Papers in PDF format

Aria delivers value to a broad range of companies and users relying on websites for their
livelihood.
1) Web based Application Developers
It is only in knowing who (by category, not personally) is viewing a page that
content management systems can dynamically generate the right page for the user
and structure the appropriate links for that user. By knowing the psychographic
category of a viewer, advertising management systems are able to dynamically
rotate in the appropriate ad. It is only by knowing the network traffic patterns
across an intricate set of sub-Web sites can a network management software
product dynamically allocate resources in anticipation of future bottlenecks.
In addition, there are a number of companies such as Firefox and Webster
providing corporations with tools for monitoring Web surfing and limiting access
for employees only to sites useful in their jobs. For the Web to experience its full
potential and for the application software products to fully benefit their target
users, the users must be made aware of the detailed activity of the Web, both
dynamically in real-time, and persistently over time.
2) Web Administrators
Web administrators and Web Masters need the following information about their
sites:
• how to develop content customised to viewer
• navigational paths users take
• traffic patterns
• content update and refreshment
3) Marketing Organizations
Marketing organizations utilizing their website as a strategic vehicle to
communicate information about their products, or positioning of their company,
need to know the effectiveness of their site relative to their goals, and how well the
site is doing in reaching the target audience. They need to know the source for the
leads they are able to capture (i.e. the source link of users) and the detail of these
sources matched against the quality. They need to know when content has gone
stale or better yet, just before it goes stale. They need to measure the value of
certain content in attracting the right type of user prospects. In general, the Web
marketeer must know who is using the site and what is happening on the site in
order to judge and improve the effectiveness of the website as a marketing tool.
4) Advertisers
Advertisers must be able to assess the value of certain advertisements on specific
websites. An ad’s value is measured in terms of breadth and depth. Breadth is the
number of target customers reached with the ad. Depth is a measure of
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The Aria Architecture Page 7 Andromedia, Inc.
White Paper July 1996