Gawkwire: Web Hosting and Internet News Resource

Next World Cyber-security Contest Launched by FIRST, CERT Coordination Center

2009-02-28T06:00:00-05:00

Pittsburgh, PA (Gawkwire.com) The second international competition honoring best practices and advances in safeguarding the security of computer systems and networks was announced today by FIRST (the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams) and the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC).

And once again, the purpose is not just to reward practitioners for excellence in the security field, but to provide new utilities that will help make the cyber world a safer place.

The winners will be announced at the 21st Annual FIRST Conference, June 28 - July 3, 2009, at the Hotel Granvia, Kyoto Station, Kyoto, Japan.

The theme for this year's best practices contest is "Detect," reflecting the second phase of a computer security incident response team's cycle of activity: protect, detect, respond, and sustain. The inaugural awards in 2008 focused on the "Protect" phase.

Jeffrey Carpenter, technical lead for CERT/CC's incident response team, said the purpose of the awards from the two organizations is to honor experts worldwide who have developed best practices to prevent cyber attacks or mitigate attacks that are unfolding.

"Front line security experts who work diligently to protect their organizations and mitigate attacks are under-recognized for their work," Carpenter explained. "This competition offers them the opportunity to be recognized and honored by their peers worldwide."

Peter Allor, FIRST Steering Committee member and conference liaison, said: "This exercise is in line with our mission to develop and share technical information, tools, methodologies, processes and best practices in order to promote a safer and more secure global electronic environment.

"We thank CERT/CC for sponsoring this competition to advance and reinforce our mutual goals."

Any working group, team, organization or individual who has developed a best practice is eligible to enter the competition. Top prize is $5,000, and the runner-up will receive $2,500.

Last year's winners under the banner "Protect" were TWNCERT, Chinese Taipei, and KrCERT/CC from the Republic of Korea, who investigated respectively the reasons that malicious internet attacks succeed and the most likely sources of spam. Both teams' pioneering work was made freely available on the web to further the cause of internet security.

Submissions for this year's awards must be received no later than Thursday, April 30, 2009, at 23:59 U.S. Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4), which is 03:59 G.M.T. (Friday May 1, 2009).

Submissions must encompass the "Detect" theme. FIRST and CERT/CC define detect actions as information about potential incidents, vulnerabilities, or other computer security or incident management information that is gathered either reactively (received from internal or external sources in the form of reports or notifications) or proactively (monitoring indicators of possible incidents or the exploitation of vulnerabilities through mechanisms such as network monitoring or IDS).

"In each case we are looking for the most innovative strategies and solutions that can be translated swiftly into worldwide best practice to reduce global security threats," said Carpenter "So as well as honoring excellence, this is a competition designed to have a pragmatic and truly useful outcome throughout the worldwide cyber community."

FIRST's 2009 conference, which has as its theme recovery from disaster, and the lessons and crafts that can be learned from the processes of recovery, is already drawing key international players from the world of cyber security to speak and participate.

For further information and to submit papers to the Best Practice Competition, go to: http://www.first.org/global/practices or email first-2009bp(at)first.org. For further information about, and to register to attend the FIRST Kyoto conference, go to http://conference.first.org/

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/next_world_cyber-security_contest_launched_by_first_cert_coordin.html

Appistry and GoGrid Announce Availability of Joint Cloud Computing Solution

2009-02-28T06:00:00-05:00

San Francisco, CA (Gawkwire.com) GoGrid, the Cloud Computing division of ServePath, LLC and Appistry today released new tools for developers, architects and administrators designed to ease the pain associated with developing, deploying and managing applications in the Cloud. Appistry's Cloud application platform, named Appistry EAF, helps businesses and enterprises efficiently manage and scale their applications within the GoGrid infrastructure. With this joint solution, larger companies are able to take full advantage of the Cloud's unique value proposition of elastic scalability, solid reliability, automated management and CapEx economies.

