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Blog Web Hosting Content Provided by FatCow FatCow Web Hosting
If you are currently blogging, or are considering creating a blog you will need to have it hosted somewhere. With literally thousands of web hosting companies out there – how do you choose among them? What should you look for to ensure that you find a quality web hosting provider? Here are a few tips to get you pointed in the right direction.
Reputation – Perhaps no other single factor is as telling about a web hosting provider as their reputation. By reputation we refer to the comments generated by current customers. In other words, the publicly observable appraisal of those actually engaging with the web host day in and day out. There are a few great ways to check on a potential web hosting company’s reputation online.
Google Search – Step one is to search Google for the company name, but also search phrases like ‘company name problems’ or ‘company name service’. Google is great for seeing the total accumulation of comments over time. You’ll see the disgruntled customer from 2002 that created a whole website to voice his displeasure. Or you’ll see comments from years past about how great your potential webhost is. What to do if you want to see extremely current information? Try Twitter search – see below.
Twitter – Besides being a great place to view the outward face of your webhost through their Twitter feed, you can also see comments from current customers. These comments are often less than a few hours old as well. So the information that you are getting about a customer service issue or outage are often happening right at the moment you are learning about it. To use Twitter as a real time search engine simply go to the search box: http://search.twitter.com – and type in your query. Try both the format ”host name” and ”@hostname” (this is the usual Twitter handle for a business).
Web Hosting Resource Sites and Forums – There are also specialty websites that research and review web hosting providers and their products. These sites range from current news and information about reputable hosting companies to ongoing conversations and threads in various web hosting forums. Among the best resources are: The Hosting News, webhostingtalk.com, Ping! Zine and Tophosts.com. Be aware that there are also some ”Top 10” type websites that receive affiliate bounties for recommending certain hosting providers. While these may be great web hosts, you ought to conduct separate independent research on any web host recommended through a ”Top 10” website.
Account Types – A second important factor to consider when selecting a web hosting provider is to match your online needs with the specific account types offered by the hosting company. Often a webhost will specialize in a particular type of web hosting. As an example, let’s say that you have selected the WordPress content management system as your preferred publishing platform for your blog. You would of course want to make certain that your web host is capable at WordPress hosting. Further, if WordPress was a specialization of your potential web hosting company they may offer special features such as a ”one click” install of the WordPress software, or special proprietary plugins developed just for their customers. You may also need WordPress themes and a specialized WordPress provider may supply free themes for their customers. Here are a few different type of hosting that you may want to consider.
Linux Hosting – Plain vanilla Linux operating system behind the hosting. This is very common, flexible and often is at a lower cost.
Windows / ASP.NET – This operating system is built upon the Microsoft server technology and is sometimes a prerequisite for enterprise or business scale hosting.
Shared Hosting – You receive a small sector of space and resources on a web server shared with others. If high security and uptime are important to you – you may want to select a virtual server or dedicated server instead.
Virtual Server / VPS Hosting – Virtualization has become commonplace and can offer many of the same benefits of a dedicated server (security, space, scalability) at a lower cost. A virtual server is a ‘’server” that is created with software – but has all the same attributes of a dedicated server. This is true even though multiple virtual servers exist on a single dedicated server.
Dedicated Server – In the case of very large sites, or website where security is paramount, a dedicated server is a great option. This is an entire web server which houses nothing but your website and databases. The benefits are high availability, high security and plenty of room to grow. The benefits come at a price though – dedicated servers are at a higher price point than both shared and virtual servers.
There are many more types of hosting, with each serving a specific market niche. To match up your needs with those of your provider give them a call to discuss your specific website configuration.
Geography – When considering which webhost is right for you, take a moment to consider your audience. That is, who will actually be viewing your website content. More specifically, consider which search engines will be important to your business strategy. If getting traffic from search engines is important to you (and it should be) you must select a host that serves your geographic target. This is because search engines look at the geographic location of the originating server to decide which countries and local geographies will be most relevant for that website. For example, if you plan on targeting website visitors in the United Kingdom, you would want your business to be listed we among the search engines for the UK (for example google.co.uk). Therefore, you would need to select a web hosting provider who has servers based in the UK.
