REDMOND, Wash., and SAN MATEO, Calif., April 4, 2001 — The MSN® network of Internet services and Keynote Systems Inc. today announced that MSN will begin using Keynote’s SLA Perspective Streaming Edition™
to provide streaming media measurements and service level agreement (SLA) expertise for MSN Music, the new music service that offers consumers one of the most unique and rich listening experiences available on the Web today.
MSN has been using Keynote’s Perspective and TransactionPerspective™ performance data over the past year to establish benchmarks for Web site performance and reliability and to diagnose performance changes related to site content or infrastructure. Now Keynote consultants will design an effective SLA to ensure that all performance benchmarks are met with content delivery network (CDN) chosen by MSN. The result for consumers will be a high-quality audio experience when listening to streaming audio, one of the features available on MSN Music.
“We are focused on becoming a driving force in delivering high-quality music services to consumers through MSN,”
said Rex Smith, vice president of operations for MSN at Microsoft Corp.
“Keynote’s experience designing solutions that benchmark and manage the performance of Web sites makes it an integral part of bringing the best possible MSN Music experience to consumers.”
“We are excited to expand our relationship with one of the most successful technology companies in the world,”
said Umang Gupta, chairman and CEO of Keynote Systems.
“Microsoft’s use of our service to verify its CDN vendors’ streaming performance helps to validate the statistical reliability and independent nature of Keynote’s measurement offerings.”
About Keynote
Keynote Systems (Nasdaq
“KEYN” ), The Internet Performance Authority® , is the worldwide leader in Internet performance services that improve the quality of e-business. Approximately 3,000 corporate IT departments, Web-hosting companies, and Internet service and content delivery providers around the world have implemented the company’s easy-to-use and cost-effective services to benchmark and manage the performance of their Web sites. Keynote was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in San Mateo, Calif. The company can be reached at http://www.keynote.com/ or by phone in the United States at (650) 522-1000.
About MSN
MSN gives consumers a new home on the Internet – a central place where they can get everything they need from the Web and make the most of their time online. With more than 230 million visitors per month, the MSN integrated network of content and services is the most popular destination on the Internet. MSN is available in 33 markets and in 17 languages — a broader global presence than any other network. MSN takes advantage of the Microsoft® .NET platform to offer leading services, any time, any place and on any device, with an integrated and personalized user experience for communications, search, shopping, personal finance and entertainment. MSN Internet Access and the recently introduced MSN Explorer offer quick, personal and exciting ways to get on to and take advantage of the Web. Best-of-breed services include the MSN Hotmail® Web-based e-mail service, the world’s largest Web-based e-mail system; MSN Messenger Service, one of the fastest-growing instant messaging services on the Web; MSN Search, the second most popular online search service; MSN Mobile, the customizable wireless information service; the award-winning MSN MoneyCentral™
online personal finance guide; MSN eShop, the one-stop online shopping resource; and MSN Custom Web Sites, the easy way to share information on the Web. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/ .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft, MSN, Hotmail and MoneyCentral are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The Internet Performance Authority, Perspective and SLA Perspective are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Keynote in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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