Appistry EAF Community Edition 3.9 is now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 users. Additional EAF-enabled GoGrid images will be rolling out in the near future. Appistry EAF Community Edition allows developers, system architects and administrators to take advantage of Appistry's Cloud application platform for free on up to five GoGrid Cloud Server instances. Appistry EAF functionality and benefits include:

Transparent and instant linear scalability
Application-level fault tolerance
Broad support for Cloud-enabling software components
Adaptive, software-based load balancing
Fully-distributed, fault tolerant memory cache for objects and data
Fine-grained, hierarchical security model
Efficiencies in CapEx and administrator time
Ease of use
More information on Appistry EAF can be found at: http://www.appistry.com/products/eaf/index.html

"The GoGrid partnership is part of Appistry's strategy to address the complex challenges enterprises face developing, deploying and managing applications in both public and private Clouds," said Sam Charrington, Appistry vice president of product management and marketing. "End-users demand a platform which sits above the infrastructure and allows enterprises to more easily realize its full promise -- elastic scalability, solid reliability and automated management."

The combination of GoGrid's robust and flexible Cloud Computing infrastructure and Appistry's Cloud application platform enables enterprises to capitalize on the inherent advantages of both technologies. GoGrid leads the Cloud infrastructure space with a full assortment of infrastructure capabilities available in the Cloud, including industry standard and best practice implementations of Windows Server 2003 and 2008, Microsoft SQL Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS instances among others, as well as free hardware-based f5 load balancing and hybrid hosting capabilities with Cloud Connect which is particularly efficient for complex Microsoft SQL Server databases.

"The GoGrid and Appistry partnership clearly demonstrates our commitment to helping businesses optimize their infrastructure to gain the advantages of Cloud Computing," said GoGrid CEO, John Keagy, adding "Companies would be foolish to not optimize their business and technology strategies using the power of Appistry EAF and GoGrid's Cloud infrastructure."

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/appistry_and_gogrid_announce_availability_of_joint_cloud_computi.html

Easyspace Launch 'Indefinite Reduction' on Domain Names

2009-02-28T06:00:00-05:00

Glasgow, Lanarkshire (Gawkwire.com) Easyspace, one of the largest web hosting and domain name providers in the UK, has launched an Indefinite Reduction across the majority of domain name extensions offered on the Easyspace.com website.

The Indefinite Reduction applies to more than 30 domain extensions, including some of the most popular currently available such as .com, .co.uk, .net, .org, .mobi and .eu.

The Easyspace domain registration tools have always been known for their flexibility, offering a general search facility as well as a keyword search tool and a domain auction search tool where you can find domains being sold privately from around the world.

Now, with a lower cost attached to this flexibility, domains quite literally have never been easier to search for and register.

"Price changing is always a sensitive issue but taking account of the current climate and considering the loyalty we have from our customer base, we felt the time was right to expand what used to be a monthly offer on a single extension to an indefinite reduction across more than 30 extensions." commented Errol Vanderhorst, Sales and Marketing Director for Easyspace.

"Customer no longer need to worry about adding extra extensions to their portfolios because the cost of doing is now cheaper."

The domain reduction comes quick after the recent launch of the highly anticipated .tel domain extension, with Easyspace being one of the few UK companies offering it during its Landrush period.

To find out more about Easyspace domain names, visit:
http://www.easyspace.com/news/250209

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/easyspace_launch_indefinite_reduction_on_domain_names.html

Virtualization Jobseekers Increase During VMWorld Europe

2009-02-28T06:00:00-05:00

London, UK (Gawkwire.com) VM People, The Global Virtualization and Cloud Computing Job Board is reporting increased website traffic and job seeker registrations since the start of this years VMWorld Europe.

Mike Hilton, one of the founders of VM People, said, "VMWorld events get a lot of media attention and subsequently increases market awareness for any business associated with the Virtualization Industry. We have seen a significant increase in job seekers registering with us since VMWorld Europe started. Virtualization is an exciting technology and one that is clearly a priority to both businesses and professionals even in the current economic climate."

More employers are now recognizing the need for a new class of IT professional skilled in these technologies. It's clear that VM People is the recognized Job Board for Virtualization and Cloud Computing professionals looking for work. Mike Hilton commented, "We have thousands of registered job seekers and both Employers and Recruitment Agencies are using VM People to enhance their search for talent."

Virtualization - Market Data Points:

Gartner says virtualisation will be the highest-impact trend changing infrastructure and operations through 2012.

Virtualisation will be a key infrastructure priority for chief information officers looking to reduce costs and increase energy efficiency over the next 12 months - Silicon.com's CIO Jury IT user panel

Forrester predicts that two thirds of IT organisations will be using virtualisation by 2009

IDC forecasts that the virtualisation services market will grow from its current annual level of $5.5 billion to a hefty $11.7 billion by 2011.

