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12 December, 2024
Performance Tracking > 2010 Tax Websites > Introduction WebSitePulse 2010 Tax Performance and Uptime ReportFor the 2010 Tax season,WebSitePulse is starting its traditional campaign to monitor thirteen of the most popular tax websites. The measurement results show the performance levels and the availability of the websites related to the increased Internet traffic and e-file online services during the selected period. The statistics issued by the IRS in the end of March show that "while the overall number of tax returns filed this year is down slightly, the percentage of returns using e-file remains strong." The IRS also notes that more than 82 percent of the 69 million returns received this year have come in via e-file. Home usage of e-file has also risen with almost 7 percent compared to this time in 2009, according to IRS.gov. Another research by Mulbrandon Research, Design and Insights published on the TurboTax blog shows that as of October 2009 over 67% of the tax payers chose to e-file their tax returns compared to 59% for the same time last year. Given these facts, we would like to see how the increasing usage of online e-file services will affect the major tax websites in terms of availability and performance. That is why from April 05 through April 15, 2010 we will continuously monitor all thirteen websites. The reports and the charts will be updated daily, displaying the results from the previous day and for the entire monitoring period to the current date. This information is helpful for the analysis of the End Users' experience, the reliability of the IT infrastructure of the Tax and e-file websites, as well as their estimated losses in case of downtime and unavailability of critical web pages, web systems, network devices, and web applications. The WebSitePulse Performance Reports measure Website Uptime and Website Response Time as the most important metrics for the availability and the reliability of any web-based operation, critical for the End Users' overall online experience. The 2010 Tax Performance & Uptime Reports reflect not only the performance of the websites home pages, but measure a complete web transaction representative for the End Users' interactions with a website. Measurements of the multi-step web transactions are made every 15 minutes, simultaneously from 3 different US-based monitoring locations. The WebSitePulse advanced monitoring system has automated false alarm prevention and error verification controls that ensure the reliability of the measurement results. The Reports reflect the most common website performance criteria: response time and availability - but in-debt analytical information is also collected and stored in the WebSitePulse system for future references. The WebSitePulse Application Monitoring service is used to collect data and produce the Report. WebSitePulse will be publishing the results from the Tax Websites Performance and Uptime Report after the 6th of April. This page will display detailed daily reports including uptime, performance and availability. |
