October 20, 2006 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- This week's Web hosting news had several definite trends, however the most significant news of the week was a relatively unique revelation.
In an interview this week, Aplus.Net CEO Gabriel Murphy revealed some of the details of a quiet acquisition of the company earlier this year. Murphy orchestrated the deal, which closed in July of this year, and included an investment from Catalyst Investors. Former Aplus CEO Ivan Vachovsky still holds equity in the company and serves in an active role on its board of directors.
While the Aplus acquisition details were a somewhat singular event this week, there were several series of announcements that reflected certain trends. Among them was the introduction of several enhanced reseller offerings from several Web hosting firms.
On Wednesday, Verio announced that it had introduced a new series of Web-based training sessions for participants in its viaVerio reseller program. The sessions are designed to encourage interaction between partners, and to educate them on a range of subjects. Resellers can visit training sessions on the new Web hosting and managed services being rolled out to the viaVerio community, picking up information on how Verio hosting solutions can be combined with their own value-added services.
Also on Wednesday, Web host AIT announced that it had expanded its dealer program, advancing its plan to establish a large market presence, with more than 100 dealerships around the US. AIT's dealerships are locally owned and operated brick-and-mortar stores offering the company's services. The next expansion of the dealership program will take place November 14 to 17 at the company's Fall 2006 Dealer Conference held at AIT headquarters in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
And on Thursday, dedicated hosting provider FastServers.Net announced that it had teamed with advertising group Commission Junction to launch FastServers' first outsourced affiliate marketing program. FastServers will employ Commission Junction's affiliate marketing service, giving it access to that company's network of more than 50,000 publishers. FastServers will pay affiliates commissions of 100 percent of the first month's fees for each conversion.
Along with the string of new reseller services this week, a selection of Web hosts and related service providers announced their involvement into the Microsoft Partner Program.
On Monday, Web host DediPower Managed Hosting announced that it had gained Gold Certified status with a competency in hosting solutions. The Gold Certified status grants partners special access, training and support from Microsoft, offering a competitive advantage. UK-based DediPower offers managed hosting, hosting thousands of servers at its Berkshire Cadogan House data center.
On Tuesday, provisioning platform provider EMS-Cortex announced that it had become a Microsoft Technology Partner. The company says its main product, Cortex, extends the Microsoft solution for hosted messaging and collaboration, providing a flexible solution for solutions based on the Microsoft HMC platform. The company said hosting providers iHost Solutions and 6Y's had deployed its provisioning system to deliver hosted applications.
On Wednesday, Managed hosting provider XIOLINK announced that it, too, had become a Gold Certified Partner for advanced infrastructure solutions in the hosting category, with an additional certification in networking infrastructure solutions. XIOLINK provides enterprise-level hosting based on Microsoft platforms.
While this week's Web hosting news was largely a sort of cross-section of business trends, with few individually notable announcements, the details surrounding the acquisition of Aplus.Net were certainly an important revelation.
