July 27, 2007 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- If you glanced at theWHIR this week, it's more than a little likely you noticed our coverage of HostingCon, which took place in Chicago this week. With a considerable reporting staff on hand, our coverage of the event was thorough, and included announcements made at HostingCon, as well as impressions from the event. Much of this week's most significant news came either at, or through, HostingCon.
We reported on the kick-off of the event, which began Monday at Chicago's Navy Pier, featuring 40 conference sessions and three keynotes. Monday's schedule concluded with a keynote presentation by Richard Rosenblatt, the CEO of Demand Media, entitled "Next Generation Web: What Lies Ahead for Hosting."
On Monday, Microsoft reported from the event that it would use HostingCon as a platform to reveal its new strategy for hosting, which includes providing the next-generation platform, delivering applications ready for hosting and driving growth through integration with the company's partner ecosystem. The company said it would demonstrate new additions and updates to its platform technologies and applications for the hosting industry, including its IIS 7 Go Live licensing program, and the launch of a Windows version of the cPanel control panel.
On Tuesday, The Planet announced from HostingCon that it had added new leaders to its core hosting and advanced services business. Jeff Nelson will serve as general manager for the company's advanced services business, its venture into more complex managed services, and Todd Mitchell will serve as general manager of the core hosting business. The company says the employ of two general managers is an indication of its focus on the two separate businesses.
On Tuesday, SWsoft announced at the event that it had added five new independent software vendors to the list of developers building products compatible with the Application Packaging Standard developed by SWsoft. The companies building APS support into their products included anti-spam software vendor Roaring Penguin Software, small business productivity application provider Smart Online, ecommerce software provider ShopSite, Web analytics software maker CCMedia and invoicing and time tracking software developer FreshBooks.
As HostingCon wrapped up Wednesday, we reported on the success of the event's return to Chicago from its previous iteration in Las Vegas. Event organizers say the Las Vegas venue was a difficult place to network, as many of the attendees were lost to the Vegas attractions at the end of the day's sessions. Back in Chicago, HostingCon saw the benefit to its networking events as the evening parties were very well attended.
While most of this week's most significant Web hosting news came through HostingCon, the business marched on outside the event as well. The week's most significant news was Monday's announcement that Hewlett-Packard would buy data center automation software firm Opsware for approximately $1.6 billion. HP is offering $14.25 per share in a cash offer, a 38.6 premium over the Friday closing price of $10.28. HP says Opsware will become its software business, with CEO Ben Horowitz serving as head of business technology optimization group, following the deal's completion.
While HostingCon has come and gone, expect to see more coverage of the event unfold, in part as we post WHIR tv clips of interviews from the event in the weeks to come.