Note – the company itself doesn’t have to be located in your target geography. They just need to have a server presence in your target country that can house your website.
Service Factors – Webmasters range from the uber-technical to the novice. No matter your level of technical expertise, you will need to obtain the help of your web host at some point. A critical consideration in selecting a web hosting provider for your blog needs to be: Will this company make it easy for me to ask questions and get problems resolved quickly? Look for a web host that offers communication in the ways that you prefer. For example, if you like to use chat to get issues resolved – look for a hosting company that offers support via chat. Similarly, if you want to call up and get a human being on the other end of the call, look for strong phone support. It never hurts to do a ”test run” on communications prior to buying. Use the chat service or phone number to ask a few pre-sales questions. This will at least help you gauge how responsive the host is to queries.
Good luck in selecting the best web host for you. Remember to conduct your research ahead of time, to ensure that you have a great and trouble-free web hosting experience.
Source: Blog Hosting – Choosing The Right Host
Blog Web Hosting Content Provided by FatCow FatCow Web Hosting
If you are currently blogging, or are considering creating a blog you will need to have it hosted somewhere. With literally thousands of web hosting companies out there – how do you choose among them? What should you look for to ensure that you find a quality web hosting provider? Here are a few tips to get you pointed in the right direction.
Reputation – Perhaps no other single factor is as telling about a web hosting provider as their reputation. By reputation we refer to the comments generated by current customers. In other words, the publicly observable appraisal of those actually engaging with the web host day in and day out. There are a few great ways to check on a potential web hosting company’s reputation online.
Google Search – Step one is to search Google for the company name, but also search phrases like ‘company name problems’ or ‘company name service’. Google is great for seeing the total accumulation of comments over time. You’ll see the disgruntled customer from 2002 that created a whole website to voice his displeasure. Or you’ll see comments from years past about how great your potential webhost is. What to do if you want to see extremely current information? Try Twitter search – see below.
Twitter – Besides being a great place to view the outward face of your webhost through their Twitter feed, you can also see comments from current customers. These comments are often less than a few hours old as well. So the information that you are getting about a customer service issue or outage are often happening right at the moment you are learning about it. To use Twitter as a real time search engine simply go to the search box: http://search.twitter.com – and type in your query. Try both the format ”host name” and ”@hostname” (this is the usual Twitter handle for a business).
Web Hosting Resource Sites and Forums – There are also specialty websites that research and review web hosting providers and their products. These sites range from current news and information about reputable hosting companies to ongoing conversations and threads in various web hosting forums. Among the best resources are: The Hosting News, webhostingtalk.com, Ping! Zine and Tophosts.com. Be aware that there are also some ”Top 10” type websites that receive affiliate bounties for recommending certain hosting providers. While these may be great web hosts, you ought to conduct separate independent research on any web host recommended through a ”Top 10” website.
Account Types – A second important factor to consider when selecting a web hosting provider is to match your online needs with the specific account types offered by the hosting company. Often a webhost will specialize in a particular type of web hosting. As an example, let’s say that you have selected the WordPress content management system as your preferred publishing platform for your blog. You would of course want to make certain that your web host is capable at WordPress hosting. Further, if WordPress was a specialization of your potential web hosting company they may offer special features such as a ”one click” install of the WordPress software, or special proprietary plugins developed just for their customers. You may also need WordPress themes and a specialized WordPress provider may supply free themes for their customers. Here are a few different type of hosting that you may want to consider.
Linux Hosting – Plain vanilla Linux operating system behind the hosting. This is very common, flexible and often is at a lower cost.
Windows / ASP.NET – This operating system is built upon the Microsoft server technology and is sometimes a prerequisite for enterprise or business scale hosting.
