Real estate professionals have said for years that the three most important factors about a property are location, location, and location. Well, for organizations with a web presence — which these days is the vast majority, and 100% of e-commerce companies — the three most important factors about their site are visitor experience, visitor experience, and (let’s all say it together!) visitor experience.

Visitors want, expect, and frankly demand a flawless experience where everything loads quickly and works perfectly the first time: every button, every graphic, every form, every page. Consider the following statistics:

• 47% of visitors will not wait longer than two seconds for a site to load.
• 88% of visitors will not return to a site after a single bad experience.
• 57% of visitors say they will not recommend a business that offers a bad experience.

Naturally, when it comes to delivering a perfect visitor experience, organizations cannot “cross their fingers and hope for the best.” Instead, they must be proactive and rigorously test their site to find and fix issues — before their visitors do. And that brings us to two heavyweights in the site monitoring world: Real User Monitoring and Synthetic Monitoring.

Real User Monitoring

Real User Monitoring (RUM) uses passive techniques (i.e., it does not disrupt the visitor experience) to continuously observe, collect, and analyze actions and interactions — with a primary focus on availability, functionality, and responsiveness.

Synthetic Monitoring

Synthetic Monitoring simulates common and critical user journeys on a website to detect issues and benchmark performance — before real users ever encounter a problem.

Issues with Real User Monitoring

Some site uptime software vendors make bold claims that Real User Monitoring is vastly superior to Synthetic Monitoring (of course, these same vendors only offer RUM, so their bias is predictable).

However, when we look past the marketing hype, it’s clear that RUM isn’t always ready for prime time. Specifically, here are seven drawbacks that are often downplayed or overlooked:

1. Data Dependency
   To be effective, RUM requires a vast amount of traffic data — which many organizations simply don’t have. They may catch some issues, but without enough data, many problems will go unnoticed… until visitors discover them first.
2. Site Changes Disrupt Accuracy
   Even if you have adequate traffic, RUM’s usefulness can diminish — or even become irrelevant — after a major site update. It can take weeks or months to gather new behavioral data and accurately assess the user experience post-change.
3. Implementation Complexity
   RUM is compelling in theory but can be difficult to implement and manage. Visitor behavior is highly variable, and the resulting data can be inconsistent and complex to query, interpret, and visualize.
4. Lack of Consistent Benchmarking
   Monitoring performance over time requires reliable baselines. But inconsistent traffic and diverse user environments (browsers, devices, regions) make meaningful comparisons difficult with RUM.
5. Too Much Data, Too Little Insight
   Ironically, even when data volume is high, it can become a burden. RUM casts a wide net, making it difficult and time-consuming to filter through noise and find actionable insights.
6. Blind Spots Outside the Site
   RUM often fails to identify performance issues caused by external factors, such as third-party services or network latency. This can leave teams guessing about root causes and delay resolution.
7. Unexpected Costs
   RUM solutions can be surprisingly expensive to implement and maintain — especially for enterprises with large user bases. The time-to-value may be far longer (and costlier) than vendors lead you to believe.

The Final Word

Real User Monitoring isn’t a liability — but it’s not a silver bullet either. Vendors should be transparent that RUM is not automatically “better” just because it reflects actual user behavior. Like any tool, it has limitations that must be considered in context.

For many organizations — especially larger ones — Synthetic Monitoring offers a more powerful, practical, and profitable solution. Because it doesn’t rely on real user traffic, it excels at the most critical job: finding problems before your visitors do. Click here to learn more about Synthetic Monitoring.

AlertBot: A Leader in Synthetic Monitoring

AlertBot is proud to be one of the world’s most trusted website monitoring platforms. Leading organizations like Microsoft, Disney, Dell, Forbes, and Adidas — just to name a few — rely on our robust and proven Synthetic Monitoring tools.

But you don’t have to take our word for it. Start your 100% free, no-obligation trial today. There’s nothing to install, no credit card required, and you’ll be up and running in minutes — on your way to delivering a flawless user experience.

Remember: making a great impression the first time — and every time — isn’t optional. In today’s hyper-competitive digital world, it’s essential.
Click here to start your free trial now.

