Website Reliance Increases as Organizations Turn to the Cloud to Serve Customers During the Pandemic

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. SEPTEMBER 8, 2020 -- Today, Website operations leader Pantheon released data that shows the upward trend in web traffic across enterprise sites and multiple industries, signifying increased reliance upon websites during the pandemic. More than one in two websites had to take on significant traffic in 2020 compared to 2019. 55% of enterprise sites saw greater than a 20% jump in site visits between April and July 2020, compared to April-July 2019. In addition, 35% of enterprise sites saw greater than a 50% surge.

Pantheon's data shows that website traffic has increased significantly for enterprise clients over the last several months. Out of more than 17,000 enterprise sites analyzed, 30% saw a jump of 20% or more in site traffic between April and July, compared to the four months prior, while 19% of enterprise sites saw a 50% increase in site visits between Apr-Jul '20 vs the 4 months prior.

"We have seen in stark relief over the last three months—and, frankly, over the last five years—the need for the precious resource of hyper-local news, especially in times of crisis," says Abe Brewster, CTO of local news network Patch.com, which runs on Pantheon and has seen a constant climb in site traffic since the onset COVID-19, outranking the Washington Post in overall Alexa rankings. "Things are far more nuanced at a local level than can be conveyed by national news outlets—which are increasingly the only source of information for some. Patch's digital-only model is also easier to alter than heavier news organizations which may also be burdened by printing and delivery services.”

Patch is not alone; at least 12 percent of those sites experiencing traffic spikes are media outlets, and almost half are in the education sector. Digital platforms are counted on to deliver the resources required for a quality education. The speed of change in education continues to accelerate, and to adapt successfully. Institutions need a WebOps platform like Pantheon.

“Stability, reliability, and security have never been more important to a learner’s digital experience than they are now,” said Stefany Sanders, Director of Marketing & Digital Strategy at Georgia Tech Professional Education. “Digital platforms are counted on to deliver the resources required for a quality education. The speed of change in education continues to accelerate, and to adapt successfully. Institutions need a strong WebOps platform.”

To continue their momentum in this space, Pantheon is announcing five new executive hires. This comes off the heels of hiring Christy Marble as CMO, and is evidence of Pantheon's value as a WebOps platform supporting customers as they pivot to a remote-only model.

In the midst of increased demand, Pantheon welcomes the following new remote hires:

• Laura Zwahlen as VP of Sales

• Joep Leussink as VP of Growth

• Stephen Horning as VP of Customer Success

• Kimberly Kummet as VP Corporate Controller

The addition of an extensive remote VP team represents a shift in the direction of digital remote collaboration - one of Pantheon’s guiding pillars.