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(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Academic research has a relatively strong tradition in the hosting business, probably best exemplified in organizations like Tier 1 research (www.t1r.com), certainly the research organization with the sharpest focus on web hosting and its associated businesses.
In recent years, hosting providers have been dipping their toes in the business of research, with The Planet launching its research project the IT Effectiveness Index, and UK hosting provider FastHosts issuing a series of studies on small business IT in recent months.
But with the hiring of Joshua Beil, hosting software company Parallels (www.parallels.com) has taken the research interest a step further. Beil, who was formerly VP of research and development at Tier 1, is working to establish a research practice at Parallels, one intended to benefit both the company and its customers and partners.
After a quick conversation at HostingCon, Beil conducted an email interview with the WHIR, in which he discussed the objectives of the new research project and some of the long term objectives for the effort at Parallels.
WHIR: To begin with, could you generally describe the research effort you're launching at Parallels? Does the project have a specific title?
Joshua Beil: One of the things we learned from surveying of our partners recently was that many of them do not have the resources available to do their own primary market research. The research effort I am launching hopes to fill this gap and add value to the Parallels Partner Program by working with our Partners to jointly gathering end-user intelligence and market trends. I’m calling it the Parallels Partner Research Program.
Can you describe if or how this service will translate into a product? Is it something Parallels customers or partners are going to pay for? If so, how much?
JB: This is a complimentary benefit to Parallels Certified Partners. On a quarterly basis, I will provide each participating partner with a branded URL to send to their customers. I will work with all participant to analyze their data, and I will present each Partner with their custom results as well as aggregate, or industry, results from all Partners.
Just to be clear, at no point will Parallels have direct access to customers or specific customer details and each Partner will own their own data. Additionally, all data will be kept in the strictest of confidence and our existing NDAs with our Partners will apply.
Can you speculate a bit about the nature of the data you're hoping to produce? What kinds of markets, subjects or ideas are you most keen to research?
JB: Given the recent beta launch of Parallels Panel SMB Edition and Parallels Marketplace, the first survey will be focused on SaaS trends. Specifically, it will look at the timing and types of SaaS adoption by horizontal and vertical applications. In Q4, I’d like to focus on the VPS market and understand the evolving pricing and perception dynamics in this segment.
Specifically, how is the data you going to produce going to be valuable to the partners who participate?
JB: Partners who participate will receive intelligence about their business and the industry without any expense or management. Partners will gain insight into customer demographics, understand customer trends, and be able to compare their results to an industry average. Hopefully the research will help Partners plan for future products and services.
And specifically how is the data going to be useful for Parallels?
JB: We are really looking for this to enhance the value of the Parallels Partner Program.
Is the project already underway? What are you working on now, and what can people do if they want to get involved?
JB: Yes it is. As just mentioned, a Q3 study will be looking at SaaS trends. A handful of the biggest names in mass market hosting have already committed to participating. Any Parallels certified partner that would like to participate should email me at jbeil@parallels.com.
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Read Back Issues of WHIR Magazine
October 2009 - Web Hosting's All Star Team
This has been, for us, one of the most interesting, exciting and challenging build-ups to an issue of the magazine yet, Web Hosting's All Star Team. The balloting process was our first experiment with a kind of user participation we're planning to do a lot more with in the months to come. We had thousands of ballots submitted, with hundreds of write-in suggestions and a demonstration of user engagement that has us feeling super positive about the project.
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July 2009 - What am I Worth?
One of the interesting luxuries of working on a project like the printed WHIR magazine is that it allows us to play with things like our point of view from one issue to the next. In recent months we've been giving added attention to the kind of practical and applicable advice aimed at smaller hosts and resellers. This issue carries on with that point of view, asking, in our cover story, "what am I worth?" It's a complicated question without a clear-cut answer.
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May 2009 - The Blueprint for a Small Web Host
I was a little surprised by how difficult it became to see this idea through. We set out to assemble a blueprint for a small hosting business, but butted up pretty quickly against the general impossibility of covering all the territory that was out there to be covered. The basic constraints of a printed magazine, and the less-than-infinite amount of time we had available forced us to face the fact that we could never produce an exhaustive guide to starting a hosting company.
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