I read a lot of RSS news feeds on and about the Web hosting world. Why does it seem like 90% of the stuff that crosses my feed reader is crap? I really don’t care if some big company hired a new CEO or Web host number 344 added a new data center. Where is the interesting news that we can all get excited about? True innovation is what the Web hosting world is lacking. Hopefully, sometime soon, somebody will be able to come along and shake things up a ‘bit.

No matter where you turn, you always seem to hear about the blogosphere. Those wacky A-list bloggers are always up to something. It is almost like a sitcom that you can’t turn off. What about the Web hosting world? I think the Web hosting industry is very much to itself. Web hosting people don’t like the normal crowd. They like to stick with their own, where they feel safe. I’d call this place the hostingsphere.

Where the blogosphere is ruled with opinions from many different walks of life, the hostingsphere is filled with press releases. You see another thing you have to realize about the hosting industry is we are behind in the times. If the blogosphere lives in the land of Web 2.0, then the hostingsphere is living on the Web 1.0 alpha. The hosting industry is the backbone of everything you see or hear about Online. It still confuses me that there isn’t more conversation going on about it. The hosting industry seems to be scared of the innovation of communication.

So what is going to change it? I don’t think it ever will be changed. The only thing that we can hope for is that a few more voices come out from the hosting industry that aren’t telling us about unlimited services or a server being upgraded.

Microsoft Office Live promises to give people and businesses every tool they will need to get something up and running on the World Wide Web. How strong is the product and how will this effect the hundreds of Web hosts out there? Well I’ll give you a few of my thoughts and opinions and let you decide for yourself.

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I recently had a chance to talk with Aaron Phillips, the Vice President of FastServers.Net. I wanted to get some of his insight on and about the world of Web hosting. FastServers.net is one of the best dedicated server hosts I have seen in a long time. They provide great customer service and they do so with a smile.

You guys are obviously not the “run of the mill” type Web host. What separates FastServers.Net from the rest of the Web hosting industry?

Aaron: In a recent competitive analysis one of the major separation factors from FastServers.Net and the Top 20 competition is the up front pricing and range of options we give to customers looking for dedicated servers. The secret to our success revolves around the free flow of information combined with the ability to customize the perfect dedicated server solution for any level of technical aptitude. By allowing customers/clients the ability to mold the dedicated server solution to their exact needs we are able to provide a higher level of customization which results in them saving money and having the exact specifications they require to be successful.

As a company that has been in business since 1996, FastServers.Net is focused on our ability to provide customized dedicated server solutions while still remaining focused on being organized across the board. As the company broadens its reach and expands the dedicated server products and services, we have a passionate focus on making sure these environments remain under control and organized for our clients.

FastServers.Net focus on quality starts with offeringmanaged dedicated server which are all Dell PowerEdge Servers. Installed with the most popular software such as Microsoft Windows, Red Hat Linux, centOS Linux, Plesk from SWSOFT, cPanel, HELM, and Urchin we provide linux dedicated servers and windows dedicated serverswith the ability to scale to high availability dedicated server solutions.

Who is your target audience, and what do you offer that appeals to them so much?

Aaron: 60% of our client base consists of Web Hosting companies. As a prior shared web hosting company we have a deep understanding of the dedicated servertechnology that drive this industry. Our dedicated serversupport engineers know the ins/outs of the major control panels, operating systems, and ongoing issues that web hosting companies face.

40% of our client base is enterprise level hosting which include high availability dedicated servers, disaster recovery, and multi dedicated server solutions. The FastServers.Net team of

dedicated server engineers have developed unique in house processes that allow us to rapidly deploy tested solutions that would otherwise takes weeks or months to produce.

Being in tune with the latest dedicated server technology is only half of what makes us appealing to our client base. The other half is our quick and knowledgeable response to customers. Starting with the Sales/Billing Teams at FastServers.Net our average turnaround time for responses to customers is less than 2 hours. When presented with an RFQ (Request for Quote) even the most complex dedicated server solutions are priced out in less than 24 hours. Our support team has the same sense of urgency when working with client responses providing fast dedicated server solutions to complex problems.

One thing I see you sell hard via the Web site is the idea of collocation. Why do you feel like collocation is so important in today’s hosting market?

Aaron: FastServers.Net offers collocation to customers that have the need for ownership of hardware. In many organizations this requirement is one of financial needs. Our collocation solutions offer the same great solutions as our managed hosting solutions with the major difference being who owns the hardware. For customers that do not wish to incur an up front fee we always suggest managed dedicated server.

