The
OtherWise Program - What is It? One of the things that distinguishes
Wavecrest Computing from our competitors is the individual attention
we devote to our customers. And we do it on a highly personalized
one-on-one basis. This is most evident in the program we call "OtherWise."
OtherWise is a voluntary and confidential program under which we
partner with a number of customers to steadily improve the quality
and usability of their Cyfin or CyBlock reports. We do this by striving
to maximize the number and percentage of Web sites that the software
identifies and categorizes. (Because of the vast size and fast-growing
nature of the Web, all Web usage reports will contain a percentage
of "Uncategorized visits." These are the sites that end
up in the "Other" category, and that's why we call the
program "OtherWise").
Overview of the OtherWise Process. On a voluntary
basis, participating customers simply e-mail a copy or copies of
their Top Non-Categorized Sites reports to Wavecrest at Sites@wavecrest.net.
Our personnel then research, identify and categorize the most popular
of the unidentified "Other" URLs and update the Wavecrest
URL List (categorization database) accordingly. (We update the list
daily.) After the customer downloads the update and runs more reports,
the sites in question will no longer show up in their reports as
"Other." They'll be identified and categorized.
Dealing with Intranet and Extranet Sites. We often find that
many of the "Other" URLs in Top Non-Categorized Sites
reports represent the customer's internal intranet (and possibly
extranet) sites. Because we cannot access these sites, we cannot
research and categorize them. Consequently, we typically return
a list of these particular sites to the participating customer and
suggest that they enter them into one or more custom categories
which they can create themselves. Cyfin and CyBlock permit the establishment
of up to 12 custom categories which customers can use to track Web
use activity involving sites that are of particular or unique interest
to them only; intranet sites are the most common of such sites.
Results. Customers that use our highly personalized OtherWise
service have reported significant reductions in the number and percentage
of unidentified Web visits.
Confidentiality. Customer information sent to Wavecrest is
treated as totally confidential. Reports fed back to us are destroyed
immediately after use.
Your Part in the OtherWise Program.
Your part is really very simple. If you follow these easy steps,
you'll get the most out of OtherWise, and we're confident you'll
see a marked reduction in the "Other" percentage.
1. Schedule and run a Top Non-Categorized Sites Report at regular
intervals of your own choosing (weekly, monthly, etc.).
Email a copy to Wavecrest at Sites@wavecrest.net. We will then categorize the most popular standard (public) sites shown in the report. We will separately list sites that we were unable to access for identification purposes; these are most likely internal sites (see step 3 below).
2. Update your Wavecrest URL List daily.
The URL list is updated daily, and we recommend strongly that you download the latest list daily so that you can benefit from the newest categorized URLs. You can set up Cyfin or CyBlock to perform the download automatically on a daily basis if you wish.
3. Analyze our message listing intranet sites we found (if applicable).
When we review the Top Non-Categorized Sites Reports that you send us, we look for and list the URLs of any internal (intranet or extranet) sites. Since we are unable to access these sites for research or categorization purposes, we will send you a message containing the list. If you have a large number of such sites, we strongly recommend that you look for ways to group them into custom categories of your own choosing, e.g., Benefits, Payroll, Purchasing, Personnel Records, Other Divisions, corporate home page, etc. (See next step.)
Tip: When you review our message, we recommend that you analyze the URL list for intranet sites that have some type of numerical indicator (031, 142, etc.). When you find one, we recommend that you look through other company records for more sites that are similarly or contiguously numbered and group them together in custom categories. (Note: You can also use a DNS lookup tool such as "nslookup" or similar utility to find such sites.)
4. Create One or More Custom Categories.
After you complete step 3, we recommend that you set up one or more custom categories and assign the internal URLs to them. The online User Manual contains instructions for creating and implementing custom categories. (Once custom categories are established, Cyfin (or CyBlock) will report on them in the same manner as standard categories.) Our Tech Support group will be glad to assist you should you need any help setting up custom categories. They can be reached at 321-953-5351, or at support@wavecrest.net.
Note: For best results, we recommend that you send us a Top Non-Categorized Report on a weekly basis and update the Wavecrest URL List on a daily basis.
Finally, we hope that these tips will be helpful to start you on your way to improved reporting results. Don't hesitate to give us a call at 321-953-5351 or send us an email at sites@wavecrest.net if you ever have any questions or concerns regarding Cyfin or CyBlock site categories, custom categories, or the OtherWise program.