Submitted by Anonymous Visitor on July 30, 2008 - 16:17.
Paid web hosting is here to stay. Here is why.
First, innovation is good, however innovation for the sake of innovation is senseless. I was running a large hosting company and we were pushing innovations all the time such as CRM for example, just to realize that the market is not adopting those with the speed we generate them. That's why my take is that the lack of innovation in the web hosting is mainly because of lack of demand and slow adoptionn, not that the web hosting companies are not willing or not capable of providing it. Let me give you another example. There is a technology called "Unified Messaging". Since mid 90-ies this technology is ready and waiting for adoption. Unfortunately the consumers are refusing to understand it and to adopt it in its entirety. We see some elements of it adopted but not the whole thing.
Second, lack of innovation does not equal death of an industry. Many industries last long time without major innovations.
Finally, the quality technical support will be the guarantee for the paid hosting to survive. Yes, free web hosting space will be available, but many consumers and businesses will prefer to pay moderate monthly fee in exchange for a hand holding in the complex web hosting environment. Professional technical support and a quality commercial grade call center is the key for survival of the independent web hosting company. For the same reason it is unlikely this business to be overtaken by a giant organization such as Microsoft, Google and alikes. These guys can do many things, but they can not do one thing - quality and inexpensive customer support. Try calling Microsoft for technical help if you need a proof and good luck.
Paid hosting is here to stay
Paid web hosting is here to stay. Here is why.
First, innovation is good, however innovation for the sake of innovation is senseless. I was running a large hosting company and we were pushing innovations all the time such as CRM for example, just to realize that the market is not adopting those with the speed we generate them. That's why my take is that the lack of innovation in the web hosting is mainly because of lack of demand and slow adoptionn, not that the web hosting companies are not willing or not capable of providing it. Let me give you another example. There is a technology called "Unified Messaging". Since mid 90-ies this technology is ready and waiting for adoption. Unfortunately the consumers are refusing to understand it and to adopt it in its entirety. We see some elements of it adopted but not the whole thing.
Second, lack of innovation does not equal death of an industry. Many industries last long time without major innovations.
Finally, the quality technical support will be the guarantee for the paid hosting to survive. Yes, free web hosting space will be available, but many consumers and businesses will prefer to pay moderate monthly fee in exchange for a hand holding in the complex web hosting environment. Professional technical support and a quality commercial grade call center is the key for survival of the independent web hosting company. For the same reason it is unlikely this business to be overtaken by a giant organization such as Microsoft, Google and alikes. These guys can do many things, but they can not do one thing - quality and inexpensive customer support. Try calling Microsoft for technical help if you need a proof and good luck.