Category Archives: Hosting

B2b, B2C, Cloud Hosting, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting

Rackspace Ranked Top IT services Employer In UK

Rackspace, the world’s leader in the hosting and cloud computing industry has announced that it has been voted as the overall 30th best place to work in the UK and once again the highest ranking IT Services company, in the prestigious Sunday Times 100 Best Companies Awards. Commended for its continued focus on employee engagement, Rackspace has ranked as one of the top ten companies for people, who love what they do, believe in the company and its future and deliver a great service.

Rackspace Ranked Top IT services Employer In UK

Rackspace Hosting UK has, for the third year running, been featured in the top tier of the Sunday Times Best Employer Awards. The Awards, which are based on employee interviews, indicate that Rackspace has created a fun and caring environment that helps nurture and grow individual talent.

The Sunday Times noted that 89 percent of Rackspace employees who responded to the survey were excited about where the company is going, with 79 percent saying their work is great for their personal growth and 95 per cent stating that they are proud to work for the organisation.

Brian Thomson, EMEA Managing Director at Rackspace, commented: “We are very proud of all the progress we have made in our business over the last year and what is truly pleasing is that as the company has grown our ‘Rackers’ continue to feel valued in their roles.

“We are thrilled to see that our employees love what they do and are excited at where the business is going. Our continued success is without doubt because of our Racker’s tireless dedication to Fanatical Support and the passion they show every single day.”

Rackspace is one of the UK’s most successful and fastest growing providers of IT hosting services. It has consistently been recognised for its excellence as an IT employer, with a number of accolades, most recently being one of only14 companies to receive a Laureate award from the Financial Times for being one of the best places to work in the UK and Europe 2009.

Via EPR Network
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BT Business Connects CAN Media With Schools And Surgeries Across The UK

BT Business and CAN Media have announced a new deal which means two million viewers in schools and GP surgeries across the UK will have access to a private TV information service. The three-year,£20 million+ contract will see BT take over the delivery, installation and operational management for the Life Channel Service from CAN Media.

The Life Channel Service, the UK’s largest private television network with over seven million viewers, is used by local government agencies to showcase and promote health and educational initiatives to the local community. Research* has shown the channel is more than twice as effective as posters and up to three times more than leaflets in communicating health and well-being messages.

Life Channel campaigns help schools improve their Ofsted ratings, and the NHS in achieving the national priorities set out by the Department of Health and measured by the Care Quality Commission. Independent research** has shown that 1 in 2 primary school and 1 in 3 secondary school pupils positively modify their behaviour as a result.

Working with partner Croft Technology plc, BT Business will take over the operational management of the existing Life Channel network. It will also install and manage the service in 5,000 schools and 4,000 GP surgeries, provide broadband, PCs and up to four large panel TV screens at each site.

Mike Darcy, chief operations officer, CAN Media, said: “We needed a supplier that would not only support our hardware, software and helpdesk requirements today but could also support us as we develop the service in the future. BT offered us a wealth of technical experience and expertise at a competitive price.”

Humphrey Penney, director custom solutions, BT Business said: “Communicating important information to local communities in this innovative way needs high bandwidth. As the market leader in digital out-of-home television, CAN Media were looking for a reliable supplier when taking the decision to outsource the delivery and management of their Life Channel Service.”

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Report: Half Of Web Designers Work With Unlicensed Software

Fasthosts Internet Ltd, a leading web hosting provider, has released new research which reveals that a large number of web professionals are using unlicensed or pirated software to create websites.

Report: Half Of Web Designers Work With Unlicensed Software

The poll of 500 web designers conducted with .NET magazine found that more than half of web designers and developers admit to having worked in an environment where they used unlicensed web design software. As licences for web design software can often cost small agencies thousands of pounds, recent economic pressures are a likely factor in the problem.

Fasthosts recently announced its work with Microsoft to promote the WebsiteSpark program – an initiative that provides eligible users with free licenses for Microsoft Expression and Visual Studio software. The initiative is a good example of how web professionals can access software through legitimate schemes and so avoid the risks of using unlicensed software.

According to Fasthosts’ survey of 546 .NET magazine readers, the use of unlicensed software by web professionals is rife in the UK. 59% of those surveyed have placed themselves, their colleagues and their work at risk by using unlicensed software to create websites. If a worker uses software without a license number, or if the license only entitles its use for an individual machine and it is copied and installed on multiple computers, the company is likely to be breaking the law – often punishable with a substantial fine. There is also strong evidence that the use of unlicensed software can be a false economy – users often face bugs and do not benefit from access to support services which can result in downtime and delays.

Steve Holford, CMO Fasthosts Internet Ltd., said, “Great web projects can often rely on the latest software and at times businesses may be tempted to cut corners with their software licenses. Web designers should not struggle with sub-standard software or more importantly jeopardise their future by using illegal software”.

FAST (Federation Against Software Theft) has an ’employee whistle-blowing’ campaign to tackle employers who pressurise staff into installing illegal software. John Lovelock, Chief Executive of FAST, commented, “The software industry is a vital part of the economy and deserves the same protection as counterfeit consumer goods. We want workers to know there is support and the means to combat any illegal behaviour by contacting us via the Fasthosts, and have protection in law under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (Whistleblower Act). We hope that by raising awareness of the laws protecting employees, the number willing to blow the whistle will increase and reduce the illegal use of software,” added Lovelock.

