Path.Network

PATH has already released a beta of the mining node browser plugin and is waiting for feedback from the pre-approved users having access to the beta version. In the future PATH is planning to add such features as Synthetic Interaction Testing, Page Speed Monitoring, DDoS Attack Reporting, and CDN Performance. So, PATH has a good idea, clear vision of a way to beat their competitors, beta version of the product, solid team. If they improve their marketing campaign and keep their roadmap, the project has an excellent chance for success.
An excellent idea of implementing mining and monitoring nodes on user devices instead of building extremely expensive infrastructure can move the project on top of the uptime and performance monitoring industry.

Strength and Opportunities:
Path has already managed to convince a broad range of investors to support the project. Among them are Bitmain, INBlockchain, Crypto Capital, BitForex, Eastern Capital, Hash Finance, Currency World, Mars Finance, and Happy East Capital. Additionally, the team counts with solid advisor profiles.
Weaknesses and Threats:
It seems that a lot of the services that Path wants to provide are already provided pretty well by centralized agents. Today several applications and marketing dashboards exist that provide instant email, SMS and API notifications in case of server downtimes at very affordable rates. A strong question mark remains whether the problem that Path is solving needs to be solved by a blockchain network or whether existing centralized solutions are better suited. Also in terms of website analytics, which is a field that Path wants to serve, there already exist powerful competitors such as Google Analytics. Path Network requires one million nodes in order to achieve global coverage for its service. It will be very difficult to achieve that high number of nodes. In the meantime the service is basically useless compared to already existing and functional centralized solutions. Website monitoring is a service that is often purchased together with a bunch of other services and not individually. For these reasons several large enterprises that are potential users of Path are customers of an existing marketing analytics dashboard that includes website monitoring. Due to the other services provided by the dashboard the enterprise may not change service provider since it is the entire bundle of services that creates the value for the customer.
Verdict:
Path Network is serving a very specific and certainly profitable niche market. However, not all kind of services that are offered on the internet require a blockchain based solution. Path may not have a strong competitor at the intersection of blockchain technology and the website monitoring market, but it is unclear whether the blockchain powered solution offered by Path will provide a more convincing alternative to customers than the established centralized solutions. The main competitors of Path will be the big established centralized counterparts. Offering a better and cheaper alternative will be the hardest challenge for Path and will decide on the long term prosperity of the PATH token. In the short term the indicators for the ICO look positive.