KPMG's Mega Web Site for "netaid": Window On The World

Of Extreme Poverty / Landmark Project Launched Today Transforms Use of Internet New York (PROTEXT) - "The global NetAid Web site launched today was developed and deployed faster and has greater capability than any site on the Internet," said Stephen G. Butler, chairman and CEO of KPMG LLP, the professional services firm and the organization that built the NetAid site -- http://www.netaid.org. "KPMG is pleased to participate in this landmark project, which will forever change the way the global community battles important social causes," Butler said. "As a worldwide leader in Internet integration, we are gratified we were called upon to develop and deploy this window on the world of extreme poverty - - in order for all to view, learn and change." KPMG achieved the complex task of developing a Web site capable of handling 60 million hits per hour in an unprecedented 90 days, months less than the time typically needed to build comparable sites. Other mega Web sites built previously, such as the site for the last Olympic games, have handled only hundreds of hits each second. "We're helping Cisco Systems and the United Nations Development Programme by applying Internet integration and e- commerce solutions to this first-of- its-kind global fight against extreme poverty in the world," said Rod McGeary, vice chairman, consulting services for KPMG. "It's a matter of using the power of the Internet -- the medium of the future -- against an age-old problem." The launch of the mega Web site for NetAid marks the transformation of the use of the Internet from Web-enabled business applications to Web-enabled social uses. Some behind- the-scenes facts about the NetAid Web site built by KPMG and launched today include: -- On October 9, 30 major artists will perform at three major venues in New York, London and Geneva with a television audience anticipated in the hundreds of millions. Tens of millions are also expected to visit the site at a rate of up to 17,000 hits per second. -- KPMG deployed a team of 50 e-Engineers -- with combined electronic commerce experience of over 300 person years -- for the development of the NetAid mega Web site and e-commerce solutions. -- Using experience gained in transforming numerous industries through technological innovations -- from the newspaper and advertising industry, to the electric utility industry and the fashion industry -- KPMG donated that experience to the not-for- profit world. -- KPMG has designed the site to support complex, massively distributed environments (multi-site, multi-server configurations). -- To reach the access speeds needed and sustain hit rates, the entire site and its thousands of mirrors will be running entirely in RAM. -- Processes developed by KPMG will enable NetAid.org to handle the huge volume of e-commerce anticipated. The site is capable of handling 1,000 transactions per second. -- KPMG's contribution was not limited to technology. In developing the Web site, KPMG brought together content from a very heterogeneous set of sources, such as the UNDP, musicians, not-for-profits and corporate sponsors, and created a consistent message, easy navigation and a brand that extended across all media including the Internet, streaming video, television and even radio. -- KPMG developed capability for twin databases of non-profit agencies and available resources, enabling future use of the site as a resource center, matching the goals and needs of charitable entities with organizations and individuals willing to contribute goods, funds and services. NetAid is a first-of-its-kind, large-scale effort to end world poverty combining leaders in technology, entertainment and social change. Joining KPMG to provide a key technology component is Akamai Technologies, which will serve Web site content using its Internet content delivery system, consisting of 1,500 servers in more than 90 data centers worldwide. "The legacy of the NetAid Web site, long after today's site launch and the October 9 concerts, will be the existence of an Internet-based tool to bring together the world's resources with significant social needs," McGeary added. "By leveraging technology we developed for business, society may find that what we have created in the NetAid site is a new millennium version of the space race -- a valuable human application drawn from a commercial enterprise." KPMG LLP is the U.S. member firm of KPMG International. In the U.S., KPMG partners and professionals provide a wide range of accounting, tax and consulting services. As a provider of information-based services, KPMG delivers understandable business advice -- helping clients analyze their businesses with true clarity, raise their level of performance, achieve growth and enhance shareholder value. KPMG International's member firms have more than 100,000 professionals, including 6,800 partners, in 160 countries. KPMG's Consulting practice can be found on the web at http://www.kpmgconsulting.com or reached through the firm's site at http://www.us.kpmg.com. ots Original Text Service: KPMG LLP Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: George Ledwith or John Fidler, both of KPMG LLP, (USA) 201-505-3543, 201-505-8849 Web site: http://www.netaid.org Web site: http://www.us.kpmg.com Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. 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