Nowadays there are industry schemes that can provide eligible web pros with free access to fully licensed professional software. For example, Microsoft’s WebsiteSpark program offers support for web design and development agencies with up to 10 employees. Eligible Fasthosts customers gain an immediate financial benefit – saving £240 per year with a free Windows Server license and saving even more with a free MSSQL license. Upon enrolment, members gain access to free Windows Expression Studio 2 (1 user license), Expression Web 2 (2 user licenses), Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition (3 user licenses) and DotNetPanel control panel

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Rackspace Puts Microsoft SharePoint in the Cloud

Rackspace Hosting (NYSE:RAX), the world’s leader in hosting, has announced the launch of hosted Microsoft SharePoint, the popular collaboration and file sharing platform, uniquely backed by Rackspace’s 24x7x365 Fanatical Support. With the addition of hosted

Microsoft SharePoint, Rackspace’s suite of cloud applications now includes business-class collaboration, email and storage solutions.

Rackspace Puts Microsoft SharePoint in the Cloud

“With SharePoint, Rackspace is offering businesses the most powerful file sharing and collaboration software on the market today,” said Pat Matthews, General Manager of Rackspace Email & Apps. “With our cloud delivery model, businesses can take advantage of all the power Microsoft SharePoint has to offer without the hassle of having to manage the software in-house. Microsoft SharePoint backed by Fanatical Support is the recipe our customers have been asking for.”

The Rackspace offering includes an intuitive control panel that allows administrators to quickly initiate SharePoint, add/remove users, and create SharePoint sites with only a few steps. The control panel also gives administrators the ability to manage Rackspace Email & Apps’ full suite of applications, including hosted Microsoft Exchange, Rackspace Email, Email Archiving, and Rackspace Cloud Drive and Server Backup, in one dashboard.

With SharePoint from Rackspace, employees can become better equipped to collaborate on projects and share ideas across the organisation, with a centralized place to store, organise, and access documents.

About Rackspace Hosting
Rackspace Hosting is the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing and has been ranked in the Financial Times Top 50 Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom for the past five years. Rackspace provides its customers with Fanatical Support by delivering a portfolio of hosted IT services, including Managed Hosting, Cloud Hosting, Virtualisation,Dedicated Servers and Email and Apps.

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Unmemorable Web Addresses Holding Back Small Firms

Streamline.net research reveals many small firms may be held back due to poor web address choices.

The study of 1300 consumers* by Streamline.net, a leading provider of value web hosting found that 1 in 5 Britons who use small business websites regularly struggle with domain registrations that are convoluted or difficult to recall. Younger age groups are far more critical, with around 1 in 3 judging the SME domains which they use to be unattractive. A further poll of 189 UK firms** showed that whilst 34% were not satisfied with their web sales, only 3% are considering making any change to their primary domain name. With 70% of Britons now willing to conduct business with SMEs via the Web, the ability for a consumer to easily recall a web address has never been so important.

Streamline.net’s study of 1300 shoppers during the Christmas shopping period, found that the web addresses of small firms are a bugbear for 25% of men and 20% of women. Younger age groups were far more critical than older ones with around 1 in 3 Britons aged 16 to 35 reporting unattractive or unmemorable business domains, as compared with only 13% of those aged over 55 years. In terms of region, London is by far the most critical with 32% of all consumers affected as opposed to only 11% in Northern Ireland and 14% in Wales.

In fact, making modifications or additions to a company’s web identity is one of the quickest and cheapest ways for businesses to optimise their use of the web. It appears that many firms could benefit from reviewing the pros and cons of available domain options and using feedback from external audiences, such as potential customers.

Steve Holford, Marketing Director at Streamline.net, said “The data suggests that many small businesses undervalue the effect their web address can have on their consumers’ behaviour. There is a real danger their work and investment on the web can be undermined by the simple fact that consumers cannot remember their URL. Domains have reached a level of affordability whereby every business owner can now afford to experiment with alternative domain choices”.

Streamline.net recommends that companies explore opportunities within less obvious TLDs including .biz, .net and .eu. For example, Streamline.net offers the .LTD.UK domain registration for only £4.25/year+VAT. Additionally, web hosting packages are supplied with free inclusive .UK domains.

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BT Unveils Priority Business Class Fibre Broadband

BT Business has unveiled its new fibre broadband service, BT Business Total Broadband Fibre, offering download speeds of up to 40Mb/s, from £30 per month. The service gives business traffic priority at times of contention and the UK’s fastest upstream speeds of up to 10Mb/s*, allowing users to get more than ever before from the internet.

The new service allows businesses to run multiple VOIP, high-definition video conferencing and business-grade cloud applications plus download emails, web-pages and FTP files concurrently, to reach new customers and better market themselves. It will also make home working a reality, allowing staff to remain connected to the office at all times.

A dedicated broadband “fast lane” also puts business user traffic first at times of contention to help firms continue to work faster, do more, reduce operational costs and boost productivity.