Shared Hosting – You receive a small sector of space and resources on a web server shared with others. If high security and uptime are important to you – you may want to select a virtual server or dedicated server instead.
Virtual Server / VPS Hosting – Virtualization has become commonplace and can offer many of the same benefits of a dedicated server (security, space, scalability) at a lower cost. A virtual server is a ‘’server” that is created with software – but has all the same attributes of a dedicated server. This is true even though multiple virtual servers exist on a single dedicated server.
Dedicated Server – In the case of very large sites, or website where security is paramount, a dedicated server is a great option. This is an entire web server which houses nothing but your website and databases. The benefits are high availability, high security and plenty of room to grow. The benefits come at a price though – dedicated servers are at a higher price point than both shared and virtual servers.
There are many more types of hosting, with each serving a specific market niche. To match up your needs with those of your provider give them a call to discuss your specific website configuration.
Geography – When considering which webhost is right for you, take a moment to consider your audience. That is, who will actually be viewing your website content. More specifically, consider which search engines will be important to your business strategy. If getting traffic from search engines is important to you (and it should be) you must select a host that serves your geographic target. This is because search engines look at the geographic location of the originating server to decide which countries and local geographies will be most relevant for that website. For example, if you plan on targeting website visitors in the United Kingdom, you would want your business to be listed we among the search engines for the UK (for example google.co.uk). Therefore, you would need to select a web hosting provider who has servers based in the UK.
Note – the company itself doesn’t have to be located in your target geography. They just need to have a server presence in your target country that can house your website.
Service Factors – Webmasters range from the uber-technical to the novice. No matter your level of technical expertise, you will need to obtain the help of your web host at some point. A critical consideration in selecting a web hosting provider for your blog needs to be: Will this company make it easy for me to ask questions and get problems resolved quickly? Look for a web host that offers communication in the ways that you prefer. For example, if you like to use chat to get issues resolved – look for a hosting company that offers support via chat. Similarly, if you want to call up and get a human being on the other end of the call, look for strong phone support. It never hurts to do a ”test run” on communications prior to buying. Use the chat service or phone number to ask a few pre-sales questions. This will at least help you gauge how responsive the host is to queries.
Good luck in selecting the best web host for you. Remember to conduct your research ahead of time, to ensure that you have a great and trouble-free web hosting experience.
(The Hosting News) – 1&1 has entered the Polish market today by presenting a very attractive welcome package. 1&1 offers a free professional hosting product for 2 years, which contains all necessary applications for creating a high-quality website, such as a website builder, 10 GB web space, extensive monthly transfer volume of 3000 GB and 1 .PL domain. 1&1’s business activities in Poland are managed by the newly established subsidiary 1&1 Internet Sp. z o.o., based in Warsaw.
“Our launch promotion is based on 20 years of experience, which provides our customers quality, reliability and performance. Our clear goal is to further develop the Polish Internet market so that our new customers can benefit from our global expertise. At the moment, too few small and medium-sized companies have their own website. Convincing the ‘off-liners’ of the advantages of an online presence will be a stimulus for the Polish economy”, says Oliver Mauss, CEO International of 1&1 Internet.
Founded in 1988, 1&1 Internet is one of the pioneers of the global internet industry. According to numbers recently reported by Intac.net, a respected resource for information about the IT industry, 1&1’s fleet of over 70,000 servers is larger than that of any other top player in the hosting industry. Comparatively, 1&1 is third in line for total number of servers behind Intel and Google.
1&1 operates in 5 major markets across Europe and North America. The company manages more than 11 million domain names, while its global community is over 9.5 million customer contracts strong. With the market entry in Poland, 1&1 aims to continue its solid expansion and to further consolidate its position as the leading web hosting company in the world.
