Tag Archives: Hosting

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.”

Via EPR Network
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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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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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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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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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Advertising, eCommerce, Events, Hosting, Internet, Online, Services, Social Networking, Web, Web 2.0, Web Design & Development, Web Marketing

LipstickRocks.com – The Networking Organization For Professional Women In The DC Area

Network. Network. Network. That’s what everybody is saying these days, but how? One solution is LipstickRocks.com, a networking organization for professional women that offers both an online community as well as regular networking events in Metro Washington, DC.

LipstickRocks.com - The Networking Organization For Professional Women

LipstickRocks, LLC hosts regular theme events for business-savvy women to meet and empower each other and grow professionally. The virtual community on LipstickRocks.comis for professional women in multiple industries to connect and share information. The website is easy to navigate and offers search engine optimization, which is a powerful Internet marketing tool that boosts the user’s web presence. LipstickRocks.com‘s web presence is multiplied by new advertisements on twitter.com, facebook.com, and meetup.com.

Regular meetings provide an opportunity for women to bring friends and co-workers to mingle with other professional women, most who are already on the LipstickRocks.com website. Women come to promote their business, glean from each other, and provide practical advice. Many m embers of LipstickRocks sponsor these networking events to strategically promote their businesses. Premium members of LipstickRocks enjoy other privileges including discounts on advertising, web design, hosting, member-to-member discounts, and consultations.

Most sponsors and business partners actively give back to the community. A percentage of all purchases from LipstickRocks go to charities, such as the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure for breast cancer research. The total amount contributed will be tallied up and displayed on the website at the end of the calendar year.

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Study Shows That 53 Per Cent Of US Business Owners Seek More Involvement In The Purchasing Of Their IT Services, Such As Hosting, Than Ever Before

Fasthosts Internet Ltd, a leading web hosting provider, has released a study showing that 53 per cent of US business owners seek more involvement in the purchasing of their IT services, such as hosting, than ever before.

Study Shows That 53 Per Cent Of US Business Owners Seek More Involvement In The Purchasing Of Their IT Services, Such As Hosting, Than Ever Before

The survey of 132 US business* owners found that in the past year, over half (53 per cent) have purposefully sought a greater understanding of the IT services they use as a direct result of economic pressures, and intend to be more involved in selecting their IT service providers going forward.

F r o m those businesses that use dedicated hosting services, 1 in 4 owners wish to renegotiate associated costs this year. As businesses worldwide scrutinize IT costs, Fasthosts is encouraging UK companies to review their hosting costs and seek out the best possible technology for their money. Fasthosts is also helping UK businesses to lower their server costs by reducing its dedicated server prices with discounts of up to £480 per annum for the life of the contract.

Steve Holford, CMO Fasthosts commented, “Every business owner understands the importance of procurement. One should review their web solutions periodically, and push through necessary changes. In a challenging operating environment, it is imperative that every business gets what it pays for and pays only for what it needs”.

Fasthosts dedicated server solutions have been tailored to support business needs with high-speed performance and connectivity, no bandwidth charges and 24/7 UK-based support. All dedicated servers are housed within a state-of-the-art data centre in Gloucester and designed to provide demanding users with high specifications and excellent service levels. Business owners can contact advisors at Fasthosts to discuss their requirements and potential cost savings for their business.

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Survey Shows Fear Outweighs Cost Concerns With Business IT Needs

A new survey by IT specialists Fasthosts Internet has revealed that companies are being forced to re-evaluate their IT systems and question what they really need due to the unsettled economy. In these difficult times, one-third said they still hesitate to consider a replacement server even if it is necessary. At the same time, 53% of business owners are becoming more involved in decisions relating to their IT needs in light of the challenging economy.

Survey Shows Fear Outweighs Cost Concerns With Business IT Needs

When times get tough, a company’s budget spending strategy can seriously affect the quality and quantity of the company’s technology resources. The Fasthosts survey showed 29% of respondents have reviewed their budget for servers in the past six months. Nearly twice that number (54%) has analysed their finances during the last 12 months.

For many people the fear of what might happen when they replace their server looms over their decision. One in three survey participants (33%) said they would be fearful of switching to a new provider because of a potential disruption to their service. Perhaps bound by this fear, 22% have not updated or changed their server solution in at least three years even though at least 25% said they want to lower their external server costs.

Stephen Holford, chief marketing officer of Fasthosts Internet, says the company understands where its customers’ fears lay and hope they are able to clear up questions about servers.