Nigel Stagg, managing director, BT Business, said: “28% of businesses are already using faster broadband to expand their website capabilities, and another 25% are using it to drive more processes online and employ more bandwidth-hungry technology according to our research last year**. BT Business Total Broadband Fibre gives businesses capacity and reliability, with the reassurance of a priority service, to enjoy the best possible online experience. We are committed to rolling out higher speeds and additional coverage across the UK during 2010.”

Businesses in Muswell Hill, Whitchurch and Glasgow Halfway have already been enjoying the faster 40Mb/s broadband service through a BT trial. The service will now be made available to approximately 500,000 homes and businesses from 31-enabled exchanges by late February. A further two million homes and businesses will be able to access the services by late summer following the roll out of the technology by Openreach, BT’s local access division.

This announcement sees BT Retail confirm that it will make fibre-based broadband available to 40 per cent of the UK – or some 10 million premises – by summer 2012. 2.5 million premises in total will have access by late summer and four million by the end of 2010.

From 26 January, new and existing BT Business customers in an enabled exchange area will automatically be eligible for the fibre service. 50 per cent of UK businesses can currently also receive ADSL 2+ broadband speeds of up to 20Mb/s at no extra cost to copper services.

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Easyspace Launches One Click Installs For Its Web Hosting Packages

Easyspace, one of UKs leading providers of domain names and web hosting services, has announced the launch of One-Click install SaaS Applications for its range of web hosting packages.

Having recently launched similar applications for its range of Virtual Servers, Easyspace has now integrated an easy-to-use interface into its customer control panel allowing customers to install and run over 50 of the Internet’s most popular SaaS applications through their own web hosting package.

Applications such as WordPress for blogging, OS Commerce and Cube Cart for eCommerce and Joomla, Drupal and Mambo for Content Management are just some of the range of applications available to web hosting customers as part of this development.

“We recently launched similar applications for our Virtual Server products, but the larger development has been in creating an easy-to-install application system for our shared web hosting environment.” comments Errol Vanderhorst, Managing Director at Easyspace.

“SaaS applications such as WordPress, Joomla and Cube Cart are allowing smaller business to grow more rapidly without the fully customised, and expensive, efforts once required to generate such applications. Our web hosting customers can now install fully functioning Content Management Systems, high end eCommerce solutions and various other applications such as forums, surveys, guest books and image galleries, all with just a few clicks.”

Allowing customers to grow their businesses online without unnecessary spend has been a focal point of the Easyspace web hosting packages for some time. With free email and a free domain name already included in all packages, and a Pic n Mix package allowing customers to choose the specification of their hosting package – and therefore the cost of their package – the new SaaS integration allows customers significantly more opportunity for growth online.

Errol continued “Most hosting companies, like Easyspace, offer high levels of disk space and bandwidth with their web hosting packages. We feel that the real benefit to customers is not in those specifications, but rather it’s in how those hosting packages can help grow a customers business. With access to online shops, content management systems, blogging software and more, there is now really very little a customer cannot do with an Easyspace web hosting package.”

To find out more about this new feature please visit http://blog.easyspace.com/2009/12/21/easyspace-launches-one-click-installs-for-its-web-hosting-packages/

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Rackspace Reports Success At National Customer Service Awards

Rackspace Hosting, the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing, has announced it has won ‘Customer Service Team of the Year for B2B’ and the highest honour ‘Customer Service Team of the Year’ at the annual National Customer Service Awards.

Brian Thomson, EMEA Managing Director at Rackspace, commented: “We are pleased to win an award that highlights our complete dedication to our customers. It is a great testament to our Fanatical Support promise and the relentless work our ‘Rackers’ do to exceed customer expectations every single day.”

Rackspace’s ‘Intensive Team’ beat stiff competition from Telefonica O2 UK Limited, Virgin Holidays and the Isle of Man Bank to win the coveted awards, which recognise commitment to high standards of customer service, both through personal dealings with customers and by contributing to the overall customer care policy via the company’s involvement in communications, problem solving and innovation.

The team, managed by George Bray, looks after the most complex hosting solutions, including multiple server configurations, and has helped maintain customer retention and the Fanatical Support promise.

Thomson concluded: “2009 has been a great year for recognition of Rackspace’s commitment to customers and employees as it has been named as a top 10 company for
customer focus in Europe, voted 15th best company to work for by the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies Awards and presented with a Financial Times Laureate Award for being one of the Best Places to Work in the UK for five years running.”

About Rackspace Hosting:
Rackspace Hosting UK is the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing and has been ranked in the Financial Times Top 50 Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom for the past five years. Rackspace provides its customers with Fanatical Support by delivering a portfolio of hosted IT services, including Green Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Private Cloud, Hybrid Hosting, Email and Apps.

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Rackspace Hosting Launches Enhanced Partner Network

Rackspace Hosting (NYSE:RAX), the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing, has restructured its global Rackspace Partner Network to help partner companies grow their business, better serve customers and realise a competitive advantage. Rackspace actively solicited feedback from its partners to make enhancements to the Rackspace Partner Network, which include a new tiered structure, highly competitive financial incentives, greater access to training and marketing resources.

