Top Entertainment, Retail, and Travel Sites Score High Marks Over the Summer

AlertSite Reports Internet Destinations to be Well Prepared for Online Traffic

COCONUT CREEK, Fla., Aug. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- AlertSite, a leading provider of Web performance measurement, systems monitoring and security vulnerability scanning products and services, announced today that top entertainment, retail and travel sites proved successful in handling customer demands during the 2005 summer season. AlertSite's Entertainment, Travel, and Retail (ETR) report was made up of 24 sites, including Best Buy, Expedia, and Blockbuster, which were closely monitored through June and July by AlertSite's monitoring facilities across the U.S. AlertSite's ETR report highlights the near perfect performance averages within entertainment, travel and retail categories. As more and more consumers are using the Internet, especially during peak seasonal periods, companies have invested in their technology infrastructure to ensure their web sites are up and running 24/7 and delivering a superior customer service experience.

Based on polls and reports announced this year such as Stores Top 100, ConsumerSearch Travel Reports and a National Geographic Kids magazine survey of popular summer destinations, AlertSite selected eight of the top entertainment, retail, and travel sites within each category and monitored these sites for the percentage of time the store was open and available, throughout the monitoring period. These sites were individually judged, totaled and averaged by category.

"As more and more consumers across the globe are using the Internet to satisfy their entertainment, travel and retail needs, companies have reacted by making sure their websites are at peak performance," says Ken Gross, President and CEO of AlertSite. "We see and support a growing number of companies who want to learn and execute a process for delivering proof of site performance by assessing vulnerabilities, where their breaking points are and where to add resources so that their site is always available for their customers."

Key findings from AlertSite's ETR Report demonstrate:

  • Entertainment sites averaged a total of 99.75% in availability, a fraction higher than Travel sites at 99.73% and Retail sites at 99.23%.
  • The lowest percentage of availability was Target.com in the month of June with 95.99%
  • Significant closing periods of particular sites were mostly in the late evening and early morning hours, which may be due to necessary system maintenance.

Below is the detailed report of those findings outlining the total performance availability for the combined months of June and July of 2005.

Entertainment
Blockbuster 99.09%
Netflix 99.90%
MTV 99.99%
VH1 99.90%
CNNSI 99.96%
ESPN 99.62%
Ticketmaster 99.67%
Tickets 99.95%
Average Total 99.75%
Travel
Carnival 99.92%
Expedia 99.77%
Orbitz 99.33%
Priceline 99.95%
Royal Caribbean 99.35%
Six Flags 99.88%
Travelocity 99.75%
Universal Studios 99.91%
Average Total 99.73%
Retail
Best Buy 99.29%
Dell 99.82%
Gap.com 99.97%
Kmart 99.92%
NIKE 99.04%
Sears 99.87%
Walmart 97.94%
Target 97.98%
Average Total 99.23%

ABOUT ALERTSITE

AlertSite is a leading provider of Web performance measurement, systems monitoring and security vulnerability scanning products and services that ensure a customer's critical Web-based services are always available and run at peak performance. AlertSite's range of hosted Internet services benefits all types and sizes of business and organizations.

  • AlertSite Monitoring Suite
  • AlertSite Security Vulnerability Scan
  • AlertSite Systems Monitor
  • AlertSite Web Load Test

Over 1,500 customers worldwide rely on AlertSite to understand and enhance the end-user Web experience, including AT&T, Honda UK, Goodwill, National Institutes of Health and Symantec. Founded in 1998, AlertSite is based in Coconut Creek, FL and is available online at http://www.alertsite.com.

CONTACT:
Mike Lizun
Gregory FCA
Main: 610-642-8253, ext. 113
Mobile: 610-585-7594
Mike@GregoryFCA.com