He said: “Fasthosts products are offered by the leading provider for reseller web hosting in the UK, and one that is making a strong mark in the US. We try to emphasize that a background in IT isn’t necessary to use and profit from our servers and reseller solutions so that smaller businesses can better understand their IT needs. If given a closer look, they will see the top-of-the-line solutions that Fasthosts offers at very competitive prices.”

Getting the most value for their money is a concern many have when deciding how much should be spent on their IT provider, especially regarding servers. Almost half (45%) of survey participants said they felt overcharged for costs including monitoring fees, server management, additional memory and IP addresses, back-up space, consultancy fees and server traffic. One third of the respondents, however, pay more than just their provider to upkeep their server.

Holford added: “Balancing a budget is difficult, especially when there is uncertainty concerning necessary versus peripheral costs. IT solutions, like servers and online services, are important to any company. It seems that people must realize that there are providers out there like Fasthosts that can alleviate concerns by offering solutions that exhibit both quality and value for a reasonable cost.”

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B2C, Cloud Hosting, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting

Rackspace Announced Its New Private Cloud Offering, Which Allows Customers To Run The Centrally Managed VMware Virtualisation Platform On Private Dedicated Hardware Environments

Rackspace Hosting (NYSE: RAX), the world’s leader in hosting, has announced its new Private Cloud offering, which allows customers to run the centrally managed VMware virtualisation platform on private dedicated hardware environments.

Private Cloud Offering

Rackspace recognises the demand from enterprises for a more flexible and scalable hosting solution. Although multi-tenant cloud solutions are very flexible and cost-effective, they are not always right for every segment. The Rackspace Private Cloud’s single-tenant architecture offers increased control and security, while still maintaining the scalability, flexibility and resource optimisation that make shared cloud offerings so compelling.

“Rackspace provides an excellent option for customers to take advantage of the cloud,” said Dan Chu, vice president, emerging products and markets, VMware. “Enterprises who purchase the Rackspace Private Cloud can count on the powerful combination of VMware’s industry-leading virtualisation platform and Rackspace’s reliable hosting environment and infrastructure.”

Rackspace Private Cloud is an evolution of its popular dedicated virtual server (DVS) offering within the managed hosting business unit. In the last year, revenue from virtualisation solutions has grown substantially, driven mainly by the increased flexibility, improved asset utilisation and lower capital and operating costs that VMware’s virtualisation provides.

“Rackspace is implementing a true hybrid hosting vision that allows customers to create a blend of the right hosting solutions – from a dedicated server, to multi-tenant cloud to specialised application hosting such as hosted exchange – each backed by our industry leading support. The Rackspace Private Cloud is one piece of the entire hybrid vision”, said John Engates, Rackspace CTO. “Computing is changing at a rapid pace, and customers require that we stay ahead of the curve to continue providing best-in-class offers. We view the Rackspace Private Cloud as having a large impact for our enterprise customers who need the flexibility, scalability, and reliability provided by VMware’s virtualisation, paired with the control and security of a dedicated environment. It is the best of both worlds for those enterprises looking to explore the benefits of external cloud solutions, without as much risk.”

About Rackspace Hosting:
As the world’s leader and specialist in hosting, Rackspace Hosting is changing the way businesses worldwide buy IT. Rackspace delivers computing-as-a-service, integrating the industry’s best technologies into a flexible service offering, making computing more reliable and affordable.

A trusted partner to companies of all sizes, Rackspace enables IT departments to be more effective. Rackspace is distinguished by its award-winning Fanatical Support, furthering the company’s mission to be one of the world’s greatest service companies. Rackspace featured in the top 30 of both the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For list and the Financial Times Great Place to Work Awards, 2008.

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BT Business Cuts The Price Of Web Hosting

BT Business has announced a major price cut to its web hosting Starter Pack to encourage small businesses to get online.

Web Hosting

The cost of a 5GB web hosting package with BT Business has been reduced by 40 per cent to an exclusive online price of £2.99* per month, including a host of extra business tools to help small businesses promote themselves with a professional and secure web presence.

With enough web space to create hundreds of pages, a professional business domain name and business email for up to 10 accounts, the price cut makes the BT Business Starter Pack one of the most high value web hosting packages specifically designed for small businesses in the UK offering 24/7 support.