To add more structure and clarity to the program, Rackspace created four levels of commitment based on company size and level of sales: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Member. Additionally, Rackspace is offering partners aggressive commissions and, at certain partnership levels, will even pay commissions on upgrades and renewals, a significant benefit many competitors fail to match.

“We regard partners as an extension of the Rackspace family and have updated the Rackspace Partner Network to help ensure they receive the services and support necessary for long-term success,” said Robert Fuller, vice president of Rackspace’s Worldwide Channel. “Rackers worked closely with our partners to develop a program that creates the biggest impact and provides the best experience for them, which we believe will in turn impact the broader customer experience.”

Rackspace’s enhanced partner program includes several features available for partner companies at any level of membership, including:
– Access to a dedicated sales representative
– Sales and technical training
– OnBoarding support
– Access to the Rackspace Partner Network portal with exclusive marketing, sales and industry information as well as networking opportunities with other Rackspace partners

As companies move along the continuum from Member Partnership to Platinum Partnership, the new Rackspace program offers additional benefits including:
– Access to a dedicated channel manager
– Access to the searchable partner database on Rackspace.com as well as the database on the Rackspace Partner Network portal
– An opportunity to participate in partner company and/or Rackspace generated marketing activities
– Inclusion in promotions to Rackspace customer and partner base
– Discounts/commissions on upgrades and renewal contracts

“Sitecore has built its foundation on providing partners and customers with the best Web CMS platform, so it’s a natural extension to partner with Rackspace for its unmatched service and reliable hosting solutions,” said Jason Crea, VP, Client and Partner Engagement Sitecore, a new member of the Rackspace Partner Network. “Performance, security, scalability and price are critical elements for our customers in building and hosting websites, blogs, and other Web applications. Based on Rackspace’s past successes we anticipate a valued experience for our joint customers.”

“Q just entered its second decade of designing, building and enhancing brands online. Rackspace has been with us since the beginning, and we’re excited to re-launch our partnership in the program and reaffirm our shared commitment to support,” said Sean Breen, Founder and CTO, Q-Industries, a longstanding and valued Rackspace partner. “Rackspace continues to provide the critical infrastructure that both Q and our clients need to maximize ROI and minimize capital expenditures.”

About Rackspace Hosting
Rackspace Hosting UK is the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing and has been ranked in Financial Times Top 50 Great Place to Work in the United Kingdom for the past five years. Rackspace provides its customers with Fanatical Support by delivering a portfolio of hosted IT services, including Green Hosting, Managed Hosting, Dedicated Servers, Private Cloud, Hybrid Hosting, Email and Apps.

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Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB Renews Association With Florida Web Developer

The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau, the official tourism marketing agency for Collier County and the popular Paradise Coast area of southwest Florida, has renewed its vendor relationship with Web developer and marketer Sales & Marketing Technologies (SMT), Altamonte Springs, Fla., for Internet marketing, search engine optimization, and social media marketing strategies.

“SMT has been our Web site and digital marketing partner for several years. They have been enormously helpful in optimizing our website, keeping us ranked high with the major search engines and have efficiently managed our PPC efforts. We recommend them highly to anyone looking for ways to maximize their web presence,” said Jack Wert, executive director for the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau provides information assistance, visitors guides and travel planning tools for visitors, travel agents, tour operators, meeting planners, travel press and general news media. The bureau maintains the official travel and tourism Web site for Collier County. www.ParadiseCoast.com, which is operated with the assistance of SMT.

Sales & Marketing Technologies (SMT) is a leading full-service Web development and Internet marketing company. SMT creates, develops and markets custom Websites for businesses in the U.S., U.K., Caribbean, and South America. Additionally, SMT offers Internet marketing and lead generation programs, consulting Web hosting services, strategic planning and social media integration. More information: 800-434-0339.

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Businesses Would Love To Never Have To Buy Another Server Again

Rackspace Hosting, the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing, has announced the results of its latest survey, which highlights the growing problem of businesses struggling to cope with the demands of managing their own servers. More than half of the businesses surveyed responded that they would ‘love to never have to buy another server again.’

Rackspace’s online survey research was conducted in September 2009 and involved 441 US and UK-based IT decision-makers at companies with 100-500 employees

The research underscores Rackspace’s recent launch of No More Servers, a campaign and community dedicated to a new way of buying IT which includes managed hosting, cloud computing and email hosting. The new service has been created to help free businesses from the hassle of in-house server management and to enable them to instead shift their focus onto mission critical applications, core competencies and innovation. Rackspace is augmenting this initiative with Rackspace.co.uk/NoMoreServers, a location for companies to learn the benefits of hosting services.

The study, conducted by LoudHouse on behalf of Rackspace, investigated the views of more than 441 IT managers at mid-size enterprises and revealed that approximately one third of their IT staff’s time is spent on server management, which is liable to limit their ability to focus on strategic initiatives that could benefit the business. Fifty eight percent of respondents cited the ‘hassle of managing servers’ as a challenge for their organization, while 61% of IT managers said ‘time to drive innovation’ was a challenge.