“The Internet market in Poland is growing very quickly with only every second company operating a website of its own. Thus, Poland is one of the most attractive markets for 1&1 in Europe. After the introduction of our welcome package, we will introduce a wide range of products to the Polish market in the coming months – a variety of hosting and server offers as well as domain packages and eCommerce solutions. We will offer innovative, high-quality products at a very attractive price-performance ratio, without compromising quality or security”, adds Oliver Mauss.
(The Hosting News) – 1&1 has entered the Polish market today by presenting a very attractive welcome package. 1&1 offers a free professional hosting product for 2 years, which contains all necessary applications for creating a high-quality website, such as a website builder, 10 GB web space, extensive monthly transfer volume of 3000 GB and 1 .PL domain. 1&1’s business activities in Poland are managed by the newly established subsidiary 1&1 Internet Sp. z o.o., based in Warsaw.
“Our launch promotion is based on 20 years of experience, which provides our customers quality, reliability and performance. Our clear goal is to further develop the Polish Internet market so that our new customers can benefit from our global expertise. At the moment, too few small and medium-sized companies have their own website. Convincing the ‘off-liners’ of the advantages of an online presence will be a stimulus for the Polish economy”, says Oliver Mauss, CEO International of 1&1 Internet.
Founded in 1988, 1&1 Internet is one of the pioneers of the global internet industry. According to numbers recently reported by Intac.net, a respected resource for information about the IT industry, 1&1’s fleet of over 70,000 servers is larger than that of any other top player in the hosting industry. Comparatively, 1&1 is third in line for total number of servers behind Intel and Google.
1&1 operates in 5 major markets across Europe and North America. The company manages more than 11 million domain names, while its global community is over 9.5 million customer contracts strong. With the market entry in Poland, 1&1 aims to continue its solid expansion and to further consolidate its position as the leading web hosting company in the world.
“The Internet market in Poland is growing very quickly with only every second company operating a website of its own. Thus, Poland is one of the most attractive markets for 1&1 in Europe. After the introduction of our welcome package, we will introduce a wide range of products to the Polish market in the coming months – a variety of hosting and server offers as well as domain packages and eCommerce solutions. We will offer innovative, high-quality products at a very attractive price-performance ratio, without compromising quality or security”, adds Oliver Mauss.
Source: 1&1 Launches in Poland with Free Welcome Package
(The Hosting News) – SingleHop, Inc. announced today that it has been ranked #58 in the 2010 Inc. 500 list, an annual listing of America’s fastest-growing private companies compiled by Inc. Magazine. Chicago-based SingleHop, which provides dedicated servers and complex web hosting, is the top-ranked company in the Web hosting industry, third fastest-growing IT Services company, and the second highest ranked Chicago business. The company’s sales have grown by 3,895% in the last three years.
“We’re beyond thrilled to be recognized with high placement in such a prestigious list as the Inc. 500,” said Zak Boca, President and Chief Executive Officer of SingleHop. “It’s a reflection of all the hard work that everyone on our team has put in, and signifies that our commitment to service and innovation were the keys to success.” To be included in the Inc. 500, a firm must demonstrate exceptional growth for a period of at least three years. SingleHop’s inclusion as a top 100 firm exhibits tenacious determination to grow in spite of and through the current weak economic climate.
The company continues to set milestones, with the following highlights:
•Employee headcount increased from 20 employees in 2009 to over 50 for 2010
•EBITDA margins in excess of 40%
•Projected gross revenues of $13 million for 2010
•Ending 2010 with projected annualized revenues of $20 million
•#1 Fastest Growing Web Hosting Company in Inc. 500 list
•#2 Fastest Growing Company Award in Chicago Award by Inc. Magazine
•#3 Fastest Growing Company Award in IT Services by Inc. Magazine
The firm is positioned for continued growth, having recently launched Cascade, SingleHop’s cloud computing platform. “Like many of our innovative products, Cascade will undoubtedly play a significant role in our future growth. Cascade is a simple product that is added to on top of a dedicated server, yet offers advanced cloud hosting benefits. It’s a simple concept, with a simple pricing model, which we feel is important in the cloud computing space,” says Zak Boca.