One in five small businesses don’t have their own web site, despite 25 per cent -£78 billion – of UK retail spend in this year projected to come from online sales. According to BT Business research the vast majority that do are also not getting the most out of their websites or using them effectively to attract customers.

Helen Costello, founder of Aardvark Cakes in St Helens, Merseyside, has been a BT web hosting Starter Pack customer for three years. The mother-of-two, who works from home, said: “My business is my website and it is important for me that it is easy for customers to find what they are looking for and place orders. Having a trustworthy web hosting provider is vital to me as the site is an indispensable tool of my trade. In the past 12 months, trade has really escalated, showing just how important it is for a small business to have an online presence in this day and age.”

“Having a professional web site presence could mean the difference between winning and losing customers in the current climate,” said Jerry Thompson, director online, BT Business. “We are listening to small businesses that are citing overall cost, ease of use and 24/7 support amongst their top considerations when getting online. By offering a complete range of high value digital marketing services we want to ensure that small businesses can compete as effectively as bigger companies and can grow their online presence with them.”

The BT Business Starter Pack is available immediately. Additional features include free web site building software with 400 templates to get businesses started on creating their own web site without the need for technical expertise.

*Pricing on a 12 months contract. Price reverts to £5 after first 12 months. Terms and Conditions apply

About BT
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

In the year ended 31 March 2009, BT Group’s revenue was £21,390 million.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

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Virtual Private Server / VPS Hosting By AvaHost

AvaHost has just launched VPS hosting, virtual private servers which offer a fantastic alternative to shared hosting, with pricing as low as 14.95 per month. This allows clients to enjoy the benefits of having control over hosting, right down to full root access.

AvaHost is a shared and reseller hosting service which has now expanded to offer a brand new product, VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting. As many users are looking low cost alternatives to shared hosting, this new product offers four different levels of hosting to meet user’s particular needs.

Users may choose from the four tiers which begin at 256MB of Mb to 1024 Mb. Guaranteed RAM will range from 128 MB to 512 MB. Offered disk space will begin at 10 GB going up to 40 GB and data transfer will start at 300 GB and go up to 1200 GB.

All four tiers offer users full SSH root access, unlimited domain, development tools, the ability to install your own software, free DNS hosting, dedicated IPs, the capability to have your own DSN servers, reload and reimage OS, boot, shutdown and reboot commands, and to install can compile custom software. This new product also offers custom MIME settings, website access statistics, support for .htaccess, Cron job support, sendmail support, customizable error pages and access to both raw logs and error logs.

The goal of AvaHost is to offer users an easy, low cost method to exceed the strict confines of shared hosting. One of the most engaging features of this new product is full root access, no matter which tier a user chooses. This allows for personal adjustments including the installation of custom software and network services. All VPS hosting accounts are hosted on Dual or Quad Xeon servers running the Linux operating system, which are well known for offering high performance and dependability.

Everyone who chooses VPS via AvaHost, will be given a bonus package for webmasters worth more than $1300.00. This includes templates, graphic package, banner templates and a large assortment of quality eBooks with full Resale Rights.

AvaHost has established themselves a strong contender in the web hosting industry, offering topnotch products and prides themselves on excellent customer service. With the launch of the new VPS product, AvaHost proudly states, “We devote ourselves to small to medium businesses and the personal user and with our the introduction of our new VPS we are proud to continue our commitment of offering the best technology at prices everyone can afford, in fact we offer a 60-day Money Back Guarantee so that every client can feel confident in choosing us.”

You may visit http://www.avahost.net to see more details regarding AvaHost’s VPS and read the details of each of the four VPS tiers.

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Fasthosts Warns Businesses Not To Copy Others Website Material

Fasthosts Internet Ltd, has warned UK businesses not to be tempted to copy material from other companies’ websites.

This warning comes off the back of findings by the web hosting provider which showed that there was an 89% increase in the number of content disputes reported to its in-house Abuse Department from April 2008 to April 2009. The problem varies from the occasional image being used, right through to entire website designs being replicated. The practice can lead to consumers becoming confused, or even being misled into purchasing from the wrong company.

In many of the cases Fasthosts investigated, the offending businesses stated that they did not realise that copying items of online material could land them in trouble.