Additionally, on-site servers were seen to also cause ‘server stress’ for IT managers, who cited ‘the need to be available 24×7’, ‘hardware issues and maintenance’, and ‘after-hours calls and issues’ as the top three server management issues. The survey also found that 51% of respondents have made mistakes in their server capacity planning. Fifteen percent have bought too many servers and 36% have failed to buy enough. This leaves businesses exposed to the risks of financial waste and the inability to cope with user demand by not getting server spending right the first time.

The survey also revealed that 35% of companies identify themselves as ‘proactive and slightly ahead of the curve’ when it comes to describing their approach to new technologies, while 28% remain ‘cautious and reactive.’ When it comes to hosting and cloud computing, barriers to adoption include assurances of reliability (29%), evidence of cost savings (28%) and assurances of security (27%).

“IT should be an enabler,” said Lanham Napier, president and chief executive officer of Rackspace Hosting. “The survey seems to reveal that a huge chunk of time and resources are spent keeping the lights on and preventing problems. Rackspace, with its world class Fanatical Support, can free organizations from the hassle of server management and enable their IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives that will positively impact the business.”

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Report Says Small Firms Floored By Basic Web Errors

Streamline.net web hosting research finds the majority of consumers using SME websites in the past year experienced usability faults.

The Streamline.net study of 1700 consumers found that 83% faced faults including unfinished web pages, broken URLs and an out-dated design. A further survey of 450 UK firms revealed that whilst half consider their website to look ‘professional’, 1 in 3 owners admit that they are guilty of ‘neglecting’ their sites. There is also a worrying discrepancy between where consumers wish to find web addresses, and where companies are displaying them. For example, 48% of firms still do not make any efforts to optimise their URL on search engines. Whilst 1 in 5 consumers took a web address from the side of a small company’s vehicle, only 10% of small firms currently display theirs in this way.

The data from Streamline.net showed that many SMEs are alienating web users through simple web errors. 76% of consumers have now used the website of a small business. Whilst 47% of consumers consider their experiences of such sites to be overall ‘good’, a further 1 in 4 Britons conclude such websites to be ‘barely usable’. In the past year, 83% of online consumers found faults on more than one occasion. Web errors reported included unfinished web pages (54%), broken URLs (52%), outdated email addresses (50%), and missing contact details (31%).

Top design gripe with SME websites is an outdated website design, faced by one third of users in the past year. 1 in 5 online consumers have encountered superfluous descriptions of products and services. 20% have been confused by the use of generic corporate images that bear no relation to specific company’s.

The findings are in contrast to another survey of 450 small firms where 76% felt confident that the language on their website could in no way be perceived negatively, and 84% saw the images on their website as fit for purpose.

Steve Holford, Marketing Director at Streamline.net, said, “As with many areas of business, if the basics of a website are not sound, customers will be deterred from purchasing”.

Almost half of companies (48%) made no attempt at optimise their position on search engines, when 77% of consumers call upon these. Many enterprises are prioritising the display of their URL in places unpopular with online consumers. 43% of companies publish their web address on industry websites whilst only 15% of consumers use this source. Remarkably, only 9% display their web address on signage or windows of their premises, when 1 in 5 Britons have made use of a domain name taken from here in the past year.

Holford added, “Every opportunity to capture online custom must be seized upon, which means promoting a web address in every possible environment – online and off-line”.

Streamline.net provides a comprehensive range of domain registrations. Users can even try free web hosting for 3 months with Streamline.net.

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Technology Adoption Fuels Recovery Tipping Point For UK SMEs

According to research from BT Business, supported by the Design Council and Prince’s Trust, small businesses at the forefront of technology adoption have been the least impacted by the recession, with those most reluctant to bring in new technology suffering the most. Companies with a positive attitude to technology adoption had a 69% better than average experience of the recession, whereas technology laggards suffered a 34% worse recession experience than the average.

The survey was conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of BT Business and included responses from more than 7,200 small businesses across the UK.

The 2009 Business Pulse report is the UK’s largest survey of SMEs this year. The survey shows widespread recognition of the importance of technology in reducing costs and increasing efficiency and competitiveness. 30% of businesses said that they have saved money through using technology, 32% use technology to network and obtain advice and 28% have found more customers through its use. Nearly one in five cited the use of technology to support flexible working as having one of the most significant impacts on how they have managed the recession.

The Business Pulse survey identified the positive steps firms have taken to manage the downturn. Nearly twice as many technology innovators have seen an increase in turnover of 10+% compared to those small businesses reluctant to embrace new technology, the majority of which have seen their turnover decrease since the recession began.

Mick Hegarty, strategy director, BT Business said: “The small business community has fought bravely to survive the downturn. Our findings show that many small businesses believe we are now at a tipping point with a recovery almost upon us. We can also see that now more than ever technology has a critical role to play in the future success of these businesses, helping them to find new customers, market themselves more effectively and reduce costs. Investing in better technology is emerging as a measure of success in the future for many businesses.”

In terms of the technologies having the biggest impact, 61% said faster broadband speeds have had a positive impact on their business. Better web sites, better e-commerce and mobile devices were also particularly beneficial. More than 1 in 10 small businesses are looking for more advice and support on using technology to manage their business.