3 Ways Site Uptime Monitoring Boosts SEO

About 25 years ago, if someone told you to “Google” something, you’d probably smile, nod politely, and walk (or perhaps run) away. But now, Googling is the unofficial international pastime. Consider these statistics:

• 53% of all trackable website traffic comes from search engines — primarily Google, which commands 91.75% of total worldwide search engine market share.
• Google handles around 2 trillion (that’s 12 zeroes) searches per year.
• 39% of customers were influenced by a relevant search.

Clearly, the ability to show up for relevant search queries — a.k.a. search engine optimization (SEO) — matters enormously. In fact, it’s beyond enormous at this point. It’s ridiculous. And there’s no slowdown on the horizon. On the contrary, SEO will only play a bigger part in the digital role in the marketing mix going forward, for two simple and satisfying reasons: it’s much more affordable than conventional marketing and advertising, and it works. And you don’t need to have an MBA or have a Bloomberg terminal on your desk to know that affordable + works = popular. But less clear is the connection between site uptime monitoring and SEO. In fact, at first glance (and second and third as well), there may seem to be no connection at all. However, as any SEO expert worth their Google Search Console will attest, there is a significant link — positive or negative. Below we highlight three ways that site uptime monitoring can boost SEO:

1. Keep Visitors from Bouncing to the Competition

Would-be visitors aren’t the only ones who are frustrated when sites are not accessible — Google takes a dim view of this as well. Now, to avoid triggering paranoia, be assured that Google has said that occasional, short-lived downtime typically won’t negatively impact search rankings. However, ongoing or prolonged downtime is another matter entirely, and will lead to a major downgrade. Site uptime monitoring automatically alerts your SysAdmins, CTOs, and other relevant individuals when a site goes down, so that immediate steps can be taken to get things back online — and make both visitors, and (especially) Google, happy.

2. Identify and Fix Broken Elements

Google wants to provide searchers with relevant and quality site recommendations. The first part of that equation is largely determined by elements like keyword optimization, page rank and domain authority. But the second is determined by what visitors actually experience once they arrive on a site. Site uptime monitoring helps you proactively identify broken elements like links and buttons, so that they can be fixed before Google’s web crawler notices them and starts handing out SEO citations.

3. Boost Page Loading Speed

For a long time, SEO experts demanded that Google reveal that page loading speed was a factor in evaluating sites — and consequently in search engine rankings. And for a long time, Google sat back with its arms crossed and silently smiled (when you make north of $300 billion in revenue a year, you get to do fun stuff like that). However, a couple of years ago Google finally revealed the worst kept secret in the SEO kingdom: speed is, indeed, a factor for search. Site uptime monitoring helps you keep a close eye on page loading times, so that you can ensure that your site blazes like a brand new luxury sedan on the Autobahn, and not like a rusted out 1984 Reliant K-car that shouldn’t go faster than a bike and can’t really make left turns. The Bottom Line Site uptime monitoring is not a magic wand that will transport your site (or sites) to the coveted number one spot for relevant keywords. But as discussed above, it will significantly help your business gain an advantage in the search engine jungle — which means more visibility, more clicks, and more customers.

Start your FREE TRIAL of AlertBot now, and discover why it is the trusted site uptime monitoring solution for some of the world’s biggest organizations. There’s no billing information required, no installation, and you’ll be setup within minutes. Click here.

Unleashing the Web Guru: How Website Monitoring Boosts Traffic

by Louis Kingston

In the vast, mystical realm of the internet, where websites come to life and cat videos rule the land, there resides a hidden hero – Website Monitoring. Armed with lightning-fast reflexes and a vigilante’s keen eye, this unsung champion is the secret sauce to soaring traffic.

Picture this: your website is a thriving carnival, with merry-go-rounds of content and rollercoasters of creativity. But, alas, like an absent-minded wizard, you’ve forgotten to keep an eye on the gates. Enter Website Monitoring, the loyal gatekeeper who ensures no trolls sneak in to mess up your virtual fiesta. With a mischievous grin, it sends you real-time alerts the moment any gremlins try to mess with your website’s uptime. Your website’s downtime days are numbered!

Now, let’s journey into the realm of speed. In a world where every second counts, your website’s performance is its very heartbeat. But fret not, dear web adventurers, for Website Monitoring is the swiftest hare in the web-jungle. Armed with its trusty stopwatch, it tracks your page loading times like a hyperactive roadrunner, shouting, “Faster! Faster!” before your visitors can even say, “Are we there yet?” Voilà! Your website now zooms like a caffeine-fueled cheetah on the digital savannah.

