Well, August was a splendid month for web hosting with plenty of varied activity. AIT launched what they believe will offer search engine's like Google a run for their money, so much so that the company's founder and CEO Clarence E. Briggs III is now working full-time on tyBit. Best of luck there, Clarence. Lycos was in the news in August, this time offering teachers web publishing and hosting tools, and showing just how important web hosting is becoming, Ping! Zine forged an agreement with Newsstand to give the magazine a larger reader base. A web hosting magazine at your local news kiosk -- whatever next?
A couple of surveys in August provided various insights into the business. Virtualization is ready for mission-critical applications, said a Rackspace survey, while a survey by Hostway UK reported that 44% of IT managers are fed up with buying storage they don't need. Also, in August, the FTC banned a 'boiler room' website and web hosting operation. Web hosting also played its part in the success of the Simpsons' movie - a Kansas city-based company is hosting a Simpsons website that allows people to be 'Simpsonized' -- urgh! What on earth could that mean? However, there were a couple of things people might not have been too happy about in August... Websense claimed IT management firm EDB hosts malicious files on its website, and Hostway's server migration left websites and back-office applications offline.
Plenty of money moving around the industry in August... Just look at Web.com's second quarter 2007 financial results! In addition, plenty of expansions! Peak 10 entered the Atlanta market, DataBank expanded its data center, iWeb obtained additional financing facilities for the expansion of its second datacenter, and Galaxy Visions opened a new data center in Brooklyn. Plenty of acquisitions, too in August! Globat.com acquired Newista, Aplus.Net acquired WebImage, Fat Jack Hosting acquired AceSpace, and Navisite acquired Alabanza and Jupiter Hosting.
To keep ahead of the wild the rabid pack, plenty of hosts launched new offerings in August. InetServices, LLC announced new Multi-Core Xeon Server offerings, SherWeb announced a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007-based offering, ResellerNerd.com introduced free "Turnkey Reseller" web hosting, and The Planet announced the addition of the new hosted Microsoft Small Business Server (SBS). In addition, web hosting provider Netfirms launched web design services, Applied Innovations added reseller plans, Media3 announced new Coldfusion 8 hosting plans, as did CrystalTech and HostMySite.com. As opposed to launching new offerings, some hosts enhanced what they have to keep ahead of the curve. Go Daddy combined Quick Blog and Quick Podcast, and CirtexHosting upgraded its plan structure and added Linux ASP support.
Is this the latest PR exercise or the real deal? Only you and the polar bears can decide. Greenest Host suggested it was now completely powered by solar technology while Memset suggested that going carbon neutral helped them increase business by over 65% - the more you use, the more you save the planet! To increase sales though, most hosts took a more familiar route and offered a range of promotions. Being summer, Gate.com offered a Caribbean Cruise promotion, while Host Color offered a customer buy-out. NetBenefit on the other hand offered free Expression software with Windows dedicated servers and UnitSpeed Host offered a 30-day free trial of its remote backup service. In addition, Eskhosting cancelled setup fees for web hosting services, InetServices extended its summer special, Easy Internet Solutions offered five years' hosting for the price of one, The Planet offered promotions for online retailers, and Supanet Hosting offered customers TimeUK discount vouchers.
Masses of partnerships taking place in August. Xerox and web hosting provider Verio partnered on "LetsSayThanks.com" -- a damn good cause by the way -- and Host Papa partnered with Canadian Culture. In addition, Resellerstoday.com partnered with RVSiteBuilder to offer a free website builder, Likewise, Bayshore Solutions partnered with Omniture, DiscountASP.NET partnered with video tutorial provider LearnVisualStudio.NET, AppServe Technologies partnered with RatePoint and RatePoint gained 35 new resellers. In addition, Asian web hosting provider SpaceAsia partnered with mediaman China, Hostopia licensed digital fax patents from j2 Global, and DigitalPost Interactive chose web hosting provider Rackspace.
Lots of awards also in August - Netfirms received an Excellence, Leadership and Innovation award, and Port City Web achieved Microsoft ISV status for Google and ProductCart Shopping Cart automation. On the security front, ID-Protect and Comodo partnered to fight Identity Theft, Websense implemented a warning system for Web 2.0 threats, and Go Daddy was awarded the WebTrust seal of assurance again.
As we said, plenty to get your teeth into in August -- let's hope September is equally as wholesome! |
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