Silver Spring, MD, USA-- CMS Watch, a vendor-independent analyst firm that evaluates content technologies, has found that organizations are now considering vendor commitment to their customer base and product development paths to be more critical as a result of the recent shake-up and shake-out in the web analytics industry.

"Customers need to carefully evaluate their analytics requirements, not just for today but for the future," notes CMS Watch lead analyst on web analytics, Phil Kemelor. "It's not just the functionality of a tool that is important, but the company management strategy and commitment to their products."

The following recent industry changes have a major impact on web analytics customers:

WebTrends Management Changes:

• Customers face uncertainty about the future of the company, i.e., will it be sold, what direction will the owners, Francisco Partners, take the company
• The commitment to deeper analytics solutions (Score and Visitor Intelligence) is questioned
• Licensed customers are wary of the company's commitment to a licensed solution vs. wanting to move customers to WebTrends On Demand service

Omniture Acquires Visual Sciences:

• HBX Analytics customers are confused about the migration path to Omniture SiteCatalyst (SC)
• Customers who are approaching the end of their contracts, are not sure whether they should jump to SC now, or wait (because the deal hasn't yet officially closed)
• HBX customers are uncertain whether they should upgrade to Visual Site or HBX Visual Workstation because they don't know if and how the products will be supported by Omniture

Microsoft Announces a Beta for Gatineau:

• Customers now have a new choice -- it introduces a free web analytics competitor to Google Analytics
• Customers will be able to use "anonymized" demographic data from site visitors who have signed up for a Live ID through Microsoft's Hotmail or Messenger, however, this will need to be spelled out clearly in the privacy policies of web sites using Gatineau to allay possible site visitor concerns.

"While Web managers and marketers may want to concentrate on the value of analytics for their organizations, they need to be aware of the larger marketplace environment and how it can seriously impact their investment in web analytics solutions," said CMS Watch founder, Tony Byrne. "It is absolutely necessary to stay current with your vendor's business strategy."

The Web Analytics Report provides a comprehensive overview of Web Analytics solution providers and best practices. The report is available for purchase online from CMS Watch (http://www.realstorygroup.com).