Click the image to see Doug Erwin, CEO of The Planet, interviewed by WHIR tv in September of 2009.
(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Last month, IT hosting provider The Planet (www.theplanet.com) launched Sand Castle, a program designed to help eliminate the technology price barriers by offering a free server to developers and entrepreneurs looking to develop new applications and products. For company chairman and chief executive officer Doug Erwin, he sees this as the best way for him to help out fellow Americans during what is considered the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
“I thought I’d write a nasty challenge to the rest of corporate America, and say, ‘Think out of the box,’” Erwin said. “‘Think what you guys offer, and do – you don’t have to hire them and put them on your payroll, but what about some of the old stuff you don’t use or buy or need. Could you give anything to somebody to allow them to start a business?’”
The Planet is doing just that by offering 500 server that are outdated for The Planet’s purposes, yet still useful for individuals who have a great idea but lack the budget to pay for The Planet’s paid server offerings. This offering will hopefully pave the way for small businesses, a sector that has generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years, and that hires 40 percent of high-tech workers, according to statistics from the US Small Business Administration’s (www.sba.gov) Office of Advocacy. Erwin said that stimulating small businesses in this way is the best way to generate jobs. “These 500 servers could create 500 jobs, and then we’ll have taken one small step to pay it forward and be part of the solution.”
The servers are equipped with Dual Xeon processors, a 146GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, 10Mb per second of unmetered bandwidth, and the CentOS 5 operating system. When asked if participants could upgrade their free server, the answer was a definite “no,” however, the reason is because The Planet needed to keep its costs down in undertaking this ambitious project.
“These are all free boxes … one of the reasons we can do it for free is because it’s basically a lights-out operation,” Erwin said. “We’re not going in and changing anything. We’re not adding any more storage. We’re not putting any more memory in it. They can buy whatever they want from us, but with this program I’m trying to make use of existing equipment so that I don’t have to spend any money other than the utility bill.”
By offering the service for free to those who have a great idea but cannot afford the underlying technologies, The Planet’s new initiative falls into a category alongside Microsoft’s WebsiteSpark, which provides entrepreneurs free software and support for the design and development of new websites, as well as discounts on licensing for hosting providers. And while offering a free server, in a sense, limits entrepreneurs in the scope of what services they can offer, they are free to pursue any sort of business they like.
Erwin also noted that Sand Castle is the first of three steps in a campaign to create jobs. In the coming weeks and months, The Planet will be partnering with an unnamed local public institution to unveil a similar program. The Planet will also announce a series of educational programs, which will let some of The Planet’s IT experts teach online courses in their free time that will help people learn about technology and perhaps some financial topics.
When asked about the marketing implications of the Sand Castle project, Erwin shrugged off the notion that the motivation of this server giveaway was an attempt to present The Planet in a positive light. He seemed genuinely intent in his belief that this project would create jobs – and that’s his number-one priority.
That said, he did make a small concession. “The thought crossed my mind that some day they will need a big server… and they’ll call me.”
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