Newest Industry

Web performance benchmarks have been a part of the industry since the beginning. However, it is not 1999 anymore. What do these benchmarks really mean?

Simple, aggregated performance and success rate values based on a limited dataset for a finite time period give a very tiny perspective into the world of Web performance. The operation of a multi-billion dollar enterprise should not hinge on the ranking a firm receives in these comparative exercises.

The question I pose to the Web performance industry is this: If you could walk away from the heritage of benchmarking that we have inherited, what would you replace it with? How could you justify your IT spend on Web infrastructure to your business leaders? How could you demonstrate that your Web infrastructure was a benefit and not a drain to the business?

I don’t have the silver bullet to these questions, but I do have some very primitive new ideas running around in my head, trying to evolve. I would love to here what other Web performance IT and business leaders have to say on this concept.