Today's world is increasingly dominated by complex web applications; presenting significant challenges with regards to customer interaction. CA, together with customer experience consultants, Foviance, and Glasgow Caledonian University, has just completed a unique neurological experiment examining the reactions and behaviour of consumers as they encounter and interact with poorly performing websites.

Using electroencephalography, we monitored the brain waves of 13 participants between the ages of 22 and 42 as they attempted to make regular online purchases such as a computer or an insurance policy as we simulated a poor experience. We also monitored their eye and facial movements as they went through the process so we could chart both neurological and physiological reactions. The results of the experiment show conclusively that poorly performing web applications are a very frustrating problem for all users of web applications, a phenomenon which we have dubbed ‘web stress' http://www.ca.com/gb/content/campaign.aspx?cid=229165. The experiment has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that web stress is bad for businesses because it results in lost business and loss of reputation.

As remote working, play, shopping, banking, and everything in between increasingly help keep the wheels of commerce turning; a good customer experience becomes more important to retain custom, recruit new customers and grow. Consider for a moment online retail which is set to grow to €323 billion in Europe by the end of 2011 - a 25% increase year-on-year since 2007. It is also worth noting that one third of Europe's online population visited an oline banking property in February 2009. As the growth of online retail, and banking, (and all online business) gathers pace, any frustrations that consumers have with poorly performing web applications will hamper a company's ability to stay competitive.

This provides a wake-up call for all businesses to ensure that they are providing optimal customer experiences and that the increasingly complex web applications that serve these experiences are always healthy and highly available - an area in which CA Wily Application Performance Management can help.