Oh, but the fickle web travelers; they change their minds like chameleons change colors. Fear not, for Website Monitoring is here to unravel this enigma. With its mystical analytics, it becomes your crystal ball, revealing the mysteries of visitor preferences and behaviors. You’ll know what they like, what they loathe, and what they yearn for more than a lifetime supply of authentic New York style pizza. Armed with this newfound wisdom, you’ll sprinkle enchanting content like fairy dust, keeping your visitors spellbound and coming back for more.

Behold the battlefield of the mighty search engines, where websites engage in an epic struggle for visibility. But alas, valiant webmasters, Website Monitoring dons its armor of SEO prowess. It crawls through the darkest corners of the interwebs, sniffing out broken links and bad keywords like a digital bloodhound. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll climb the search engine ranks like a warrior scaling Mount Everest – and trust me, you won’t need oxygen!

In this whimsical tale of website wonders, we’ve unveiled the magical powers of Website Monitoring – the tireless protector of uptime, the guardian of speed, the oracle of analytics, and the knight of SEO. So, dear webmasters, heed this advice: with Website Monitoring by your side, you’ll wield the mighty sword of traffic-increase like a modern-day King Arthur.

Embrace the power of Website Monitoring and may your website’s journey throughout your site be filled with joy, triumphs, and an army of loyal visitors marching towards your digital domain!

Say goodbye to web nightmares and embrace the hero you deserve: AlertBot! Our supercharged website monitoring service is the ultimate sidekick you need to keep your online kingdom running smoothly. With AlertBot by your side, you’ll enjoy 24/7 vigilance, lightning-fast alerts, and more data than you can shake a unicorn horn at. So, what are you waiting for? Join the epic quest for flawless websites and unleash the power of AlertBot today – because even Gandalf would agree, “You shall not pass…without website monitoring!”

Louis is a writer, author, and avid film fan. He has been writing professionally for tech blogs and local organizations for over a decade. Louis currently resides in Allentown, PA, with his wife and German Shepherd Einstein, where he writes articles for InfoGenius, Inc, and overthinks the mythos of his favorite fandoms.

Just How Bad is a Down, Slow, or Dysfunctional Website? It’s Worse than You Think!

Have you ever watched a movie (*cough* Godfather III) and said to yourself: “wow, this is so incredibly bad — I don’t think this can get worse!” But then it does. Much, much worse.

Well, having a down, slow, or dysfunctional website is similarly nightmarish — just when you think the reputation devastation is finally over, there’s more on the horizon. With apologies to Shakespeare: hell hath no fury like a customer scorned.

Not convinced? Here’s what happens to companies that get on the wrong side of their customers:

• 61% of customers say they will switch to a new brand after one bad experience. (Zendesk)
• 13% of customers who have a negative experience will tell 15+ people. (Esteban Kolsky)
• $289 is the average value of every lost business relationship in the U.S. per year. (Neil Patel)

Scary stuff, huh? “But wait — there’s more!”

These days, many unhappy customers publish reviews to punish companies that fail to meet their expectations. But guess what? These eviscerating appraisals are not just seen by other potential customers (many of whom quickly decide not to move into becoming actual customers). They are also seen by potential job candidates who are not enthusiastic about joining an organization that is used as target practice by denizens of the interwebs (everyone from THE ALL CAPS BRIGADE to the “tl;dr” force to the League of Extraordinary Grammarians).

However, just as all nightmares eventually come to an end (hey, even Godfather III mercifully rolls credits at the 2-hour-42-minute mark), there is something that companies can do to dial back — or better yet, eliminate — customer outrage caused by a down, slow, or dysfunctional website: get AlertBot.

AlertBot’s fully integrated monitoring platform monitors all your websites, web applications, mobile sites and services — all in one place. Unlike many other products in the marketplace, AlertBot doesn’t merely monitor a URL’s basic availability. It dives much deeper and monitors full page functionality using real web browsers in order to verify every page element, script, and interactive feature. As a result, you can proactively scan for errors, track and optimize load times, pinpoint issues, and get alerted to problems and failures.

