dotCOM_host
10-16-07, 09:26 PM
At the eMetrics Summit today in Washington, D.C., Google stunned the audience by announcing something I thought I'd never hear: the resurrection of Urchin's log-based web analytics suite. The company is preparing a significant update to the standalone Urchin weblog analysis tool at the same time that it is also announcing improvements to Google Analytics, its "on demand" stats service.
Google Analytics is based on Urchin's "on demand" software, which Google acquired along with the company back in 2005. Urchin's other killer product, a log-based analysis tool, was essentially ignored, leaving many customers feeling abandoned. Those abandonment issues may soon fade...
Google announced a closed beta of what it is calling "Urchin Software," which for all intents and purposes is the long-awaited Urchin 6.0. Brett Crosby, senior manager of Google Analytics, said that the release will be very familiar to existing users of Urchin, and it will largely sport the same interface.
Google is also releasing a migration tool aimed at allowing existing Urchin users to port their data, and the company will be offering discounted upgrades to users of Urchin 5—which was last updated almost three years ago. In fact, old Urchin customers who purchased advanced support will receive Urchin Software for free once it is officially released, and other Urchin 5 customers will be able to deduct the cost they paid for Urchin 5 from the total cost of the new Urchin Software. The suite will come in one version, and will cost $2,995. Google won't be selling it directly, as the company plans to continue to use partners to distribute and support Urchin. Those same partners will also be managing the closed beta (if you need a license for Urchin - please contact dotCOM host sales, as we are Urchin partners, resellers, and a beta site).
Implementing the new version of Urchin will be pretty simple, too. Although it's not required that one use JavaScript tagging for Urchin, Crosby said that both Google Analytics and Urchin Software can collect data using a single JavaScript tag—a new-and-improved tag that will soon come to Google Analytics as well. The new tag will offer some very cool functionality. For instance, by just using the unified tag, it will soon be possible to track all outgoing clicks on a web site, without additional code in Google Analytics.
Google Analytics is based on Urchin's "on demand" software, which Google acquired along with the company back in 2005. Urchin's other killer product, a log-based analysis tool, was essentially ignored, leaving many customers feeling abandoned. Those abandonment issues may soon fade...
Google announced a closed beta of what it is calling "Urchin Software," which for all intents and purposes is the long-awaited Urchin 6.0. Brett Crosby, senior manager of Google Analytics, said that the release will be very familiar to existing users of Urchin, and it will largely sport the same interface.
Google is also releasing a migration tool aimed at allowing existing Urchin users to port their data, and the company will be offering discounted upgrades to users of Urchin 5—which was last updated almost three years ago. In fact, old Urchin customers who purchased advanced support will receive Urchin Software for free once it is officially released, and other Urchin 5 customers will be able to deduct the cost they paid for Urchin 5 from the total cost of the new Urchin Software. The suite will come in one version, and will cost $2,995. Google won't be selling it directly, as the company plans to continue to use partners to distribute and support Urchin. Those same partners will also be managing the closed beta (if you need a license for Urchin - please contact dotCOM host sales, as we are Urchin partners, resellers, and a beta site).
Implementing the new version of Urchin will be pretty simple, too. Although it's not required that one use JavaScript tagging for Urchin, Crosby said that both Google Analytics and Urchin Software can collect data using a single JavaScript tag—a new-and-improved tag that will soon come to Google Analytics as well. The new tag will offer some very cool functionality. For instance, by just using the unified tag, it will soon be possible to track all outgoing clicks on a web site, without additional code in Google Analytics.