Source: SingleHop Named to Inc. 500 List
(The Hosting News) – SingleHop, Inc. announced today that it has been ranked #58 in the 2010 Inc. 500 list, an annual listing of America’s fastest-growing private companies compiled by Inc. Magazine. Chicago-based SingleHop, which provides dedicated servers and complex web hosting, is the top-ranked company in the Web hosting industry, third fastest-growing IT Services company, and the second highest ranked Chicago business. The company’s sales have grown by 3,895% in the last three years.
“We’re beyond thrilled to be recognized with high placement in such a prestigious list as the Inc. 500,” said Zak Boca, President and Chief Executive Officer of SingleHop. “It’s a reflection of all the hard work that everyone on our team has put in, and signifies that our commitment to service and innovation were the keys to success.” To be included in the Inc. 500, a firm must demonstrate exceptional growth for a period of at least three years. SingleHop’s inclusion as a top 100 firm exhibits tenacious determination to grow in spite of and through the current weak economic climate.
The company continues to set milestones, with the following highlights:
•Employee headcount increased from 20 employees in 2009 to over 50 for 2010
•EBITDA margins in excess of 40%
•Projected gross revenues of $13 million for 2010
•Ending 2010 with projected annualized revenues of $20 million
•#1 Fastest Growing Web Hosting Company in Inc. 500 list
•#2 Fastest Growing Company Award in Chicago Award by Inc. Magazine
•#3 Fastest Growing Company Award in IT Services by Inc. Magazine
The firm is positioned for continued growth, having recently launched Cascade, SingleHop’s cloud computing platform. “Like many of our innovative products, Cascade will undoubtedly play a significant role in our future growth. Cascade is a simple product that is added to on top of a dedicated server, yet offers advanced cloud hosting benefits. It’s a simple concept, with a simple pricing model, which we feel is important in the cloud computing space,” says Zak Boca.
Chicago, IL: August 24, 2010: SingleHop, Inc. announced today that it has been ranked #58 in the 2010 Inc. 500 list, an annual listing of America’s fastest-growing private companies compiled by Inc. Magazine. Chicago-based SingleHop, which provides dedicated servers and complex web hosting, is the top-ranked company in the Web hosting industry, third fastest growing IT Services company, and the second highest ranked Chicago business. The company’s sales have grown by 3,895% in the last three years. “We’re beyond thrilled to be recognized with high placement in such a prestigious list as the Inc. 500,” said Zak Boca, President and Chief Executive Officer of SingleHop. “It’s a reflection of all the hard work that everyone on our team has put in, and signifies that our commitment to service and innovation were the keys to success.” To be included in the Inc. 500 , a firm must demonstrate exceptional growth for a period of at least three years. SingleHop’s inclusion as a top 100 firm exhibits tenacious determination to grow in spite of and through the current weak economic climate.
The company continues to set milestones, with the following highlights:
- Employee head count increased from 20 employees in 2009 to over 50 for 2010.
- EBITDA margins in excess of 40%
- Projected gross revenues of $13 million for 2010
- Ending 2010 with projected annualized revenues of $20 million
- #1 Fastest Growing Web Hosting Company in Inc. 500 list
- #2 Fastest Growing Company Award in Chicago Award by Inc Magazine
- #3 Fastest Growing Company Award in IT Services by Inc Magazine
The firm is positioned for continued growth, having recently launched Cascade, SingleHop’s cloud computing platform. “Like many of our innovative products, Cascade will undoubtedly play a significant role in our future growth. Cascade is a simple product that is added to on top of a dedicated server, yet offers advanced cloud hosting benefits. It’s a simple concept, with a simple pricing model, which we feel is important in the cloud computing space.” says Zak Boca.
