John Lewis Partnership is monitoring its Web applications using Wily Technology, to ensure that problems are identified and fixed on the Web site before they happen. The technology ensures that customers do not see anything go wrong on the site.
John Lewis - in common with most retailers - used to use scripting tools to keep its Web site in check. These are applications that pretend to be a Web site user, and report back as soon as they find a problem with the site. This means that by the time a fault has been found, reported and fixed, no one knows how many real customers have also encountered the fault.
To get round this problem, John Lewis now uses the Wily tool that monitors what is happening within the application that runs the Web site.
If something is amiss it sends an alert to the IT team, giving
it a chance to fix the problem before the customer, or the scripting tool pretending to be a customer, notices anything is wrong.
'John Lewis and Waitrose brands represent quality for retail and food,' said John Lewis middleware systems manager Nigel Randall. 'Any systems we run should reflect that in terms of stability, reliability and performance.'
The technology is not just used for the retailer's Web site. It has also been brought into play to deal with any application that people inside or outside the company access using a Web browser - these are known as Java-based applications.
The first application to be monitored using the Wily solution enables shopfloor staff to check stock levels using a Web browser. More will follow, including the Web site www.johnlewisgiftlist.com.
John Lewis is gradually transferring its Internet or Java-based applications from UNIX systems to mainframe computers. As this happens, each Web site will receive the Wily treatment.
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