Smaller organisations are also increasingly turning to social media to improve the way they operate with one in five respondents turning to support forums, Twitter and blogs to market their business and attract and retain customers.

Lord Digby Jones, said, “The Business Pulse highlights that optimism is on the rise. Equipping firms with the right technology and support will help tip the economy from recession onto the road to recovery in 2010.”

Full findings of the Business Pulse will be revealed in Small Business Week 2009 and debated by a business leadership panel including business experts Peter Jones and Lord Digby Jones at the launch.

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Fasthosts and Microsoft launch WebsiteSpark

Fasthosts Internet Ltd, a leading web hosting provider, has announced its work with Microsoft to promote the new Microsoft WebsiteSpark program for web professionals. The initiative assists smaller web design and development companies in launching or growing their business by providing better access to the Microsoft web platform. The scheme delivers free Microsoft Server OS, free licenses for Microsoft Expression and Visual Studio software, as well as training and access to MSDN newsgroups.

Eligible Fasthosts customers can save over £240 a year in server licensing costs as well as valuable software licences direct from Microsoft. The scheme is an example of how businesses can gain significantly from discussing their technical requirements and business needs with Fasthosts. Fasthosts has been selected by Microsoft to promote the program benefits and guide eligible Windows Server customers through enrolment.

The Microsoft WebsiteSpark program offers new support for web design and development agencies with up to 10 employees. Eligible Fasthosts customers gain an immediate financial benefit – saving £240 per year with a free Windows Server license and saving even more with a free MSSQL license. Upon enrolment, members gain access to free Windows Expression Studio 2 (1 user license), Expression Web 2 (2 user licenses), Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition (3 user licenses) and DotNetPanel control panel.

A great number of professionals and enterprises can achieve cost savings by discussing their server and software needs with a long-standing expert like Fasthosts. The company’s advisers are trained to identify and leverage the efficiencies that hosted technologies can deliver. By working-through requirements with Fasthosts, synergies between software and hardware can often be identified.

Steve Holford, CMO Fasthosts Internet Ltd., said: “WebsiteSpark is an excellent opportunity for smaller web agencies. It delivers exactly what they need most – free tools and practical help. As hosting partner to thousands of web pros, Fasthosts is well qualified to advise participants on how to apply Windows hardware and development tools to best effect.”

Simon Pryce, Director of Skylight Media, is a Fasthosts customer who enrolled in the WebsiteSpark program to help boost the web design side of the business. Pryce commented: “We had discovered WebsiteSpark through our business network, and our successful enrolment in the scheme led to us setting up additional dedicated servers with Fasthosts at the same time. The WebsiteSpark scheme is an ideal way for us to update our use of Windows Server technology, enabling us to save a significant sum of money on license fees. We were also delighted to find during our consultation with the ever-reliable Fasthosts, that these new server resources will save us money too, so we’re very pleased all round.”

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B2b, B2C, Cloud Hosting, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting

NoMoreServers.com, a site dedicated to the emergence of Computing-as-a-Service models

Rackspace Hosting (NYSE:RAX) has announced the launch of NoMoreServers.com, a site dedicated to the emergence of Computing-as-a-Service models (like hosting, cloud computing and SaaS) to power corporate computing.

To support this campaign, the hosting company has hired renowned hosting industry strategist Andrew Schroepfer. In his role, Schroepfer will cover the trend in depth from how providers are evolving to how real businesses are making this trend pay off.

“A new way to run business computing is emerging,” said Lanham Napier, president and CEO of Rackspace. “We have countless business customers tell us they are finished buying servers and are looking for a computing partner. People don’t want to buy standalone computing, they want computing as a service with Fanatical Support. This trend will have major implications on the entire IT industry, and there is no one more qualified to cover it day-to-day than Andy.”

NoMoreServers.com will feature daily and unique commentary explaining the next era in computing. In addition to filtering and reviewing interesting developments and third-party content about the NoMoreServers computing era, the site will feature daily commentary and a live community portal for visitors to engage on the topic and offers a white paper on the subject for community members.

Schroepfer has been a key analyst in the hosting industry since its inception in the late 1990s. From his beginnings at Piper Jaffray where he developed and managed the VoIP (Voice-over-Internet-Protocol) industry’s primary market statistics, Schroepfer published a 270-page report on the dis-aggregation of communications which sparked his coverage of the Web hosting industry. He then joined Goldman Sachs as VP and senior equity analyst on the Internet Infrastructure Services industry during the time when Equinix, Loudcloud (now HP), and Webex (now Cisco) were executing their IPOs (Initial Public Offerings). In late 2000, Schroepfer founded, led, and later sold Tier1 Research, the leading specialist research firm on the hosting and data centre industry whose insights and data remain highly relevant.

“Having covered the hosting industry since its inception, and having strongly recommended Rackspace since 2001, I am excited to now become a Racker,” said Andy Schroepfer. “I have always said Rackspace will be more than just a leader in hosting, and I am honoured to join the 2,700-strong Fanatical Support team tasked with sustaining and evolving our leadership role as the IT value chain is recast.”

