September 23, 2005 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- The extreme weather that continues to batter the Southeastern United States has unmistakably left its mark on the Web hosting industry.
In recent weeks, Web hosting companies have donated money and free services to victims of Hurricane Katrina. And this week more of the industry extended a helping hand, even as hosts prepared themselves for the expected assault of Hurricane Rita.
On Monday, data center operator and Web host Network Redux (networkredux.com) announced it had teamed up with property management firm Guardian Management to assist families devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
Guardian Management is providing housing in Dallas, Texas for families displaced by the disaster. The company has also sent volunteers, given relocation assistance, raised money and published a Web site providing resources and a place for people to make financial contributions. The effort has already seen 24 families move into vacant housing in Dallas with a goal of up to 100 families.
Network Redux is hosting the site for Guardian Management at guardianreliefeffort.org. The company has also donated engineering and development resources for donation processing and maintenance of the site.
While companies have led most of the relief efforts, individuals in the Web hosting industry have played a prominent role as well. BulkRegister's (bulkregister.com) general manger Eric Rice left Baltimore to lead the rebuilding of the Humane Society of South Mississippi's animal shelter, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Rice is overseeing the shelter's reconstruction and is assisting with the rescuing of thousands of pets left behind by those fleeing Hurricane Katrina.
Rice is documenting his experiences daily in a blog (ericsdogblog.com), which also provides links for those who would like to donate or even purchase items that the effort is in desperate need of.
"I believe saving these animals is crucial to the 'emotional' survival of the people who have lost everything," Rice said. "We desperately need everyone's help to buy supplies to find, transport, house, feed, care for and locate the owners of these helpless, starving animals."
BulkRegister donated computers to the Humane Society and has contributed $10,000 to the Red Cross to assist with the disaster relief efforts.
Further East, Hurricane Rita, rated as a category five storm, has been picking up speed and could hit the greater Houston area as early as Saturday. The impending storm pushed EV1Servers (ev1servers.net), rated by Netcraft (netcraft.com) as the world's eighth largest host, to make several preparations.
CEO and founder Robert Marsh said earlier in the week through a forum post that the company was ready for the impending storm. EV1, which owns and operates two data centers in Houston, has over 10,000 gallons of diesel fuel on site and has acquired an extra power generator in the event power is lost for several days. Two fuel stations are within a couple miles of the data center and the facility itself has been boarded to protect against the winds and debris.
EV1Servers says it will keep a small technical team on duty and has sent a small technical contingency to set up a secondary support center in Wichita, Kansas. The company's cash reserves, Marsh says, have been mobilized.
Marsh is confident there will be no service problems. "We anticipate that the coming storm will have no impact on our operations," Marsh said in a forum post. "However, we are prepared to deal with any eventuality."
Marsh himself, away earlier in the week on business, says he plans to ride out the storm at EV1's facilities with his employees.
And C I Host (cihost.com), also based in Texas, said it would offer new customers relief from the rising gas prices fueled by both Katrina and Rita. Katrina has already slowed oil refinery production and Rita is threatening to do the same on an even larger scale.
All new customers who sign up and commit to a one-year contract will receive up to 20 percent off, three months of free service and a $40 gasoline coupon.
"We know that businesses - especially in the small and medium sized market - are suffering from the rise in gasoline prices," says Christopher Faulkner, CEO of C I Host. "We want to help them get through this rough time. Not only will we give them a break on their Web site, we'll pay for their next tank of gas."
