AT&T is now offering a managed service that allows enterprises to speed up the performance and responsiveness of Web-based applications. AT&T Application Acceleration uses a variety of methods, including the F5 Networks Web Accelerator to make complex transactions, such as e-commerce, enterprise Intranet and supply chain applications, faster and therefore more productive.

“AT&T has packaged what is a really complex set of difficult to understand technologies and put a simple face on it,” said Brian Washburn, analyst with Current Analysis. “It enables faster transactions so your customers stick with your business, don’t go to a competitor because your site is too slow.”

The individual “tricks of the trade” that AT&T is using aren’t revolutionary, he said, but the package of services as part of a hosted service is something new to the industry and attractive to those with complex, highly interactive and high volume Web applications.

That includes Web sites doing e-commerce, enterprises offering employee information via Web-based applications, management of off-shore suppliers and more, said Chris Costello, assistant vice president for managed hosting and applications services at AT&T.

“We are speeding content delivery which is addressing the number one complaint of Internet and intranet users,” she said. “It’s not a new problem, but these are newer technologies and solutions. It is an asymmetrical solution – it is centralized in an AT&T data center, so we are not requiring devices at all customers’ branch offices.”

The service is available globally from any of AT&T’s current 36 data centers, soon to hit 38, Costello added. It can be offered as part of a fully managed services with AT&T managing the enterprise service or as a separate offering for corporations who want to control their own servers.

As more companies look to Web-based services not only to sell products and services but also to provide internal applications such as employee benefits and records or management of out-sourced suppliers, speeding up Web applications means increasing employee productivity and improving profits, Costello said.

For complex e-commerce, analyst Washburn added, an accelerated Web application would also reduce the number of calls that are made to live Customer Service Representatives, which is a more costly process for the e-commerce merchant.

The service is already available and deployed by four customers, Costello said.