Another solid month in web hosting under our belts -- yes, March was a killer web hosting month. AIT crunched some numbers and it seems things are so "online" these days that online shopping figures now equal those of "brick and mortar" businesses. If that's true things must be good and looking up. Right? Not according to independent research firm Tier1. Their recent 62-page research report suggests web hosting is under pressure from a range of factors, including the "proliferation of wireless and broadband access, web-enabled mobile devices, and the movement of personal and business lives to an online environment". Certainly something to think about...
OK, so will web hosting go up in a cloud? Well, perhaps... there seem to be plenty of threats these days! Amazon's March launch of EC2 gave them the potential to grab traditional web hosting by the throat and, 'disrupt' it, while Layered Technologies continued in a similar theme by raising $11 million to bump up its "on-demand" hosting provision. In addition, YouTube's new API essentially makes it a free video host! Microsoft turned up the heat as well... the Richmond boys plan to expand Microsoft online services for businesses of all sizes and also plan to buy some datacenters to fuel its growth. Writing on the wall? Well, Google launched Google Sites in March, so I will leave it up to you to decide...
When a web host pulls content from its servers, is it an act of bravery, or passing a hot potato? Difficult to say... Network Solutions shut down a documentary website before it was released and video host LiveLeak stepped in to save the day. As it worked out, they were forced to pull the Dutch MPs anti-Koran film because of threats made against their staff. I bet LiveLeak's staff never thought any harm would come to them as a result of being in the web hosting industry -- danger lurks everywhere these days!
Bob Parsons of Go Daddy does things the old fashioned American way! In March, the company committed against outsourcing its staff and confirmed all jobs would stay American. In a similar vein, Aplus.Net suggested it would hire 60 new staff by the end of September. The industry's collective hearts go out to Camera Corner/Connecting Point who had a fire that may cost the company up to one million dollars. A few court cases in March too - actress Marisa Guterman sued DreamHost while Data Return was the subject of a class action.
Plenty of people on the move in March, data center operator and managed services provider Peak 10 named a Vice President for its Cincinnati operations, HostMySite.com appointed a Vice President of Software Development,Christopher McCleary joined the Hosting.com Board of Directors, and Bret Messer joined Apollo Hosting. Congrats to all! Plenty of mergers and acquisitions in March, too! Some major web host purchases took place in March, Sitestar bought Comcation's assets, Pro Net Hosting bought Homepage Universe, and Australian business software provider MYOB bought a web host!
Plenty of partnerships and contracts won in March. Internap signed SoftLayer to expand its US on-demand hosting platform, Asylum Entertainment selected DediPower for managed hosting services, Cogent Communications selected IFL to host its Tier 1 network expansion, SharePointHQ and Alentus Internet Services renewed their SharePoint partnership, and Verisign decided to integrate Ratepoint. In addition,AISO.Net selected NextPhase Wireless for its wireless network upgrade, The Planet chose NTT America to facilitate IPv6, midPhase partnered with SoftLayer for new dedicated servers, LeaseWeb was chosen to host Relatieplanet.nl, and iomart Group won a UK contract.
Lots of awards and milestones hit in March, too... the European Green IT Awards shortlisted web host Memset, UKFast won ISPA four years in a row, ServerBeach hit a major milestone, and Attenda was voted partner of the year.
Of course, as with every month, March had its share of promotions... EIRCA offered a St. Patrick's Day promotion, as did Exabytes Network, and The Planet relaunched its double down promotion. In addition, AIT offered an iPod promotion for virtual registrars, AIT offered an iPod Nano promotion and Layered Technologies offered Microsoft Expression. Again, as ever, there was a solid input of new hosting products and services in March. myy.name offered free hosting, Server Intellect introduced Windows Server 2008 on managed dedicated servers, The Planet added new advanced dedicated backup server options, Flux Services, Inc. introduced an ultra unlimited plan, and Aplus.Net announced four additions to its dedicated server range. In addition, eUKhost Ltd offered new dual quad-core dedicated servers, Frontpages Web Hosting Network announces new semi-dedicated SharePoint Hosting plans, Zanadoo offered a VPS alternative to dedicated servers, DiscountASP.NET announced Windows 2008 shared hosting, Macquarie Telecom launched affordable business continuity for mission critical applications, and VEXXHOST announced TeraByte hosting.
As well as hosts that introduced new products and services, there were other who enhanced the products and services they offer. HostNine upgrades 'Reseller Central' and added Windows reseller hosting, AF Web Hosting enhanced its offerings, Cirrus Tech added Debian4 to dedicated servers, Host Color added a discussion board to its plans and Host Color added a feature to its business and multi-domain web hosting plans. |
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