NetIQ Updates Reporting Software And Services

NetIQ Corp. this week is debuting updated versions of its WebTrends reporting software and hosted reporting services. The updates contain new data segmentation analysis, drill-down, and navigation capabilities. WebTrends Reporting Series 6.0 also marks the first time that the vendor's SmartSource Data Management tool for collecting clickstream data has been available as part of the product.

While there are many suppliers of reporting software and hosted reporting services, WebTrends says it's the only company that offers both. But until now, SmartSource has been available only as part of the hosted service. Making it part of the software, WebTrends Reporting Center 6.0, will make it easier to migrate from the service to the software and vice versa, the company says.

"It gives businesses a lot of flexibility in Web analytics that they haven't had in the past," Aberdeen analyst Guy Creese says. Startup companies often outsource their data collection and reporting operations to a vendor like NetIQ, and later bring it in-house as they grow.

WebTrends Reporting Service 6.0, the hosted version of the product, likewise offers new capabilities, such as custom report templates and dashboards for viewing analytical results, that previously were available only with the packaged software.

The new segmentation analysis capability and drill-down reports are available in both the software and hosted versions of WebTrends Reporting. Segmentation analysis allows users to analyze clickstream data using such metrics as visitor frequency and lifetime value.

WebTrends Reporting Center 6.0 is available now; prices start at $3,500 for the E-business edition and $10,000 for the enterprise edition. The hosted WebTrends Reporting Service 6.0 will be available in February, with pricing starting at $1,000 per month.