We recently introduced a new data property for existing licenses and new evaluations: primary software type. The objective of this property is to return results for HTTP Headers which provide no information on the nature of the requesting hardware. This information is fundamental in gaining a full understanding of website traffic, hence it has been made available across all DeviceAtlas products.

Background

Prior to 2012, we identified different hardware types using Boolean properties. This was sufficient while the number was small, but around 2012 it became apparent that the number would grow rapidly. Our Primary Hardware Type property was introduced as a result, which permitted simple extension to new types; there are now close to fifty. Today, there is a contained number of Boolean properties identifying the nature of the requesting software, but it was clear that a wider solution was needed.

Solving a Problem

The complexities of the Web can present challenges in being able to segment traffic that doesn't easily fall into a device category. However, it's important to understand this traffic as it can account for a large proportion of website visitors. Our commitment to customers is to tell them what's hitting their web servers - as there is a real need to understand these visitors, we determined that a new property was required to characterize non device traffic: primary software type, a counterpoint to primary hardware type.

This is an enumerated property with six possible results for the type of web traffic seen where a device is not identified:

One of the triggers for this new property was the previewer source; link previewers cannot easily be identified as either human or non-human, so it makes sense to classify them separately to enable DeviceAtlas customers to serve an appropriate summary of the page. Software library is a broad category, which may sub-divide over time. For example, a user-agent string may simply say “LAVF 1.0” which offers little insight to the device, but a good deal about the activity in progress (in this case, audio or video consumption; this aspect is covered by the 'Contextual Usage' property).

By utilizing the primary hardware type and primary software type properties in combination, DeviceAtlas customers gain a comprehensive picture of their web traffic, uncovering insights beyond those delivered through many web analytics solutions.