homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

Real Estate


print  email to a friend  reprints add to mydjc  

January 27, 2000

Ten Fast Facts

Fast Facts logo

APPLIANT.COM

WHO:
A privately held Internet infrastructure company founded in 1997 by Brian Bershad

WHAT:
Developed software that helps Internet-based businesses monitor their Web sites.

WHERE:
Downtown Seattle

Fast Fact #1: Bershad is a former University of Washington computer science professor.

Comment: Before becoming CEO of Appliant.com, Bershad was part of a research group developing technology to detect the difficulties end-users encounter while browsing a particular Web site. The group included Brad Chen, a former Harvard professor who is now Appliant.com's chief technology officer. Their research convinced them "there was a real big problem out there," says Bershad, and that they could develop a product to help companies find and fix shortcomings in their Internet infrastructure.

Fast Fact #2: Appliant.com launched its Lateral Line Network this week.

Brian Bershad
Brian Bershad
Comment: Two years in the making, the Lateral Line Network already has been piloted by about a dozen customers, including Excite and FreeShop.com. Based on their enthusiastic responses, "we're geared up for and expecting a deluge," Bershad says of the Lateral Line Network's formal launch.

Fast Fact #3: The UW is an equity partner in Appliant.com.

Comment: The university received a piece of the company because Appliant.com's technology grew from Bershad's work there. However, the university has no role in running the company. "There is no ongoing relationship," says Bershad.

Fast Fact #4: Appliant.com is an ASP.

Comment: That's Web-speak for Application Service Provider. It means that Lateral Line Network clients are served via Appliant.com's Web site.

Fast Fact #5: Lateral Line Network relies on customized monitors to retrieve information.

Comment: The monitors are tiny pieces of software -- so tiny they are shipped to clients on floppy disks, says Bershad. Each monitor is tailored to report on a different element of a company's Internet infrastructure such as its browser, network or server. The information is then stored in the client's secure account on Appliant.com's Web site. "They can access the stuff from any browser on the planet," says Bershad. The software can be easily adapted to various brands of infrastructure technology as well as to changes in a company's technology or business strategy. "There's really no ceiling as far as how far we can go," says Bershad. "And I gotta tell you, our customers love that."

Fast Fact #6: Web pages should respond to an end-user's click or keystroke within eight seconds.

Comment: When companies first began doing business on the Internet in the mid-1990s, the Web was at the "singing dog stage," says Bershad. At that time, nobody cared how well the dog sang, "it was amazing that it could sing at all." These days, Rover dog better croon like Crosby or users will bail. Eight seconds is the "magic number," says Bershad. If it takes a user any longer to open a menu or grab a new page, "they're outta there."

Fast Fact #7: The complexity of doing business over the Internet makes it difficult for companies to assess end-user experiences on their own.

Comment: "Our customers don't understand when their customers are having a bad time, and worse, they don't understand why they're having a hard time," says Bershad. Multiple data bases, multiple networks and multiple servers are just some of the variables present in the infrastructure of most Internet businesses. A self-examination of end-user experiences would require a company to log on under every possible set of circumstances to pinpoint what might be driving customers away. Plus every user navigates Web pages differently. Smooth sailing for one user might become choppy water for others.

Fast Fact #8: The Lateral Line Network provides companies with a "customer-centric" snapshot of their Web site's performance.

Comment: Based on information generated by the monitors, Appliant.com clients can pull reports that assess user habits and suggest underlying reasons for those habits. For example, the monitors can measure how long a user spends on a particular page and whether shoddy performance by a particular piece of the infrastructure -- a specific browser, server or network -- might be contributing to early exits.

Fast Fact 9#: Appliant.com believes the Lateral Line Network is a unique approach.

Comments: "We really are alone and leading," says Bershad. "We're going a million miles an hour and having a great time. That's pretty much our story."

Fast Fact 10#: Venture capitalists are funding Appliant.com.

Comment: Principal investors include ARCH Venture Partners, Venrock Associates, Tredegar Investments Inc., Madrona Investment Group and Hook Partners. Bershad says the company plans to grow aggressively, but has not pondered whether that means an eventual IPO or acquisition. "Right now," he says, "we're really focused on customers."



Previous columns:



Email or user name:
Password:
 
Forgot password? Click here.