Microsoft's Azure has topped the charts in terms of cloud application performance, according to tests conducted by Compuware.

Microsoft Windows Azure tops the list with the best performance, followed by Google App Engine ranking second, GoGrid in third place, OpSource in fourth and Rackspace ranking fifth.

The ranking is calculated taking a 12-month average of user performance tests run on the Compuware Gomez Performance Network (GPN). The test measures response time and availability against a standard reference application.

"We know that distance, routing and peering play an important role in determining website performance, and it is clear that some providers, such as Microsoft Azure, have effectively mastered the combination," said Steve Tack, chief technology officer of Compuware's APM business unit.

"Organisations need to understand what levels of performance - speed and availability - are needed from their cloud-based applications in order to deliver fast, reliable and highly satisfying user experiences," he said. "Simply using hardware availability SLAs [service level agreements] to manage service providers isn't effective from a user perspective. Organisations need to measure the true experiences of their most important user segments, including those that are far away, to ensure their cloud service provider can deliver fast and reliable experiences in key regions."

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