About 2010 Inc. 500
The INC 500 list is produced by INC magazine and features the 500 fastest growing businesses in America. In order to qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by the first week of 2006, and therefore able to show four full calendar years of sales. Additionally, they had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2009. www.inc.com
About SingleHop
SingleHop, Inc., is a full-service managed dedicated hosting provider that was founded on the principal of providing reliable, cost-effective, dedicated servers. The company was founded by Zak Boca and Dan Ushman in 2006 and currently hosts thousands of websites from around the world. The cornerstone of SingleHop’s managed hosting is its à la Carte Server Management Program, a full array of transparent management services designed and tested to allow business customers to tailor their level of support to their needs or expertise. www.singlehop.com
Chicago, IL: August 24, 2010: SingleHop, Inc. announced today that it has been ranked #58 in the 2010 Inc. 500 list, an annual listing of America’s fastest-growing private companies compiled by Inc. Magazine. Chicago-based SingleHop, which provides dedicated servers and complex web hosting, is the top-ranked company in the Web hosting industry, third fastest growing IT Services company, and the second highest ranked Chicago business. The company’s sales have grown by 3,895% in the last three years. “We’re beyond thrilled to be recognized with high placement in such a prestigious list as the Inc. 500,” said Zak Boca, President and Chief Executive Officer of SingleHop. “It’s a reflection of all the hard work that everyone on our team has put in, and signifies that our commitment to service and innovation were the keys to success.” To be included in the Inc. 500 , a firm must demonstrate exceptional growth for a period of at least three years. SingleHop’s inclusion as a top 100 firm exhibits tenacious determination to grow in spite of and through the current weak economic climate.
The company continues to set milestones, with the following highlights:
- Employee head count increased from 20 employees in 2009 to over 50 for 2010.
- EBITDA margins in excess of 40%
- Projected gross revenues of $13 million for 2010
- Ending 2010 with projected annualized revenues of $20 million
- #1 Fastest Growing Web Hosting Company in Inc. 500 list
- #2 Fastest Growing Company Award in Chicago Award by Inc Magazine
- #3 Fastest Growing Company Award in IT Services by Inc Magazine
The firm is positioned for continued growth, having recently launched Cascade, SingleHop’s cloud computing platform. “Like many of our innovative products, Cascade will undoubtedly play a significant role in our future growth. Cascade is a simple product that is added to on top of a dedicated server, yet offers advanced cloud hosting benefits. It’s a simple concept, with a simple pricing model, which we feel is important in the cloud computing space.” says Zak Boca.
About 2010 Inc. 500
The INC 500 list is produced by INC magazine and features the 500 fastest growing businesses in America. In order to qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by the first week of 2006, and therefore able to show four full calendar years of sales. Additionally, they had to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent—not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies—as of December 31, 2009. www.inc.com
About SingleHop
SingleHop, Inc., is a full-service managed dedicated hosting provider that was founded on the principal of providing reliable, cost-effective, dedicated servers. The company was founded by Zak Boca and Dan Ushman in 2006 and currently hosts thousands of websites from around the world. The cornerstone of SingleHop’s managed hosting is its à la Carte Server Management Program, a full array of transparent management services designed and tested to allow business customers to tailor their level of support to their needs or expertise. www.singlehop.com
The web hosting industry appears to be incredibly complex to most novice webmasters, especially those that are not familiar with crucial web hosting terms. One of the most basic web hosting terms is “web server.” Web servers are the focal point of web hosting. In fact, web hosting is simply a service in which you remotely lease web servers for your web site’s use. If you have been struggling to figure out what a web server is and why it is needed then you may want to continue reading.
The Main Purpose of a Web Server
A web server’s main purpose is to store web site files and broadcast them over the internet for you site visitor’s to see. In essence, a web server is simply a powerful computer that stores and transmits data via the internet. When someone visits a web page on your site their browser communicates with your web server, sending and receiving information that ultimately dictates what appears on the visitor’s computer screen. Thus, the main purpose of a web server is to store and transfer web site data upon the request of a visitor’s browser.
