Jan 5, 2007 : The webhost industry: week review
📅 - This week, the news with the greatest impact was the tragic news that Earthlink president and CEO Gary Betty had passed away at 49 due to complications from cancer.
Betty had taken a leave of absence in November to deal with his illness, at which time Mike Lunsford was made interim CEO. Betty had been with Earthlink since 1996, before which he was CEO of Digital Communications Associates, the youngest CEO of a New York Stock Exchange listed company. Friends and family have made memorial arrangements, and an online forum has been set up at Earthlink's Web site.
Web host Globix announced a new CEO this week for more ordinary reasons. The company said that it had named Kurt Van Wagenen its CEO, as former CEO Peter Stevenson leaves to pursue other business opportunities. Stevenson will continue to serve as a member of Globix's board of directors, and Van Wagenen will maintain the responsibilities he held as President and COO.
In the last major Web hosting transaction of 2006, data center operator SAVVIS announced last week that it had sold its content delivery network services business to telecommunications provider Level 3 Communications for $135 million. Along with the sale, SAVVIS announced that it plans to spend $200 million building four new data centers in Atlanta, New York, Washington and Santa Clara.
Along with the big business moves, this week saw several Web host make unusual marketing announcements.
On Wednesday, Web hosting provider Dotster announced that it had chosen the winners of its "Dotster Dots" spokesmodel talent search. Since early 2006, the company had been auditioning hopefuls in Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Atlanta. Each of the winners will receive a one-year contract with the company, and will travel to events promoting Dotster's MyInternet Web site services.
Also on Wednesday, hosting software company Ensim announced that it would, for a time, offer its Ensim Pro X for Windows control panel for free, as part of a promotion with Microsoft. The company says the program runs until June 30. Microsoft says making the solution available for free will help increase the adoption of Windows-based hosting solutions, while further enabling hosting providers to take advantage of the platform.
And in a not-quite-marketing announcement, Go Daddy reported this week that it gave away more than $1.3 million to employees as extra incentives during 2006. The company says it employs more than 1,300 people and that much of its success can be attributed to the customer service its employees deliver. The company says it gave out almost $300,000 in cash prizes at its annual holiday party.
Betty had taken a leave of absence in November to deal with his illness, at which time Mike Lunsford was made interim CEO. Betty had been with Earthlink since 1996, before which he was CEO of Digital Communications Associates, the youngest CEO of a New York Stock Exchange listed company. Friends and family have made memorial arrangements, and an online forum has been set up at Earthlink's Web site.
Web host Globix announced a new CEO this week for more ordinary reasons. The company said that it had named Kurt Van Wagenen its CEO, as former CEO Peter Stevenson leaves to pursue other business opportunities. Stevenson will continue to serve as a member of Globix's board of directors, and Van Wagenen will maintain the responsibilities he held as President and COO.
In the last major Web hosting transaction of 2006, data center operator SAVVIS announced last week that it had sold its content delivery network services business to telecommunications provider Level 3 Communications for $135 million. Along with the sale, SAVVIS announced that it plans to spend $200 million building four new data centers in Atlanta, New York, Washington and Santa Clara.
Along with the big business moves, this week saw several Web host make unusual marketing announcements.
On Wednesday, Web hosting provider Dotster announced that it had chosen the winners of its "Dotster Dots" spokesmodel talent search. Since early 2006, the company had been auditioning hopefuls in Los Angeles, New York, Miami and Atlanta. Each of the winners will receive a one-year contract with the company, and will travel to events promoting Dotster's MyInternet Web site services.
Also on Wednesday, hosting software company Ensim announced that it would, for a time, offer its Ensim Pro X for Windows control panel for free, as part of a promotion with Microsoft. The company says the program runs until June 30. Microsoft says making the solution available for free will help increase the adoption of Windows-based hosting solutions, while further enabling hosting providers to take advantage of the platform.
And in a not-quite-marketing announcement, Go Daddy reported this week that it gave away more than $1.3 million to employees as extra incentives during 2006. The company says it employs more than 1,300 people and that much of its success can be attributed to the customer service its employees deliver. The company says it gave out almost $300,000 in cash prizes at its annual holiday party.
Reads: 2006 | Category: General | Source: TheWHIR : Web Host Industry Reviews
URL source: http://www.thewhir.com/marketwatch/010507_The_Web_Host_Industry_Week_in_Review.cfm
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