It’s always a little bit funny to me when I find myself genuinely interested by a fact that is technically irrelevant. And such is sometimes the way with revelations about the physical locations of hosting companies.
That kind of exploration is usually beyond the means of someone like myself, typically tied to the same location. And, as I pointed out, the physical location of a hosting company is often irrelevant to the operation of its business.
For the local paper, it’s a bit of a different story, though. This article in the Chicago Sun-Times describes a part of that town it describes (maybe a little glibly) as “Chicago’s hosting boulevard.”
A good chunk of the article is a sort of profile of the hosting provider FastServers, and its young CEO Ian Andrusyk. Certainly an interesting story, but old news from a people-who-know-things-about-Web-hosting point of view. Elsewhere, the article discusses Server Central, located just down the street, and helped by the similarly young Jordan Lowe.
Interesting comparison, certainly. But I’m a little disappointed that the hosting concentration on W. Jackson Blvd. amounts mostly to two companies: FastServers at 175 and Server Central at 209.
Nevertheless, the idea of a neighborhood with a concentration of hosting businesses, outside of the obvious examples that exist in telco hotels or similar facilities, is sort of intriguing. There are examples of similar occurrences in places like Houston, and I can only assume elsewhere.
I’m not absolutely sure whether there are specific benefits that either company could see from having another hosting company operating on the same block. But it gets you thinking.
Maybe they have picnics.