FastServers.Net recently launched a unique program that allows customers to purchase Dell based hardware using our bulk discounts with Dell. This allows customers to save 25-40% on their hardware purchase and get the highest level of quality when it comes to a collocation solutions.

What are the benefits to signing up for FASTSERVERS.NET’s reseller program?

Aaron: FastServers.Net has 2 channels to allow customers to resell our services. The most popular is our Referral program, allowing anyone to offer our products/services and get a recurring 10% discount. The FastServers.Net Affiliate program currently has over 300+ members that utilize this channel for referrals.

The FastServers.Net Dedicated Server Reseller Program is for companies that maintain an in house technical staff and want the ability to private label and resell dedicated

servers/colocation. They receive 25% off our normal prices and maintain ownership of the clients. As a middleman they enjoy direct access to Tier 3 support, consolidated billing, and have the ability to expand their organization with our support.

Our Dedicated Server Resellers range from hosting companies to IT firms offering specialized solutions each with a unique offering backed by FastServers.Net.

I’ve said before that it seems like the Web hosting industry seems to be falling behind when it comes to innovation. Do you think that is right or wrong, and why do you think that?

Aaron: Innovation definitely has become more focused and specialized. The popular control panel software and operating systems have peaked with the features they have to offer, but are making slow progress with minor improvements.

What are your thoughts about last year’s HostingCon and what do you think we can look forward to at this year’s event?

HostingCon 2005 was a major success for FastServers.Net, we enjoyed our activity based booth with live gambling, meeting 100′s of new people and enjoyed spending time with our vendors. HostingCon 2005 was suppose to be a vehicle for branding and name recognition but immediately developed into a relationships and new customers. We have not released information about HostingCon 2006, but remain excited about this year’s booth. We have been hard at work since the end of 2005 preparing for this event.

More exciting than our booth is the focus on knowledge and the new structure HostingCon 2006 has to offer. With the change in format and focus on quality speakers, schedules, and events we are proud to be the Platinum Sponsor.

Do you have anything big planned for this year’s HostingCon?

Aaron: Yes, while our booth isn’t ready to unveil a few exciting developments are public knowledge.

FastServers.Net presents KISS-FM’s Storm Bennett DJ SAB in the Red Room at Pure, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas from 7:30 – 11:00pm on Tuesday, July 18, 2006. You won’t want to miss unlimited top shelf drinks, and delectable food all in the location awarded the nation’s top nightspot by E! Entertainment. All access passes to this exclusive event will be limited. Additional information will be provided at a future date.

On Tuesday, July 18, 2006 at 10:00am, four CEOs of successful hosting companies will gather for the panel Lessons from the Trenches – What Works NOW, moderated by technology attorney David Snead. Panelists for this keynote are Ian Andrusyk, President and CEO of FastServers.Net; Lou Honick, CEO of HostMySite.com; Robert Marsh, CEO of EV1Servers; and Jeffrey Stibel, President and CEO of Interland. Learn how to create products customers want from CEOs who have successfully launched new brands, turned companies around and quick started new products. Each panelist will share real world examples of how they beat expectations in the hosting market for 2005, and how they plan to continue to succeed.

Where do you see FastServers.Net five or ten years down the road?

Aaron: FastServers.Net will continue to grow and expand the dedicated server offering. 5-10 years down the road we will remain one of the top dedicated hosting providers with a stable history and growing client list. We will continue to be Platinum Sponsors for HostingCon 2016 with unique booths, direct involvement, and support of this trade show. As a mature and stable provider we will expand into the new technologies that are released and provide customers with the ability to customize these solutions to meet their exact needs.

What is your opinion of WHIR TV and the Web Hosting Show as far as being new ways of getting Web hosting news and information out to the public?

Aaron: I like both entities, they provide me an easy way to listen and watch information on a weekly basis. Keep up the great work!

Do you have any final thoughts?

Aaron: FastServers.Net remains forever grateful to our customer base and it’s our honor to serve these customers. While we are not a perfect match for every single organization we do work hard to make our options as flexible as possible.

FastServers.Net appreciates and honors the dedicated server and collocation customers world wide. It is through our customers that we have been able to be a success in the industry and we will continue to work hard to build relationships that are long standing.

FastServers.Net can be contacted via sales@fastservers.net or by visiting www.fastservers.net.