www.etouchconsulting.com

solutions:

• Dynamic Site Accelerator
• Media Delivery
• Global Traffic Manager
• Akamai Professional Services

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• Gains access to consultants at any time, with minimal notice
• Eliminates concerns about site availability and content deliverability
• Reduces risk associated with online events
• Gains additional support and reduced time to resolution during critical initiatives
• Taps into expert troubleshooting of Internet-related problems
• Enabled rapid deployment of iPhone streaming
• Takes advantage of insights and suggestions for continuous improvements
• Deferred additional infrastructure build-out costs
• Positioned for future growth

eTouch Systems is a consulting services firm that provides solutions around Web technologies, data management, security, mobile applications, rich Internet applications, and IT strategy. Since its founding in 1998, it has implemented and managed solutions for many Global 2000 clients, including those in the high-technology, life-sciences, financial services, retail, manufacturing, and government sectors.

For one of its key clients, NASA, the company runs a high-profile Web site that supports millions of visitors per day and must handle tremendous peaks during major events, such as Mars landings or rocket launches. Professional Services plays an important role in helping plan ahead for each NASA event. "There are so many elements to consider when it comes to ensuring flawless online events. We rely heavily on Akamai's consultants to make sure that the NASA site will be available and that all content will be delivered quickly and reliably," says Srinivasan.

To that end, Professional Services monitors site availability and all streams – Adobe Flash, Windows Media, Apple QuickTime, Real Media, and streaming to the iPhone – on the day of an event and proactively notifies eTouch of any problems. The consultants also conduct a thorough risk analysis before every event and recommend any changes that will increase the likelihood of success. According to Srinivasan, " Event coordination of this magnitude is complex, and a single blip can cost you 100,000 visitors or more. Akamai’s consultants help us mitigate that risk."

Akamai’s consultants also enable eTouch to gain insight into Internet-related issues that can impact site availability. In one instance, half of the US population was unable to access NASA’s Web site. Because eTouch's monitors displayed contradictory data on site availability, it was challenging to diagnose the issue. Another time, some of NASA’s DNS servers were unavailable because the NASA network was undergoing major changes. In both cases, Professional Services helped eTouch pinpoint the problem so it could respond accordingly. Says Srinivasan, “We never have issues with the Akamai network, but because it’s our gateway to the Internet, we turn to Professional Services for expert troubleshooting that guides us in the right direction."