The bottom line? A down, slow, or dysfunctional website can be so catastrophic that it makes Godfather III look like, well, Godfather I or Godfather II. Don’t hope for an Oscar just to win a Razzie. Get AlertBot and inspire your target audience to cheer vs. churn.

Start a FREE TRIAL of AlertBot now. There’s no billing information required, no installation, and you’ll be setup within minutes.

How Site Uptime Impacts SEO (Hint: It’s a REALLY Big Deal)

It is arguably the most important 3-letter acronym on the digital marketing landscape. No, it’s not ROI. It’s SEO. Consider that:

• Google processes over 5 billion searches every day.
• More than 90% of online experiences start with search engines.
• 5% of searchers click the first organic result, 15% click the second organic result, and 11% click the third result.
• 75% of searchers never scroll past the first page of results.

Clearly, effective SEO is extremely important. And for many businesses — especially smaller companies that are competing against big, established enterprises — it’s a matter of survival. However, for some decision-makers outside of the digital marketing world, the link between SEO and site uptime is less clear. Let’s fix that.

For Search Engines, it’s All About Relevance

 Realtors like to point out that the three most important factors in evaluating a property are: location, location, and location. Well, the big brains behind search engines like Google and (to a lesser extent) Bing and Yahoo are obsessed with: relevance, relevance, and relevance.

What this means, is that when responding to a search query — anything from “tennis rackets” to “what’s this itchy red bump on my foot?” — search engines strive to produce results that will be seen by searchers as relevant. Otherwise, eventually searchers will switch search engine brands (e.g. leaving Google and using Bing). Relevance is the glue that keeps the relationship sticky. And unlike with those glorious model airplanes that many of us failed to create when we were kids, in this case, the more glue the better.

 Downtime Damages Relevance

 Since search engines strive to deliver relevant search results (and therefore positive user experience), it makes sense that downtime — which can be defined as a site being inaccessible or outright disappearing — is the enemy.

After all, if a searcher looking to buy a tennis racket clicks a site and discovers that it’s unavailable, then they won’t just punish the company that they hoped to engage: they will, in time, punish the search engine that pointed them in that direction. That fear keeps search engine folks awake at night (including mighty Google which commands more than 90% of the desktop and mobile search marketplace), and it explains why downtime is such a threat: it damages relevance.

 Is 100% Uptime Absolutely Vital?

This warning about downtime begs an important question: do companies that want to stay far, far away from Google’s, Bing’s and Yahoo’s penalty box have to ensure 100% uptime? Not necessarily. While uninterrupted availability is ideal, it is not realistic. Occasionally, a site will go down for a few seconds or perhaps even longer. There are a variety of reasons for this, such as problems with a web host, an unexpected spike in traffic, and ol’ fashioned human error (hey, we all make mistaks…er, mistakes).

However, the top priority for all businesses that want to win the SEO game must be to minimize site downtime in terms of both frequency and duration. They also need to know why site downtime occurs, in order to proactively address issues and keep them from recurring. And that is where site uptime monitoring enters the picture.

What to Look for in Site Uptime Monitoring

 There are many site uptime monitoring products in the marketplace, ranging from superficial (and usually free — hey, we get what we pay for), to robust and reliable. Obviously, organizations need to choose from among the latter and avoid the former. To that end, here is what to look for in a site uptime monitoring solution:

• Full site monitoring. It is not enough to monitor a site’s basic availability — because that only confirms that it exists, not that it is actually functional. It is also necessary to verify each page element, script, and interactive feature, as well as scan for errors, track load times, and pinpoint problems.
• Automated alerts delivered by phone, email and/or texts to specified individuals (e.g. CTO, IT Director, etc.), in the event of site downtime — so that the right people can take immediate action.
• The ability to record and monitor multi-step web processes with real browsers (across desktop and mobile devices), mouse clicks, and keyboard interactions.
• The ability to monitor any port on any server or device to ensure that it is up and running, including: ICMP, TCP, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, DNS, FTP, Telnet, and custom ports.
• A range of performance reports including website load times, geographic performance, failure analysis, and more.
• Ongoing monitoring from a large group of locations around the world, which is essential for avoiding false alarms and verifying that a site is truly down/unavailable.

And it goes without saying: a legitimate and reliable site uptime monitoring solution must be backed by a responsive team of experts who will immediately take ownership of an issue and see it through to resolution. This cannot be emphasized enough, because the only thing worse than site downtime is trying to get help from people who don’t know what they’re doing. It gets ugly in a hurry.