A recent Fasthosts’ commissioned survey of 152 UK businesses also found that ‘web envy’ can be a real temptation for time-stretched business owners, with 39% admitting they are presently envious of the website of a closely competing business. Additionally the survey showed that 1 in 4 companies are actually considering reducing their use of external website design services in order to cut costs despite the average company only rating their own website at just 6 out of 10 for effectiveness, yet aiming to treble its online revenue in 2009. At a time when there is a huge amount of pressure on small business owners’ to maximise their use of the web, the temptation to take shortcuts by duplicating material from other companies’ websites can sometimes prove overwhelming.

Steve Holford, CMO Fasthosts Internet, said: “Particularly in a challenging economic climate, business owners may be tempted by the quick-fix of copying another firm’s work. Replicating material for commercial use often breaches copyright. Always obtain permission before using anybody’s website material.”

Significantly, the Fasthosts survey also found that 10% of participants had at least one item of their own company website copied by a third party between March 2008 and March 2009. The issue actually proved to be twice as common as cyber-squatting or other online security breaches. As a result Fasthosts is advising all affected users to contact the offending website hosting provider who should then intervene on their behalf.

Holford added, “Website envy is not new, but the tough economy appears to have led more companies to act unfairly upon it. Businesses will gain a better foothold on the Web and earn most value through a regular output of their own compelling material, and applying time to their website in small manageable steps”.

About Fasthosts
Fasthosts is the UK’s number one web hosting company. Based in the UK and operating 24×7 from their dedicated UK data centres, Fasthosts keeps over 1 million domains running smoothly and ensures over 6 million emails are delivered safely each day. All Fasthosts services can be self-managed through the award winning Fasthosts web-based control panel that provides customers with unparalleled online control, enabling them to manage hosted services including domain name registrations, shared web hosting, business-class email, dedicated servers, software-as-a-service, internet merchant accounts, reseller web hosting and unlimited broadband. Fasthosts’ highly successful reseller channel has recently been rated Number 1 for reseller hosting by industry portal Web Host Directory.

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B2C, Domain Names, E-mail, eCommerce, Free Stuff, Hosting, Internet, ISPs, Services, Wi-Fi

Free 20Mb/s Broadband Boost By BT

BT has announced that millions of homes and businesses are set to enjoy a free broadband boost as BT will more than double the headline speeds for its residential and business customers.

broadband

Given BT is the UK’s largest retailer of broadband with 4.8 million customers, the move, which comes in advance of Lord Carter’s Digital Britain Report, will lead to an increase in average broadband speeds.

Over 60,000 consumers already have the faster speeds through a BT trial and the upgrade to ADSL 2+ technology will be available to other homes in the summer. BT Retail broadband customers already enjoy speeds of up to 8Mb/s. The plans will see consumers and business in enabled areas receive faster speeds of up to 20Mb/s as part of their broadband service at no extra cost.

Based on BT’s 21CN platform, the faster speeds will initially be available from 549 telephone exchanges, serving more than 40% of UK homes and businesses. BT plans to extend that coverage to 55% by March 2010 subject to customer demand.

As well as boosting download speeds, upload speeds will increase to up to 1Mb/s. The faster service will enable customers to surf, upload or download data in a fraction of the time, even when several users are on the same connection. This means less waiting around for complex web pages to download and graphics to upload. It is also good news for BT Business Broadband customers looking to use rich media or boost their websites.

BT research has shown that one of the major causes of slower broadband speeds lies in customers’ home wiring. To address this, BT is also set to offer the BT Broadband Accelerator (BT I-Plate) that eliminates electrical interference from telephone-extension wiring, and can improve broadband speeds and reliability. BT will be giving away the devices free to consumers (subject to £2.50 P&P) and businesses that are likely to benefit. Crucially, this will mean more customers with marginal broadband speeds will exceed the 2Mb/s threshold required to benefit from the full range of new internet services, something Lord Carter’s report is set to address.

Gavin Patterson, chief executive officer, BT Retail said “Unlike other providers, BT is upgrading customers to 20Mb/s for free. High-speed broadband provides a faster and more reliable service that will transform the way we live, work, learn and play. We believe the true value of broadband is in helping customers enjoy the exciting new services that it makes possible. In line with the Government’s Digital Britain review, we will be making higher speeds more widely available.”

In a separate move, BT Retail will begin the first trials of up to 40Mb/s super-fast fibre-based broadband in Whitchurch, South Wales and Muswell Hill, London this summer. Openreach is already delivering speeds of up to 100Mb/s to customers in the Ebbsfleet Valley in Kent, using fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP) technology.

