Internet users, including potential e-shoppers and clients, demand faster click-through and overall performance than ever before, but companies are struggling to effectively manage their IT systems in an application-centric world where content and infrastructure are constantly changing.
This is according to an international study by research and analysis company Quocirca, which has highlighted the importance of application performance management (APM), underpinned by the increased demand by users for better performance in 2012.
According to the report, “2012 - The year of application performance management”, a two-second slowdown in response time is estimated to equal about 4% of revenue loss per visitor to an e-commerce site, “so speed matters”.
Speaking at a seminar recently, held by Mediro ICT, in conjunction with technology performance company Compuware, Michael Allen, sales director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) at Compuware, said research was commissioned across EMEA and carried out in SA.
Four key macro trends for 2012 were established, says Allen, namely:
* IT needs to do more with less;
* User expectations are rising;
* The industry is experiencing a complexity explosion; and
* Business demands are increasing.
Allen says 38% of users abandon the platform they are using if the response time is 12 seconds or more. “If you increase the load time by 2%, the abandonment rate is increased by a significant 8%.”
The Quocirca report concludes that APM systems need to go beyond production monitoring to provide value across the application life cycle. “Ultimately, all IT delivery is about application delivery. If the performance of applications that serve a business and its employees, partners and customers is sub-optimal, then so is that business' competitiveness.
“Although application delivery is complex, it is possible to get a holistic view of the transaction performance and the user experience, but only if an APM system is in place that is capable of achieving this.”
Allen says the answer “starts with the end-users”. Their point of view, he says, will determine general satisfaction and, ultimately, the success of businesses and their online interaction with clients.
“Real-time knowledge of data and how your application is performing is needed - and expected - nowadays.”
Mediro ICT was appointed Compuware's sole distributor for SA and sub-Saharan Africa.
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