SEO is Here to Stay

The rules of SEO will change — this much is certain (Google tinkers with its algorithm hundreds of times a year). But what isn’t going to change for search engines is the supreme importance of delivering relevant results. This means effective site uptime monitoring is not an option. It is essential, and companies that fail to heed this wisdom will soon be expressing another 3-letter acronym: SOS.

AlertBot is a leading site uptime monitoring solution that checks ALL of the features and functions above, which is why it’s trusted by some of the world’s biggest brands. Start a FREE TRIAL of AlertBot now. There’s no billing information required, no installation, and you’ll be setup within minutes. 

Why Your Website Host’s “100% Guaranteed Uptime” Promise is Bogus — and What to Do About It

by Louis Kingston

It’s been said that the devil is in the details. Well, along the same lines — and as we all know from miserable experience — when it comes to guarantees, the devil is in the small print. And there’s no better (or worse) example of this than with respect to the gleaming, confidence-inspiring claim by web hosts that they deliver 100% guaranteed uptime. Except, well, they don’t.

Here’s the thing: what you, everyone you know, and even random strangers in the street define as uptime — i.e. a website being online, operational and accessible — is not how web hosts define uptime. Confused? Of course, you are. To make sense of this, you need to think like a web host.

Multiple Pieces of the Uptime Puzzle

There are multiple pieces of the uptime puzzle: the server on which your website lives, the data center that physically houses multiple servers, the ISP that connects to the internet, and the carrier that links traffic between multiple ISPs. The uptime guarantee offered by web hosts begins and ends with the server and, if they own it, the data center. It does not include issues or problems with the ISP or carrier. As such, if there are points of failure in either of those components, then when your website does go down, your host will technically be meeting its promise. You’ve heard of a non-apology apology? Well, this is a non-guarantee guarantee — and it’s just as lousy.

Less than 100% Uptime = the Same Story

Now, you may have a website host that doesn’t sing from the 100% uptime/zero downtime songbook. It may, for example, promise 99.99% guaranteed uptime, or pledge some other Ivory soap-inspired technical cleanliness standard. Yet again, the same murky logic described above applies: as long as the host’s servers and (if owned) data center are humming along, then it’s an uptime guarantee party and everyone’s invited.

The Real Guarantee

At this point, you may be wondering — and not in a curious, childlike way, but in an agitated “what on earth is going on here!?” way — about what recourse you have available if and when your host does, indeed, bear responsibility for your website going down. That’s where the Service Level Agreement (SLA) kicks in.

Basically, in most cases, the SLA between you and your web host will entitle you to a prorated rebate based on downtime that meets two conditions: 1) the downtime is the responsibility or fault of the web host, and not the ISP, the carrier, the power company, hackers, natural disasters, wizard spells, alien invasion (or just alien visitation), or any other factor that is beyond its control; 2) the downtime can be proven.

So for example, if your business pays $100/month for managed web hosting and your site goes down for half a day— and both of these conditions are met — then you’ll either get around $3.33; most likely as a credit that will be applied to your next bill. Quite the luxurious guarantee, isn’t it?

What You Can Do About It

The bad news is that you can’t demand that your website host’s 100% uptime guarantee is, in fact, a 100% uptime guarantee as you, and pretty much everyone else, would define it. Unless the FCC and FTC decide that this is false advertising (and they haven’t done that… yet), then the splashy promise will remain– and so will the legalese fine print.

But the good news is that you can equip yourself with a globally trusted advanced website monitoring solution like AlertBot, so that you instantly know exactly when your site goes down, why it went down and for how long. You can then use this data to pinpoint problems and fix issues immediately. AlertBot’s popular health map reports deliver crucial performance metrics direct to your inbox to assure you stay on top of your sites. This will also determine whether you should change hosts to one that is relatively better at keeping their promises.

Give AlertBot’s FREE trial a try today. There’s no billing information required, no installation, and you’ll be setup within minutes. Click here.

Louis is a writer, author, and avid film fan. He has been writing professionally for tech blogs and local organizations for over a decade. Louis currently resides in Allentown, PA, with his wife and German Shepherd Einstein, where he writes articles for InfoGenius, Inc, and overthinks the mythos of his favorite fandoms.

