Compuware has launched a free online tool which allows users to monitor the status of third party web services in real-time.
The Outage Analyser tool collects eight billion measurements per day, using Compuware's APM SaaS platform, Gomez.
Measurements are taken from 150,000 test locations worldwide, and a total of 15,000 discrete services are monitored including ISPs, content delivery networks, hosting services and web analytic firms.
When you load up the analyser, outages are displayed on a worldwide map. It is possible to filter by severity of impact and also search for outages.
Once users click on a specific outage, the tool automatically drills down to provide more information. The system tells you the location of the outage, when it started, the duration and also provides a probable cause.
The map also shows which geographic areas are affected by the outage by filling them in with a beige colour.
Steve Tack, VP of product management for Compuware explained that the tool has been launched to show business how important third party services are to the web.
"People aren't always aware how important third party services are to the web. In London, it can take up to eight separate domains to host a single web page, for example," he told IT Pro.
"At present it is possible to check the uptime of specific services provided by firms such as Amazon and Microsoft by going to their website. However, the Outage Analyser cuts across multiple services and acts as a true neutral third party observer."
The Outage Analyser is available now. Users who want to keep track of outages, can sign up for RSS alerts or follow the Twitter feeds.
Compuware planning to add more functionality and will release a commercial version in Spring 2013.