New or re-contracting BT Business Broadband and BT Total Broadband customers in an enabled exchange area will automatically be eligible for the ADSL2+ service at no additional cost. The new ADSL2+ service will be available to business users from the initial launch, and non-business customers from early summer. The BT Business Total Broadband tariff remains the same and includes BT Openzone Wi-Fi minutes.

About BT Business
BT Business understands the challenges that businesses face in the current climate, and supports cost control, improved productivity and winning business through product collections including business broadband & internet, domains & web hosting, data & voice networks, IT solutions and mobile services.

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B2b, Domain Names, E-mail, eCommerce, Hosting, Internet, Links, Online, Secure Hosting, Services, Social Networking, Web, Web Design & Development

BT Business Has Launched The Online Starter Kit, A Service Designed To Help Small Businesses Promote Themselves Online

BT Business has launched the Online Starter Kit, a service designed to help small businesses promote themselves online, offering a professionally-built web site and profile in the BT business networking community for £199 including 12 months of web hosting*.

web design packages

For the first time BT Business has brought together all of the essential ingredients for creating an online presence into one low cost bundle. For businesses looking to combine this with their broadband commitment, the Online Starter Kit is also available at just £5 per month with BT Business Total Broadband Option 3.

The bundle includes a web site design consultation and professional web site build, logo design, advice around web site copy and keywords, web hosting, domain based webmail and a BT Tradespace profile – all designed to work together to boost a business presence on search engines such as Google.

One in five small businesses don’t have their own web site, despite £78 billion – 25% of UK retail spend – in this year projected to come from online sales. According to BT Business research the vast majority that do are also not getting the most out of their websites or using them effectively to attract customers. Just one in over 3,000 web sites use keywords in the content they post on their sites, despite the use of keywords increasing the chances of search engines picking up web pages. 42% have websites with bad pages containing broken or invalid links**.

“Every business needs an effective online presence that works well with search engines, but this can sometimes be a daunting step for start-ups,” said Jerry Thompson, Director Business Products and Online. “By bringing everything together in one low-cost bundle BT is helping small businesses take the vital steps to getting online hassle-free. 20% of small businesses now also use social networking sites to win new business, so getting your company web site to work more effectively with social business networks such as BT Tradespace is becoming more and more important.”

BT Tradespace is a dynamic online community for sales and marketing and offers a comprehensive directory of small business products and services. It allows members to use the latest social media tools – podcasts, videos and blogs – to promote themselves, engage with customers, partners and suppliers and sell goods to consumers over a secure and safe trading platform.

* Based on 12mths contract. The Online Starter bundle costs £199 ex VAT. This comprises monthly costs of £5 per month ex VAT for a web hosting service plus a one-off cost of £139.
** Conclusion of an investigation of 70,000 websites released by BT Business in March 09.

About BTTradespace.com
BTTradespace.com is a 350,000-member online community, which enables businesses to sell products and services and connect effectively with other people – in order to build business and customer relationships. BT Tradespace provides social networking for businesses and free website set-up.

About BT
BT is one of the world’s leading providers of communications solutions and services operating in 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to our customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, Openreach, BT Retail and BT Wholesale.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

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

Innovative New Reseller Platform By Fasthosts

Fasthosts Internet Ltd, a leading UK web host, has launched a brand new reseller platform for its UK reseller partners. The solution offers a highly effective platform for structuring and performing a reseller hosting operation.

Reseller Platform

The Fasthosts Reseller hosting package delivers access to a range of customisable web solutions including hosting, domains and email products at discounted reseller rates and features unlimited web space and bandwidth. Presently, new resellers will benefit from a 6 months free offer, allowing them to build their reseller business with no subscription costs. Fasthosts’ new platform sets a new standard in enabling resellers to develop a profitable business in this growing sector.

Reseller web hosting offers a highly profitable business opportunity for IT professionals and entrepreneurs. Resellers can combine re-branded white-label web solutions with their own services, such as web design, programming or IT advice, to create tailored services for niche markets. Users earn recurring profits on items they sell, can set their own price points and may charge for free elements such as unlimited web space, website traffic and email accounts.

Fasthosts’ new reseller platform provides a market-leading level of usability, transparency and control for a reseller. It also offers a high degree of freedom as resellers can create a customised package for each end customer, design and create their own range of packages or simply resell Fasthosts’ off-the-shelf packages. This flexibility means resellers can tailor their services closely to customers’ needs and remain competitive.

