Europe’s Biggest Breakfast TV Show Hits WARP Speed

NEW YORK and LONDON (April 14, 2004) – WARP Technology Holdings, Inc. (OTC BB: WRPT), a leading provider of network and application acceleration software, today announced that GMTV, the largest morning television broadcaster in Europe, has deployed WARP’s SpiderCache product to improve performance and reliability of its Web site content, especially during “flash crowds” and traffic spikes.  GMTV has an audience of nearly 25 million viewers a month, and its Web site (GM.TV) receives five million hits from almost 400,000 unique users each month. 

GMTV turned to WARP Solutions after they faced a challenge maintaining performance levels associated with their growing Web site operations.  The Web site features news, views, and entertainment to complement its daily programme schedule. It also posts information on daily contests and competitions that require visitor registration. Contests include a variety of giveaways such as sports cars, dream holidays, and huge cash lump sums.   These attract large volumes of traffic, making it crucial to employ a caching solution which ensures that content is always available. 

Before deploying SpiderCache, GMTV used a variety of caching mechanisms.  These solutions did not provide the flexibility and reliability GMTV required to promote the dependable image expected by its users. After reviewing several alternatives, GMTV selected SpiderCache due to the flexibility of the software, ease of installation and integration into its Web site.  The non-intrusive design within their Windows 2003 server environment and centralised administration were also important factors which influenced their decision.

With deployment of SpiderCache, GMTV has realised an increase in performance and overall responsiveness.  In addition, they have seen a reduction in IT costs because the caching solution acts as a buffer between “flash crowds” and system resources.  According to GMTV, another benefit of SpiderCache has been its flexibility in managing static and dynamic Web content. 

“WARP’s solution has dramatically increased our performance levels and allowed us to maintain a consistent and positive user experience,” said Cliff Smyth, GMTV’s New Media Technical Services Manager.  “Our Web site continues to grow on a monthly basis, and SpiderCache is enabling us to scale our operations accordingly, while delivering all types of content that is consistent with our TV show.”

Launched in 1993, GMTV now reaches nearly 25 million people a month.  The show runs between the hours of 6:00 AM and 9:25 AM, offering a variety of news, political debate, lifestyle, entertainment and children’s programming.  The first segment of the show, entitled “News Hour,” runs from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM.  The following segment is called “GMTV Today” and runs from 7:00 AM to 8:35 AM.  The greatest traffic spikes, according to GMTV, occur between 8:35 AM and 9:30 AM, during which Lorraine Kelly’s lifestyle show, “LK Today,” usually airs.  Weekends are the domain of children’s shows, with a good balance between shows for younger kids and variety shows for older children. 

“GMTV sought a product that would significantly improve the performance of their Web site in line with their television programming,” explains Michael Liss, WARP’s Chief Operating Officer.  “In providing them with our SpiderCache product, they are able to see a significant increase in their Web site delivery, while reducing overall IT infrastructure.  GMTV is a great example of how our SpiderCache software can eliminate potential Web site bottlenecks, while ensuring reliability and scalability.”

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