strong Growth, As Web App Management Becomes a “Must Have”
Tier 1 Research February 6, 2007
Gomez benchmarks web apps, and, to look at their latest financial pronouncement, they are doing pretty well at it. Gomez grew revenues 45% last year, and added 180 new customers, bringing their total customer count to over 600. Why should anyone care about Gomez? If you deliver content or applications over the Internet, you should care about Gomez a great deal…. … T1R thinks its a good idea for anyone in the content delivery or SaaS enablement space to partner with someone like Gomez.
How to Put the Money Where the Mouse Is
CIO January 20, 2007
“Very few banks don’t realize at this point that online banking is big business,” says Matt Poepsel, VP of application management at online benchmarking company Gomez. “But many banks are still finding their way.”
The Holiday E-Commerce Slowpokes And Speedsters Detailed
Storefront Backtalk January 5, 2007
Major e-tailers this holiday season kept their customers happy for the most part, according to a report issued Thursday by the Gomez Retail Benchmark.
