The Web Host Industry Week in Review

• By The WHIR, August 25, 2006

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The Web Host Industry Week in Review

By Liam Eagle, theWHIR.com

August 25, 2006 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- This week's Web hosting news saw the ongoing expansion of data center space, as well as a major acquisition in the European Web hosting market.

On Monday, Web hosting provider Globix announced that it had agreed to sell its subsidiary Globix Holdings UK to data center operator TelecityRedbus. The transaction is expected to close in three weeks, and will see TelecityRedbus pay £33 million for Globix UK and its Euoprean network. The acquisition also includes two Globix UK data centers amounting to 40,000 square feet of space in central London.

While some Web hosts seek to increase data center space through acquisition, a considerable amount of effort this summer has gone into the creation of entirely new data center space.

On Monday, colocation firm Internet Facilitators Limited announced that it had opened a new facility in Manchester, England. The company says a £7million deal with Manchester Technopark will make IFL the largest provider of carrier neutral data center space in Manchester. The new facility brings the company's capacity to 13,000 square feet, offering quarter racks, full racks and caged suite areas.

On Thursday, Web host 1&1 Internet announced it would open a new data center in Lenexa, Kansas. The company has chosen a 55,000 square foot facility that will provide space for 40,000 servers and will accommodate the company's growing US customer base. The facility is scheduled to open in early 2007 and will employ 15 people. 1&1's US customers are currently served by two rented data centers in New York and New Jersey. As several hosting companies widened their data center space, several firms announced this week that they had deepened their customer service offerings.

On Monday, Web host SharkSpace announced that it had introduced 24-hour live support chat, enabling clients to get answers to their support questions quickly. Support chat technicians and managers have direct access to SharkSpace systems, making them able to solve troubles quickly. At the same time, the company introduced live sales chat, providing customers with easy access to the sales team.

On Thursday, Web hosting provider HostICan announced that it had upgraded its Web site with a variety of new features designed to enable customers to better understand the company and its network. The additions included a knowledge base and a newsletter service, as well as further language support through active server pages.

Also on Thursday, it was reported that Web hosting provider Globat announced that it had launched a new customer service initiative designed to increase the quality of support it provides. The effort includes the doubling of its customer and technical support staffs, both of which are now available 24 hours a day. The company also introduced 24-hour technical live chat and tier 2 technical support and increased the resources of its ticketing center.

This week's Web hosting news was all promising, as hosting firms deepened their services while expanding their facilities in an effort to accommodate an ever-increasing amount of new business.

Tags:  Europe  Week in review  Colocation  data center operator  ETT  Globat  Globix  SharkSpace  TeleCity 

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