Rumor has it that Google Analytics is getting competition: its rival, Microsoft, is working on an analytics platform called Gatineau (for now). You can’t log in just yet — well, you can, but it will log you out.
Here’s a sneak peek of the welcome screen:
If this truly will be Google Analytics’s competition, I’m hoping this is going to address several shortcomings that I’ve found in Google Analytics, particularly the notion of inaccurate counts (especially when compared with Urchin, which is ironic given that Google purchased Urchin yet dropped its core functionality), the absence of the direct referral page in the analysis review, and complexity (especially for newbies — how about simple Urchin-like reports and an advanced view?)
I’m looking forward to seeing this new analytics tool which hopefully will integrate the best of Google Analytics with its own unique flavor.
Yes, Gatineau is the code-name for our web analytics project. This is a closed alpha so don’t expect to get access for the time being.
You can read a little more information about the project here.
We’re very keen to understand how we can make the product deliver what users need, so if you have more thoughts like the one in the post above, I’d be delighted to hear them. You can contact me via my blog.
This is great stuff Tamar! Now I’d love anything that can’t really compete against Google Analytics. That tracking is pretty unrealiable if you ask me.
Let’s see if Microsoft has the right stuff!
ERIKA
Ian — I’m very excited! Thanks for the confirmation!
We are all going to win on this one because it forces Google to tighten their stuff up. At least now we have a “2nd opinion”.
Interesting… Back in May 2006, Microsoft acquired a small company in Gatineau/Ottawa (Canada) called Deepmetrix. This company had an online product for web analysis (Livestats.Biz). So this Gatineau project is probably a rebranded and upgraded version of Livestats
This move was very predictable from Microsoft when Google acquired Urchin.
Ah, I stumbled onto this page. Glad I did as I though Google Analytics was unbeatable. I am no fan of Microsoft, but if they can do it better, then more power to them.
Great News, I am using Google Analytics for all my websites lets see how Gatineau makes it easy & detailed tracking of visitors.
Eagrly Waiting!
Hello All, hello Tamar,
I have made a quick update on Gatineau proceedings based on Ian’s info
When I try to log into Gatineau, I receive a Server error.
You could find a review on Gatineau implementation at
http://www.analytics20.org/tools/microsoft-gatineu-review-first-part/
with regards to privacy concerns on personal information
http://www.analytics20.org/web-analytics/the-importance-of-a-good-information-source/
Cheers,
I also received a server error when trying to login, using the URL posted on this post.
However I was able to login, using the URL Below:
http://advertising.microsoft.com/gatineau
I’ve been using Gatineau Beta for some time now, on a few of my sites. I like how it integrates with Microsoft adCenter. However I think that I still prefer Google Analytics. They are quite similar in functionality, but I really dislike the $5 charge for signing up.