Catchpoint released the results of a survey of large retail and consumer
brands showing the high cost of Internet disruptions on their businesses. The
survey, conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Catchpoint, shows that
nearly 40% of all respondents suffer customer-impacting disruptions, which cost
up to $1 million per month.
Key findings from the survey
include:
- 61% of
respondents said Internet disruptions (defined as downtime or latency)
have resulted in lost revenue, while 64% reported damage to their brand's
reputation and led to lack of consumer confidence from these disruptions.
- 39% of respondents said
Internet disruptions cost their company between $500,000 to $999,000 due
to lost revenue, compensation to customers and extra time spent fixing the
issues. 12% stated that it costs their company more than $1M.
- 65% of respondents reported that
even small disruptions in the flow of commerce can cause customers to halt
their purchase cycle, highlighting the importance of identifying and
resolving Internet disruptions.
In addition to asking respondents about
disruptions and their consequences, the survey examined states of readiness for
disciplined Internet Performance Monitoring (IPM). Notably, respondents
reported:
- Only 29% of their companies
monitor the full "Internet Stack" (routers, firewalls, ISPs, DNS, CDNs,
cloud services, website payment providers, video hosting services, etc.),
resulting in an average of 76 disruptions per month due to inadequate
visibility.
- 61% feel they require tools to
anticipate, detect, and fix Internet performance problems quickly,
indicating a need for better management of Internet performance.
- 74% say that customers have
little tolerance for disrupted experiences and 71% say employees expect
the same frictionless digital experiences as customers.
"The survey findings make a strong
case for IPM, quantifying the consequences of not closely monitoring all
aspects of a customer's experience and addressing issues before they happen,"
said Howard Beader, Vice President of Product Marketing at Catchpoint.
"Monitoring the entire Internet Stack isn't easy, with thousands of blind spots
that could become disruptions or affect experience, but clearly failure to do
so is having a material impact on businesses profitability and productivity."