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B2b, Dedicated Servers, Domain Names, E-mail, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting, Services

Report Says That Firms Are Not Measuring If Their Website Is Working

Fasthosts, a leading web hosting provider and domain name registrar, reports that 43 per cent of UK companies admit that they have no quantifiable method of measuring whether their website is effective, according to recently released research released.

The study of 430 UK firms (431 UK businesses with a website surveyed via electronic feedback form) by Fasthosts found that whilst the average business has published a website for 3-4 years, a huge number of businesses have no numerical grasp on how well their website is performing, or whether it is leading to sales. One in four owners do not believe their website has potential as a sales channel. A remarkable 77 per cent of firms fail to measure any type of ‘return on investment’ for their websites, and 1 in 3 owners (34 per cent) admit that they have never considered checking the popularity or effectiveness of their website. The research suggests that many companies are failing to analyse and optimise online as diligently as they do other areas of their operation.

Whilst studies show that the majority of business owners today realise the importance of having a presence on the Internet, it appears that a great many do no more than publish their website. Fasthosts’ survey of 430 small local businesses using a website, found that over 40 per cent currently do not use data (such as a graphical web statistics tool to assess whether their website is working to support their business goals. During the first half of 2009, the vast majority of SMEs (83 per cent) have not analysed their websites performance against their business plan.

Despite half of businesses feeling happy with their websites and 43 per cent viewing these as integral to their marketing efforts, it would appear that a great many firms simply do not know whether their website is making the right impact. Only 57 per cent of firms do monitor their website performance by checking an overall traffic volume statistic for their homepage. However, only 40 per cent currently analyse where their website visitors are being referred from, an essential element of effective online marketing. Furthermore, only 33 per cent of owners who do measure their website look at the click-through rates to individual sections of the site.

It is perhaps unsurprising over three quarters of businesses questioned (77 per cent) make no assessment of ‘return on investment’ for their websites. Only 11 per cent of those surveyed, judged the effectiveness of their website in terms of ‘clicks vs. sales’ or ‘web cost per order’. Worryingly, the research would suggest that for a significant number of companies, expectations for their website are rather low. 1 in 4 owners (23 per cent) still do not believe their website has potential to be a sales channel.

However, nowadays easy-to-use tools are available for any business owner to evaluate the effectiveness of their website themselves. For example, Fasthosts provides its hosting customers with a free MatrixStats tool, a graphical web statistics tool that provides an instant snapshot of how well websites and domains are performing.

Steve Holford, CMO Fasthosts Internet Ltd., said: “By taking note of their website statistics and making necessary changes, many companies we work with enjoy a real fiscal impact.”

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Advertising, B2C, Cloud Hosting, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting, Video

Rackspace Hosting Announced That Leading Viral Video Advertising Agency, Keta Keta, Will Be Hosting Its Video Portfolio In The Rackspace Cloud

Rackspace Hosting (NYSE:RAX), the world’s leader in hosting and cloud computing, has announced that leading viral video advertising agency, Keta Keta, will be hosting its video portfolio and movie previews in the Rackspace Cloud.

Ronen Lefler, CEO, Keta Keta said: “Effectively showcasing our viral videos has become a real challenge as the amount of content that we have to stream has grown. Moving to the Rackspace Cloud has enabled us to showcase videos to a global audience without interruption. We chose Rackspace due to its focus on customer service and support, as well as the flexibility and efficiency of The Rackspace Cloud Files solution.”

As the viral video market continues to explode, with traffic increasing 178% over the last 12 months (Source: Econsultancy’s 2009 Internet Statistics report), Keta Keta needed to maximize opportunities across consumer brands by promoting its videos to a global audience. It launched a new corporate website in March 2009 to support this need and turned to Rackspace Hosting to provide a reliable and cost-effective hosting solution to stream multiple movies to over 100 different countries.

Brian Thomson, EMEA Managing Director at Rackspace Hosting said: “Hosting business critical applications in the cloud is something we do on a regular basis and we are delighted that Keta Keta has chosen us to support its corporate awareness drive. We understand the demands placed on websites by streaming rich media content and believe the cloud’s flexible, pay-as-you go structure makes it an ideal choice to meet these new media needs.”

Keta Keta, the viral video partner of ad:tech 2009, is an advertising agency with in-house creative, production, seeding and tracking departments. It has launched hundreds of successful viral video campaigns that have entertained and engaged people around the world for customers including LG, Fiat, MSN, L’Oreal and Orange.

About Rackspace
Rackspace’s portfolio of hosted services includes hosted exchange, managed hosting, dedicated servers, cloud hosting, virtualisation and managed exchange.

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Advertising, B2b, B2C, Domain Names, E-mail, eCommerce, Events, Hosting, Internet, ISPs, Services, Web

BT Business And Google Today Announced An Agreement To Offer Digital Marketing Services To Small Businesses

The alliance will involve BT Business becoming a Google AdWordsâ„¢ Authorised Reseller. Small businesses can now access Google’s base of millions of UK users and receive professional, full-service AdWords account management, from account setup and activation to ongoing campaign monitoring and optimisation, through BT Business.

More than one million businesses already served by BT Business, including the 350,000 members of BT Tradespace, will benefit from the agreement.

