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Reflecting this UFO mania The National Archives’ UFO webpage attracted 264,285 visits the first day, five times more than usual. Over the next four days 1,348,054 files were downloaded.
David Thomas, chief information officer at The National Archives, “It just shows the fascination in encounters of a third kind is very real. This launch exceeded our expectations and showcased our ability to deliver large scale projects in the face of sustained web traffic.”
Released under the Freedom of Information Act, these 8 UFO files were the first tranche transferred to The National Archives by the Ministry of Defence. In anticipation of the demand, The National Archives web team worked with UK managed hosting provider NetBenefit and their Content Delivery Network (CDN) specialist Panther Express to ensure uninterrupted viewing of this previously unseen material.
Jonathan Robinson, chief operating officer NetBenefit comments, “With a project like this, capacity for the unknown has to be anticipated and planned for. A resilient hosting solution with scaleable bandwidth was key to its success. ”
The files contained details of alleged alien abductions, sightings of flying saucers and crop circles.
For further information on The National Archives please contact Tim Matthews, 020 8392 5277.
For further information on NetBenefit please contact, Jonathan Bawden or Emily Gallagher, Portfolio Communications – 0207 240 6959
Notes to Editors
This is the first tranche of UFO files that MoD will transfer over the next few years.
* According to Hitwise Internet searches for UFOs increased by 267% on the day the UFO files were released -
The National Archives,is a government department; and also an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The National Archives brings together the Public Record Office, Historical Manuscripts Commission, the Office of Public Sector Information and Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
The National Archives is at the heart of information policy – setting standards and supporting innovation in information and records management across the UK, and providing a practical framework of best practice for opening up and encouraging the re-use of public sector information. This work helps inform today’s decisions and ensure that they become tomorrow’s permanent record.
The National Archives is also the UK government’s official archive, containing 900 years of history from Domesday Book to the present, with records ranging from parchment and paper scrolls through to recently created digital files and archived websites. Increasingly, these records are being put online, making them universally accessible.
The vision of The National Archives is to:
· Lead and transform information management;
· Guarantee the survival of today's information for tomorrow;
· Bring history to life for everyone.
About NetBenefit
NetBenefit is part of London listed Group NBT plc (LSE: NBT). Established in 1995, NetBenefit is an experienced provider of managed hosting services in the UK, with a range of services to suit every level of business. Its world class network infrastructure allows it to guarantee resilient, available and secure managed hosting for businesses that need a hosting provider they can depend upon.
Group NBT plc is a leading provider of domain name management and Internet-related services through the six trading brands, NetNames, NetBenefit, Speednames, Ascio and Envisional. Group NBT has over 250 employees and is based in London with offices in Copenhagen, New York, Nice, Frankfurt, Munich and Madrid.
About Panther Express
Panther Express Corp. is the industry’s best value CDN solution - a high-performance content delivery network (CDN) with an innovative low-cost infrastructure. Founded in 2005 by former DoubleClick CEO Kevin Ryan and DoubleClick Co-founder and former CTO Dwight Merriman, Panther Express ensures rapid, reliable and scalable performance to gaming, video, e-commerce, webhosting, news, blogs and Web 2.0 Internet sites worldwide. Panther Express is privately held and based in New York. Panther Express has over ten years of best practices experience and two years of operational excellence in content delivery with over 325 customers using our solutions every day.
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tmatthews[.]nationalarchives.gov.uk 
