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 Google on Friday released in beta an upgrade of its on-premises Web analytics software for organizations that prefer not to use the search engine’s online analytics service.
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Urchin Software is similar in scope to Google Analytics, but is made to run on an organization’s server, the company said. The new product is available for evaluation purposes and is not recommended for production environments.

Urchin Software, like its predecessor Urchin 5, is built for organizations that have content behind a firewall or have restrictions against using an online service. The software is also good for performing ad hoc historical processing, for storing Web analytics on local servers, and for gathering data for third-party audits, Google said.

Among the improvements in Urchin Software is more accurate geo-identification of Web site visitors, cross-segmentation options, a "vastly improved" embedded scheduler to manage processing and reprocessing jobs, and an improved user interface, Google said. In addition, e-commerce and market campaign tracking is included. Urchin 5 requires an additional module.

While comparable to Google Analytics, Urchin Software does have some differences. For example, companies hosting and managing the software themselves will have to configure the product and schedule log file processing according to their own requirements. In addition, the software product does not have the most recent interface improvements and e-mail reporting capabilities added to Google Analytics in May. Finally, Google Analytics is available at no charge.

A 90-day version of Urchin Software is available for download. Once out of beta, the new product will be available for $2,995 through authorized consultants.