2009 is proving to be the year of the startup. With the economy providing the stimulus to many an entrepreneur, we are seeing a new wave of customers.
Entrepreneur’s seem to thrive on the “tough economy” and are always looking for ways to “get going” with their dreams and business plans. (aka “When the tough get going”). As hosting providers we were traditionally the home for “production” Websites and applications. With this new wave of customers we are seeing them use our managed dedicated servers and virtual servers to develop, test, iterate, beta and go live with. Startups are now collaborating with developers and key stakeholders worldwide on servers in our data centers.
The platforms are mature – whether it be ASP.NET, PHP, Ruby on Rails, or Java, it’s now easier than ever for developers to bring their entrepreneurial dreams to the “big screen”. Even the new environments are designed and highly conducive for hosting services whether it’s Adobe’s AIR, Silverlight or even Facebook and Twitter apps. The latter are driving the forces of change – almost weekly we are seeing the kind of innovation that we have traditionally seen in longer term cycles.
The opportunity to have rapid exposure through Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets gives every startup a running start. Programs like Microsoft’s BizSpark, (NaviSite is a BizSpark Network Partner – Hosting) provide the support mechanisms for startups whether they be traditional applications being deployed as a service or new innovations. It seems that many of the barriers to entry are now gone –and we as hosting providers are here to foster this new world.