Fasthosts’ Reseller Control Panel has been re-engineered to reduce administration for resellers and improve efficiency. The custom branding tools enable resellers to customise their customers’ control panels, webmail and SiteBuilders.

Stephen Holford, Chief Marketing Officer, Fasthosts Internet said “We are focused on making sure our resellers can grow a successful and profitable business, even in this tough economic climate. Our service enables them to not only create their own brand, but also create their own packages. The new platform itself is designed to satisfy the technical needs of a demanding hosting provider and also inspire the complete beginner”.

Fasthosts’ philosophy is designed to free resellers to achieve the best possible business model, with both Linux and MS web hosting, a comprehensive range of domain name registrations and award winning MS Exchange email packages for resale. Other reseller web hosting providers can place limits on web space per end customer and levy expensive charges for bandwidth used. Fasthosts removes these risks with its unlimited web space and bandwidth. While resellers are free to make whatever charges they wish, Fasthosts’ resellers will never face their users being cut-off or unexpected charges from their provider.

In recent months, Fasthosts has promoted reseller hosting as a low risk and profitable way to develop an IT related enterprise. Recent research conducted by the company showed that 80 per cent of companies that begin to resell web hosting in addition to their regular products or services earn a profit from the practice within 1 year. By offering web solutions, many can bolster their revenues and prolong client relationships.

Holford added, “As a reseller hosting specialist, Fasthosts aims to deliver its resellers unrivalled support and innovation in equal measures”.

About Fasthosts
Fasthosts is the UK’s leading web hosting company. Based in the UK and operating 24×7 from their dedicated UK data centres, Fasthosts keeps over 1 million domains running smoothly and ensures over 6 million emails are delivered safely each day. All Fasthosts services can be self-managed through the award winning Fasthosts web-based control panel that provides customers with unparalleled online control, enabling them to manage hosted services including domain registrations, shared web hosting, business-class email, dedicated servers, software-as-a-service, internet merchant accounts and unlimited broadband. Fasthosts’ highly successful reseller channel has recently been rated Number 1 for reseller hosting by industry portal Web Host Directory.

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

Survey Finds 1 In 3 UK Businesses Have No Time To Improve Website

A new survey of 145 UK businesses by Fasthosts Internet Ltd, a leading web hosting company, has revealed that whilst 69% of firms realise certain aspects of their website may require attention, 32% repeatedly neglect making the changes in favour of spending the time on other aspects of the business.

Fasthosts Internet Ltd

According to the survey, the average small company rates their website at 6 out of 10 for effectiveness, but also aims to treble the income generated by their website during 2009. The research suggests a clear discrepancy between business owners’ online ambitions and how much time they currently invest.

As their shop window to the world, the majority of UK companies recognise that having a web presence is a vital aspect of modern business. However, 27% are unhappy with their website design and a further 25% are concerned that their website does not allow feature sufficient methods to communicate with customers. The research also showed that 1 in 10 businesses would like to replace their website entirely.

Whilst there are plenty of products and services on the market to help enhance business websites, 1 in 3 owners admit to being floored by a lack of time. During the first quarter of 2009, a further 32% of business owners repeatedly sidelined changes to their website. The figures are alarming in contrast to the tough targets the same businesses have set themselves for online activity this year. 71% aim to increase their overall visibility on the Web during 2009, while 55% aim to grow the size of their website and 22% intend to begin online advertising.

Currently, the average business earns 10% of its total sales revenue as a direct result of its website, but in 2009, businesses are hoping to increase this income to 21%-30% of total sales revenue.

Steve Holford, CMO Fasthosts Internet, said: “In challenging economic conditions, business owners are more stretched for time and resources than ever. However, it is important to remember that often the simplest improvements to a website can make a noticeable impact on sales conversion rates. Even a modest business website must receive regular attention to fulfil its potential.”

Fasthosts’ research suggests that UK businesses risk missing their online targets unless they can prioritise the work that their websites require. The issue is further supported by the fact that 26% of respondents admit that tough operating conditions has either already led or may lead them to cut-back on external consultants such as web designers or IT advisors.

As UK online spending continues to snowball, business owners clearly recognise the value in investing in an online presence. 94% believe that every size of enterprise should have a website, and 79% would not wish to go back to the days of solely off-line trading.

Holford added, “Businesses can often find the Internet to be as challenging as the high street. However, a big flashy website is not a prerequisite to achieving online sales growth. With a realistic online strategy and a consistent commitment of time and resource, every enterprise can better achieve their online potential this year.”

