Not only was it a good month for web hosting, July was in fact THE month for web hosting -- at least in 2008. Yes, of course, July saw web hosting's annual shindig, and what a party it was! People at the event included Microsoft, who showcased Hyper-V adoption, HostingPanama, who explained the benefits of off-shore hosting, 1&1 Internet, Hivelocity, who gave away free VPS, Parallels, whose CEO delivered an opening keynote, Layered Tech, and R1Soft, who demonstrated Continuous Data Protection. There was a sharp intake of breath amongst the party faithful who had invested their futures in providing Microsoft technologies. The Richmond posse at HostingCon announced that it would be offering hosted versions of its Exchange and SharePoint solutions. Of course there's two sides to every story, and if you are selling Exchange and SharePoint, and depending on whether you are a half-full or half-empty kind of guy, this is the best, or the worst news you have heard all year!
Again at HostingCon; finally someone bit the bullet. HostingCon participants heard an announcement that the first-ever trade association for Internet and hosting service providers would be formed. And about time! Let's hope that AIHSP -- as it is called -- will bring cohesion to an often disparate industry and offer guidelines that web hosts will have to adhere to, or face the consequences. Three cheers for this, and we are talking to Paul Hirsch of the AIHSP Founding Committee in August. He'll give us more on this excellent initiative. Another decent initiative that kicked off in July, aims at enabling the web hosting community to find contacts and solutions easily and quickly. Check it out! Based on the recently formed LinkedIn group, this really could be a boon for the industry. Early days -- let's see what happens...
Also, in July... Google courted web hosts by allowing them to integrate Google webmaster tools directly into their webmasters' hosting accounts... What could be next I wonder? However, on the darker side, a court in The Netherlands told web host EuroAccess it must provide details of a torrent site administrator. ScanSafe also issued a report on the top countries hosting web-based malware -- probably not what you are expecting. And you know what they say... "No FT -- No Comment"? Well, as far the British newspaper the Financial Times was concerned, in July it was "No server -- No comment"! A Cable & Wireless break in stopped FTs website from operating and also blacked out access to Sainsbury's groceries website!
It's "financial results" time of year and plenty of profit realized in web hosting. iomart PLC saw managed hosting results increase 17%, The Planet reported "double-digit" growth in the 2nd quarter, and UK2 saw "exceptional half year results". A few people on the move in July - on-demand IT infrastructure provider Layered Tech announced a new CIO and VeriSign's CEO resigned in circumstances similar to those to when he arrived. Lots of awards received and milestones achieved in July. Juniper Networks celebrated the 10th anniversary of JUNOS Software, MaximumASP obtained SAS 70 Type I report, the Russell Microcap index added Newtek Business Services, and Dutch hosting provider LeaseWeb gained ISO 27001 certification.
July was also unofficial web hosting partnership month -- lots of partnership activity going on! 1&1 and RatePoint partnered, as did GDCM and President Systems, and DiscountASP.NET and Znode Storefront. Lots of contracts awarded in June, too. Global Play Golf (GPG) selected DediPower to provide for its managed hosting requirements, Juniper Networks selected IBM for Data Center hosting, 1&1 Internet and Open-Xchange partnered, as did DiscountASP.NET and Kentico. In addition, Verio announced NTT Plala would migrate its SMB users to Verio's shared hosting platform, National E-Business Solutions Provider selected BlackMesh for managed hosting and an ecommerce arts and crafts retailer selected DediPower for managed hosting services. Furthermore, Japanese SaiNet Corporation chose GlobalLogic, Inc. as a software development partner, Spanish host ConsultorPC joined the R1Soft hosting partner program, ebay competitor Aroxo chose iomart to host its IT backbone and Interspire became a Parallels Gold Technology Partner.
Masses of expansion going on in July also - DiscountASP.NET opened a European data center, PEER 1 continued rapid growth with a network upgrade, and managed services and data center provider DataPipe secured $75 Million in funding. In addition, VistaPrint offered website building and hosting services to five global markets. Fortunately for us all, July saw web hosts continue their push towards a cleaner environment -- BLADE Network Technologies joined The Green Grid to promote energy-efficiency in data centers, and Rackspace celebrated one year of its green initiatives.
As usual, a lot of web hosts put out new products and services in July. Layered Tech, Inc. announced the availability of Hyper-V-based Virtual Private Machines, Webair unveiled a new custom Virtual Hosting Platform, Go Daddy deploys the SecureSphere Web Application Firewall, Dotster introduced an improved hosting application vault, and WebFusion revamped its shared hosting range. In addition, 3FN offered new backup plans, VEXXHOST offered a new site builder, Daily.co.uk announced unlimited reseller web hosting, Easyspace offered Virtual Server Package add-ons, and DiscountASP.NET extended its IIS manager with a Global Assembly Cache Viewer tool.
Of course, as ever, web hosts jostled for position with masses of promotions. The Planet offered 100% commission on affiliate sales, Flash tutorial provider DemoWolf offered a free application to web hosting companies, iNFRENION.com announced a free hosting promotion, and Easyspace offered a 50% discount on .eu domain names. Further news of the domain name front included Go Daddy's claims that selling '.me' domains had produced a 'Super Bowl-like spike in traffic and domain registrations'. Wonder if Easyspace experienced the same? UK registrar and 123-reg offered .INFO discounts in July, and Daily.co.uk announced a 'Domains Summer Special'.
Beyond the promotions, masses of web hosts tried to stay ahead of the curve by bringing in new products and services. DataPipe and Sun Microsystems offered start ups and ISVs 'competitively priced, high-performance managed hosting services', Liquid Web introduced the 'Guardian' data protection service and joined the R1Soft Hosting Partner Program, and Cirrus Tech offered dedicated server clients all-in-one load balancing, firewall, and VPN solution. In addition, 123Together.com began Apple iPhone 3G support, as did 1&1, Easyspace launched a new 'Pic 'N' Mix' website hosting service, and ServerPoint rolled out Windows Virtual Private Servers.
Definitely a summer of hosting! Let's hope August is as hot!