How Do Web Servers Work?
Every web server and computer that is connected to the internet is assigned an IP address that identifies that device on the network. Even standard computers are assigned IP addresses when they connect to the internet. An IP address is almost like the return address on a postal package. When you visit a web site, a request is sent out from your IP address to the IP address of the web server. The web server then responds by sending data to the requesting IP address, and this is the process through which all data is transferred to your computer from a web site. More than ninety percent of the web sites on the internet are currently utilizing a leased web server that is being provided by a web hosting company. Web server capabilities differ depending upon the type, size and provider of the hosting plan.
Why Are Web Servers Needed?
Without web servers the internet as we know it would cease to exist. Web servers are an integral part of the way the internet works. The web hosting industry is simply used to lease out web servers, providing average business owners and individuals with the opportunity to use high-tech servers that make it possible to expand their outreach to the entire world. Without rental web servers the internet would be a fraction of the size it is today, as most web site owners can afford to buy their own web server in cash.
Web servers are the gateway between the average individual and the world wide web, yet surprisingly web hosting plans start at only a couple of dollars per month. Now that you’re familiar with web servers you can begin shopping for a quality web hosting plan without the usual confusion that most novices experience.
(The Hosting News) – It was recently reported that investors are now considering moving The Planet back to Dallas as part of a merger with Dallas-based Softlayer. Four years ago, The Planet was moved to Houston, Texas.
Softlayer recently sold a 70 percent equity stake to the same investors who brought The Planet to Houston, officials for both companies said Thursday.
“There’s a tremendous amount of consolidation going on in the hosting business,” said The Planet CEO Doug Erwin. “We happen to both be owned by a company that’s high on what’s going on in the hosting business.”
GI Partners, a California-based private equity firm, bought Houston’s EV1 Servers and sold off its sister dial-up business, Everyone’s Internet. The firm then bought Dallas-based The Planet separately. It joined the two in 2006, eventually making Houston the company’s headquarters.
The newly combined company would have more than 25,000 customers and about 78,000 servers under management. It would be the second-largest Web hosting company in the U.S. based on revenue, behind only San Antonio-based Rackspace, Erwin said.
If the firm’s latest deal goes through, the combined Web hosting company would be headquartered in Dallas, take SoftLayer’s name and be led by its CEO, Lance Crosby.
The companies expect their integration teams to meet Tuesday and complete the merger by the end of the fourth quarter, Crosby said.
They have no plans to cut operations in Houston and have not determined possible job losses resulting from the consolidation.
“Our goal is to not cut any,” Crosby said. “Because of the growth rate we feel we may be a little fat in the near term, but given our growth goals, we want to retain everybody.”
In Houston, The Planet has 350 employees, two data centers, a call center and a network operations center, as well as a marketing, customer service and sales operations.
The announcement follows weeks of speculation by employees and others that a merger was imminent.
Crosby said he hopes to double the combined company’s revenue in a few years and didn’t rule out future mergers or acquisitions.
The combination makes sense for G1 Partners, which is likely preparing to take the combined company public, said Philbert Shih, an analyst with Tier 1 Research.
Until then, The Planet likely will transfer its dedicated server business to SoftLayer’s system, which is more automated, he said, adding that the Dallas company is known for having a superior customer portal.
Other products, such as storage and managed services, could be discarded.
The newly combined SoftLayer will also aggressively work to catch up with Rackspace in cloud services — delivery of computing services over the Internet, Shih said.
The companies negotiating to merge, however, have targeted different markets than Rackspace.
SoftLayer focused on small to mid-size businesses while Rackspace has moved on to larger customers.
Softlayer, and to an extent The Planet, also focus more on automated and do-it-yourself type customer service, attracting more tech savvy customers. Rackspace has focused on hands-on customer service.
“The market is big enough, and both will continue to grow, but you’ll see them collide in the cloud,” Shih said.
Source: The Planet and Softlayer Likely to Merge
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