3 Reasons Why Website Speed is More Important than Ever

by Louis Kingston

Today’s business environment is relentlessly fast-paced. Today’s startups blast into tomorrow’s enterprises. And just as rapidly, today’s unicorns take a one-way journey into “hey, whatever happened to…” country. However, there’s another critical piece of the velocity puzzle that many businesses are missing, and it’s costing them customers and profits: the speed of their website.

Speed Kills Lives 

Nearly 50 years ago, the government introduced the phrase “speed kills” to warn drivers that going too fast from point A to point B could result in a detour to point C (the police station), point D (the hospital) or point E (the morgue). It was good advice then, and it’s still good advice now.

But when the scene shifts from the asphalt freeway to the information superhighway, speed doesn’t kill anything. On the contrary, it keeps websites alive as far as visitors are concerned. Here are the 3 reasons why:

1. Speed Makes Websites Sticky

The word “bouncy” has a happy and positive feel to it, while the word “sticky”…well, it doesn’t. Nobody shows up to a birthday party excited to jump around in the sticky castle, and swimming pool diving boards wouldn’t be doing their job if people stuck to them (although it would be kind of hilarious).

But when it comes to websites, sticky is glorious and bouncy is dreadful — and that’s where speed makes a massive difference. A study by Kissmetrics found that a one second delay in load time can send conversion rates plunging by seven percent! Think about that. Actually, don’t think about that. Just read this sentence. That took a whopping two (!) seconds.

2. Speed is SEO Rocket Fuel

An old joke in the SEO world goes like this: “Where’s the best place to hide a dead body? Page two of Google.” (And in related news, an old conversation among psychologists is: “Why do SEO people make jokes about hiding dead bodies?”)

Macabre humor aside, the point is simple to understand: for most (if not all) of their keywords, businesses either need to be on page one of Google — and preferably in the top three positions — or they might as well be advertising in the Yellow Pages (ask your grandparents).

Once again, speed is a big part of the SEO story. Google — which is obsessively secretive about how its algorithm works (the first rule of Google Search Club is that you don’t talk about Google Search Club) —has actually gone ahead and formally confirmed that page speed is a significant SEO ranking factor for mobile and desktop searches.

The moral to this story? All else being equal, a website that loads faster will rank higher than a website that loads relatively slower. And in the long-run that could mean the difference between surviving or shutting down.

3. Speed Influences Perception

Einstein revealed that time, quite literally, is relative. But you don’t have to become a physicist or get yourself on a million memes to experience the deep truth of this in your bones. Here’s a fun little experiment:

Imagine that your favorite football team is losing a very important game. It’s late in the fourth quarter, and your beloved team is behind by six points. Although the clock is ticking down one second at a time, in your view the time is racing by. Surely, the clock must be rigged!

Now, imagine that your team is ahead vs. behind. The clock is still ticking down one second a time, but to you it’s not racing — it’s grinding slowly and painfully. Yet again: the clock must be rigged!

What this simple example demonstrates is what psychologists dub the perception of speed. Essentially, this means that our emotions influence how we grasp the velocity of passing time. Just a few seconds can seem like the “blink of an eye,” or a tedious wait — as we all know from toiling at the (not-so) express line in the grocery store.

The direct link to website speed here is unmistakable: visitors dislike waiting for websites to load. Actually, they hate it. Each extra second exponentially adds to their unhappiness, and makes it more likely that they’ll exact revenge by smacking the back button on their browser — never to return.

No, this doesn’t mean that websites must load instantaneously, like flipping channels on a TV. Technology isn’t there yet, and visitors aren’t unreasonable or unrealistic. But yes, it does mean that speed is connected UX, and ultimately, with brand: fast loading times creative a positive experience and emotions that are associated with the brand, while slow loading times do the opposite.

The Bottom Line

Website speed has always been important. But these days, it’s crucial — and in many cases, it’s THE MOST IMPORTANT factor. After all, it really doesn’t matter how amazing a website is and what it offers, if visitors never get there in the first place.

Louis is a writer, author, and avid film fan. He has been writing professionally for tech blogs and local organizations for over a decade. Louis currently resides in Allentown, PA, with his wife and their German Shepherd Einstein, where he writes articles for InfoGenius, Inc, and overthinks the mythos of his favorite fandoms.