 

About Fasthosts
Fasthosts is the UK’s number one web hosting company. Based in the UK and operating 24×7 from their dedicated UK data centres, Fasthosts keeps over 1 million domains running smoothly and ensures over 6 million emails are delivered safely each day. All Fasthosts services can be self-managed through the award winning Fasthosts web-based control panel that provides customers with unparalleled online control, enabling them to manage hosted services including domain name registrations, shared web hosting, business-class email, dedicated servers, software-as-a-service, internet merchant accounts and unlimited broadband. Fasthosts’ highly successful reseller channel has recently been rated Number 1 for reseller hosting by industry portal Web Host Directory.

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Colocation, Dedicated Servers, Events, Free Stuff, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting

Waveform Technology Is Now Offering Two Months Free Server Colocation For Unemployed Workers Who Want To Start Or Expand A Business

With the unemployment rate in Michigan continuing to rise, there are plenty of smart, talented individuals from information technology who are now out of a job. Waveform Technology is encouraging those people to take their great Internet start up ideas and form new companies to rebuild Michigan’s economy.

Waveform’s Data Center, located in Troy Michigan, is now accepting servers for colocation through the new Start program. With Start, new companies can bring servers online quickly and have no worries about data center fees for the first two months.

Parishpilot.com will be the first organization to take advantage of Waveform’s Start program. Parishpilot.com provides low cost Internet services to Detroit churches, including websites and E-mail. “I’m tired of jobs leaving Michigan,” said Bill Wilson, who founded parishpilot.com after twelve years in the information technology industry. “I’m going to become part of the solution and start something that can help Michigan grow. I’m proud to join forces with Waveform on this.”

Data centers are where start ups begin. Flexibility and reliability are always important when selecting a data center, but cost is also key for new businesses. With Start, Waveform Technology will provide trusted colocation for start ups and a helping hand in tough economic times.

Colocation is the hosting of user owned servers in a data center to take advantage of superior Internet connections and other support systems such as backup power. Colocation is excellent for developing start ups because they have complete control over their machine, there is no sharing of server resources or conforming to the provider’s preferred software installations.

Participants are eligible as long as they can provide proof of unemployment. Interested parties should contact Waveform Technology through the website, http://www.michigan-colocation.com, or by calling 1-866-Waveform.

About Waveform Technology, LLC
Waveform Technology is a Michigan based data center operator and metro Ethernet provider. Waveform’s Troy data center is a world-class facility, featuring Liebert cooling and uninterruptible power systems, along with backup generator support, unmatched connectivity, and advanced security. Tenants of all sizes colocate in Waveform facilities. Waveform Technology is a privately held company in operation since 1992. More information is available at http://www.michigan-colocation.com or 248-784-7000.

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B2C, Cloud Hosting, Hosting, Internet, Secure Hosting

Rackspace to host SaaS and the Cloud Seminar

Rackspace has announced it is to host the SaaS and the Cloud Seminar – a half day, best practices seminar which aims to reveal the key strategies and techniques needed to build a profitable Software as a Service (SaaS) business.

Taking place on 20 May at the Microsoft Campus in Reading, SaaS and the Cloud Seminar will feature Rackspace Hosting clients and partners discussing the key issues involved in building a successful SaaS business.

Speaking at the seminar will be a number of experts in the SaaS field, including Rackspace’s own Director of Strategic Alliances, Brian Garvey, and Director of Product Management, Simon Abrahams, Microsoft’s UK Lead for Partner Hosted Services, Martin Walker, and Anders Trolle-Schultz of SaaS-it Consult. Also speaking at the seminar will be Ivan Farneti, a partner at Doughty Hanson & Co. Technology Ventures, Piyush Shah, the CEO at Deltion and Hamish Edwards, Managing Director and Co-Founder at Xero.

Those attending the seminar will hear discussion on topics including how to make the move from on-premise to Software as a Service, how to fund an emerging SaaS business and the future for SaaS hosting in the cloud. Other subjects covered will include secure hosting for on-demand applications, how to develop a cost effective go-to-market strategy and tips on how to exploit social media techniques to build a community of loyal users.

The half day seminar will conclude with a Q & A session with all the speakers followed by a networking lunch, where attendees can question the speakers at the seminar individually and confidentially.

Those wishing to attend the SaaS and the Cloud seminar can find further details and register at www.rackspace.co.uk.

