About two weeks ago I blogged a question about WebTrends in China, and following up on that questions opened a whole new perspective on web analytics in China for me. It turned out that Webtrends indeed has be present in China since 2000, as stated in this press release. Ronghai Consulting is distributing its solution in China and providing training for its local accounts. This is the kind of blow to my world view that I like to see more often! There is actual web analytics life outside the small agency planet I exist on. Unbeknown to your ignorant correspondent, Ronghai has licensed WebTrends to several large state owned enterprises like China Mobile and China Telecoms (HQ and regional telecoms). Since the company focussed on reselling software, all of these installations are local installations, in contrast to the SAAS / On Demand services WebTrends like to sell these days. This modus operandi might actually benefit data accuracy, since the data does not need to travel to the WebTrends servers outside the great firewall.
Another interesting story is the training Ronghai provides for WebTrends, charging local rates (RMB 1K/day/person, less for groups) including

• WebTrends installation
• WebTrends SDC Java script tagging skills
• Campaign tracking configuration skills

This seems to be a good benchmark for Omniture and Baidu in their effort to broaden he base of web analytics users in China. It is also a great reminder to me to continue honing my radar for web analytics activity in China.