“Small businesses are looking to the internet to compete and grow in these tough economic times,” said Bill Murphy, managing director at BT Business. “Our own research across 700,000 small business websites shows that the majority need help to optimise search and effectively use search engine marketing. They don’t often have the skills internally to manage this and need affordable services and support. Working with Google AdWords will enable us to help smaller companies promote themselves and engage with customers, partners and suppliers online as well as larger businesses.”

The addition of the Google AdWords online advertising platform means BT Business can now offer customers a complete range of digital marketing services to help them promote their businesses effectively on the Web. From setting up a website and managing an online marketing campaign to ensuring they can effectively extend their business relationships through customer management tools and business social networking profiles such as BT Tradespace and other business applications.

Matt Brittin, Managing Director at Google UK & Ireland said: “Many businesses already use Google AdWords to reach new customers locally, across the UK and across the world. BT Business can now offer targeted, accountable and cost effective AdWords advertising to more than a million small businesses in the UK. We look forward to working with BT to help more small businesses get the most out of the online opportunity.”

About BT Business
BT Business understands the challenges that businesses face in the current climate, and supports cost control, improved productivity and winning business with technology including business broadband & internet, domain names and web hosting packages, IT support and mobile services including BlackBerry.

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B2b, Dedicated Servers, Domain Names, E-mail, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting, Services

Fasthosts Internet Announced That An API Is Now Available To Their Resellers Free Of Charge

Fasthosts Internet, a leading reseller web hosting provider, has announced that an API (Application Protocol Interface) is now available to their resellers free of charge through their control panel. Allowing for automation and enhanced control, this complimentary tool gives Fasthosts’ resellers easier management of their reseller business and customer base.

Fasthosts’ API is a flexible and powerful resource that can be seamlessly incorporated into resellers’ websites. Fasthosts partners can customize the interface to perform tasks that are best suited to their needs. Most importantly, its automated performance leaves business leaders with more time and energy to put towards things like marketing and sales.

For Fasthosts, this is an important step in boosting the company’s appeal within such a competitive market. Stephen Holford, Chief Marketing Officer for Fasthosts, highlighted that the company is committed to providing a world class service for its resellers and believes this API will be an extremely valuable reseller tool to Fasthosts partners.

The API allows resellers to automate new customer signups, create admin tools for end-customers, and process customer orders automatically. Resellers using the API can have their customers set up hosting directly from their website and secure domain names in real-time. What’s more is the potential for resellers to increase their profit margins – this API is an efficient mechanism for running a smooth and profitable business operation.

Fasthosts is automatically including the API into its reseller control panels. It is accessible using any server side language, and provides full documentation and examples for all API functions. Resellers are also given test scripts as another way to customize the API for their business needs.

About Fasthosts
Fasthosts is the UK’s leading web hosting company. Based in the UK and operating 24×7 from its dedicated UK data centres, Fasthosts keeps over 1 million domains running smoothly and ensures over 6 million emails are delivered safely each day.

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B2b, Dedicated Servers, Domain Names, E-mail, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting, Services

Report Says Non-Profit Websites Grow Amidst UK Recession

Fasthosts Internet Ltd, a leading web hosting provider and domain name registrar, today reported a marked increase in the number of .ORG domains registered by non-profit organisations during the past year. The domain suffix has out-grown in percentage terms many other non business top-level domain suffixes, indicating an increase in the number of non-profit and charitable projects being launched in the first half of 2009. The unique growth lends weight to the theory that many such organisations have initiated or grown web-based projects in response to the global recession.

The .ORG domain name is the domain of choice for organisations dedicated to serving the public interest. Data from Fasthosts, one of the UK’s largest domain name registrars, shows that .ORG registrations made by its customers grew by 27% compared to the same period in 2008. The domain has seen the highest demand over all other non-business domains. Whilst domain success can often be skewed by short-term price promotions, the growth of .ORG comprises like for like growth over the 12 month period.

As many UK charities have reported falls in donation income since the economy slowed down, such growth in .ORG domain registrations may suggest that non-profit bodies have stepped up investment in the internet. Web solutions now offer such groups extremely cost effective and scalable channels for gathering support and participation for causes, and taking donations directly from a website.

Steve Holford, CMO Fasthosts Internet Ltd, said: “It is pleasing to note the growth of the .ORG community and witness the remarkable difference that the web can deliver to non-profit organisations. In challenging economic times, such groups are wise to leverage the efficiencies and visibility that online projects can offer.”

Holford added: “Just as the recession has led UK businesses to step up ecommerce efforts, the Internet is the right logical step for non-profit groups to broaden their reach and safeguard their revenues.”

iT4Communities, a Fasthosts customer, is a charity that runs a large UK-wide network of IT volunteers who support hundreds of charity IT projects a year. They have seen a steady increase in requests for volunteer help with websites for small charities year on year. It remains the largest area of request for help as charities strive for a good website that helps them reduce costs and attract more support.

Anne Stafford, Programme Manager for iT4Communities, said: “Charities are relishing the benefits of websites with a CMS, making it cost effective to update their information and easier for volunteers to help as building a good site can take much less time”.

Fasthosts is a leading provider for shared and dedicated web hosting and business-class email solutions, and is the UK market leader for reseller web hosting.

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