About Rackspace Hosting:
As the world’s leader and specialist in hosting, Rackspace Hosting is changing the way businesses worldwide buy IT. Rackspace delivers computing-as-a-service, integrating the industry’s best technologies into a flexible service offering, making computing more reliable and affordable.

A trusted partner to companies of all sizes, Rackspace enables IT departments to be more effective. Rackspace is distinguished by its award-winning Fanatical Support, furthering the company’s mission to be one of the world’s greatest service companies. Rackspace featured in the top 30 of both the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For list and the Financial Times Great Place to Work Awards, 2008.

Rackspace’s portfolio of hosted services includes managed hosting, hosted exchange, hybrid hosting and cloud hosting.

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B2b, eCommerce, Hosting, Internet, Online, Services, Web

Easyspace Has Added A New Range Of Low Cost, Feature Rich, Shopping Cart Solutions To Its Product Portfolio

Easyspace, one the largest web hosting providers in the UK, has this week added a new range of low cost, feature rich, shopping cart solutions to its product portfolio.

With the ability to accept payments via a number of the most popular methods already built in (including Paypal and Worldpay), as well as exporting options allowing you to easily list your products on sites such as ebay, Google Base and Kelkoo as well as on your own site, the new eCommerce solution from Easyspace offers an intuitive way for users to start or improve their business online.

Easyspace already provides solutions for all other aspects of setting up a business online, from simple domain registration and a variety of hosting options, through to security and dedicated website design. The new Online Shop products, starting at just £14.99 per month, provide customers the final step in the process.

“We’ve offered off the shelf eCommerce solutions in the past,” states Errol Vanderhorst, Sales and Marketing Director for Easyspace, “but in all honesty, the high price associated with them in relation to the price of our other services, meant that they weren’t a natural fit or upgrade option for the customer. Our new Online Shopping packages have been developed specifically with the customer and our general pricing in mind, meaning the customer can now add a shopping cart with an extensive range of features for a low monthly cost.”

The Shopping Cart range from Easyspace is delivered in 3 packages – Starter, Business and Pro – ranging from £14.99 per month through to £44.99 per month depending on requirements. Features included a selection of payment gateway options, marketing gateway options, import / export / discounting options, several security options and more.

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Cloud Hosting, Dedicated Servers, eCommerce, Events, Hosting, Internet, Online, Secure Hosting, Services, Web

Rackspace Recognised By The European Business Awards 2009 For Customer Focus Excellence

Rackspace Hosting, a leading provider of IT hosting services, has announced that it has been successfully recognised as one of Europe’s leading customer service organisations by the European Business Awards 2009.

The European Business Awards recognises and rewards excellence, best practice and innovation in companies across the 27 EU member states. Now in its third year, the European Business Awards serve to showcase Europe’s most successful business achievements, with hundreds of companies entering each year. This year Rackspace Hosting achieved a top 10 place in the Award for Customer Focus category at the high profile awards ceremony, held in Rome on 7th April.

Brian Thomson, Managing Director at Rackspace, commented: “This recognition is particularly satisfying for us, as it really underlines our mantra of Fanatical Support. In the competitive IT hosting marketplace, everyone claims they deliver excellent customer service, so it’s great to prove that with Rackspace, customer focus is a reality, not just hype.

“2009 has already been a great year for recognition of our endeavours. This success follows closely on the heels of Rackspace being voted 15th best company to work for by the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies Awards, moving up nine places from 2008. This European recognition comes after Rackspace won the overall award for customer focus in the 2008 National Business Awards”.

The recognition Rackspace has achieved at these awards highlights the company’s total commitment to its customers through the Fanatical Support service which focuses on the 5 important key criteria of responsiveness, ownership, resourcefulness, expertise and transparency.

About Rackspace Hosting:
As the world’s leader and specialist in hosting, Rackspace Hosting is changing the way businesses worldwide buy IT. Rackspace delivers computing-as-a-service, integrating the industry’s best technologies into a flexible service offering, making computing more reliable and affordable.

A trusted partner to companies of all sizes, Rackspace enables IT departments to be more effective. Rackspace is distinguished by its award-winning Fanatical Support, furthering the company’s mission to be one of the world’s greatest service companies. Rackspace featured in the top 30 of both the Sunday Times 100 Best companies to work for list and the Financial Times Great Place to Work Awards, 2008.

Rackspace’s portfolio of hosted services includes managed hosting, hosted exchange and cloud hosting.

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