Forrester predicts IT departments already using virtualisation have virtualised 24% of servers, and that number is expected to grow to 45% by 2009.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/virtualization_jobseekers_increase_during_vmworld_europe.html

Web Hosting Company, Webfusion, Premieres UK Data Center Facility

2009-02-27T09:37:00-05:00

Middlesex, United Kingdom (Gawkwire.com) Thomas Vollrath, managing director at Webfusion remarked, ''We have invested a great deal to maintain the highest levels of customer service, ensure that the data center is both best of breed and based in the UK. We do not believe that businesses should have to settle for data centers overseas and, from a customer's point of view, it is reassuring to know that your data and support staff are onsite here in the UK 24/7/365.''

The 330m2 facility has 130 server racks and uses the latest cooling systems, high-level security and fire detection/suppression systems and power back-up capabilities to keep customer data online and available.

Mr. Vollrath added, ''We worked closely with IBM in the data center's development to ensure the highest degree of security and performance while adhering to stringent data storage regulations and industry standards. As we wave goodbye to physical paper documentation, electronic data storage needs continue to grow, as do security regulations and compliance. Instead of investing vast sums of money in their own hardware, organisations that use our new facility can significantly reduce data storage costs while improving data security and operational reliability.''

Chad Cracknell, client manager at IBM noted, '''Webfusion wanted a way to reduce energy consumption and become even more environmentally responsible. IBM's modular data center technology gives Webfusion the freedom to innovate through flexibility and the scalability to better manage power, cooling and capacity.''

Physical security is equally important and the new data center has has magnetically locked doors, which are opened by swipe cards to control site access, and CCTV cameras relay real-time images to a 24/7 monitoring office.

Webfusion is a web hosting provider and domain name registration company, that has been in business since 1997. The company is rooted in the UK, and has expanded to the U.S.

To learn more, please visit: http://webfusion.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/web_hosting_company_webfusion_premieres_uk_data_center_facility.html

Managing Your PPC Campaign: Live Webcast at Search Marketing Now, March 10

2009-02-27T09:36:00-05:00

Redding, CT (Gawkwire.com) On Tuesday, March 10, at 1 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Pay Per Click advertising expert David Szetela will present on a Search Marketing Now webcast, "Managing Your PPC Advertising Campaign: Time-Saving Tips and Tactics." This webcast is free and is sponsored by Marin Software.

Ask anyone who manages large pay per click (PPC) advertising campaigns and they'll tell you it can be extremely complex and time-consuming. There are a range of factors to consider, spreadsheets to maintain, sometimes different business goals across multiple publishers. The workload can often seem overwhelming.

Given today's economic climate, where we're all doing more with less, it's crucial to be as effective and productive as possible.

Szetela will offer tips on how to manipulate keywords using Excel and Word; what types of time-saving tools are available; how you can improve your efficiency; and, how to recognize when it's time to bring in outside help.

For anyone who manages a large PPC campaign -- spending more than $100,000 per month -- this webcast will provide valuable insight to improve your workflow, your ppc campaign, and, ultimately, your ROI.

This webcast is sponsored by Marin Software. Founded in April 2006 by experienced search marketers and software experts, Marin Software provides an end-to-end, enterprise-class paid search management application for advertisers and agencies. Marin Software's "No Black Box" methodology offers serious search marketers unprecedented control and transparency over their SEM programs. Marin Search Marketer® addresses the workflow, analysis, and optimization needs of advertisers and agencies, saving time and improving financial performance for large-scale SEM campaigns. Marin offers no term commitment and no up-front fees and is designed for those who are spending at least $100,000 monthly on paid search. Customers include Razorfish, ZipRealty, and Cobalt Group. Marin is backed by Benchmark Capital and Amicus Capital. For more information, visit www.marinsoftware.com.

Registration for this webcast is available at the Search Marketing Now website.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/managing_your_ppc_campaign_live_webcast_at_search_marketing_now_.html

Afilias Releases Update on the .INFO Domain

2009-02-27T09:35:00-05:00

Dublin, Ireland (Gawkwire.com) Afilias, a global provider of internet infrastructure services, has released a report highlighting the growth of the .INFO domain and its new developments. With changes expected for the domain industry in coming year as new top-level domains are introduced, .INFO's success story allows for reflection on the building of a strong and stable domain with staying power.

"Building a new TLD is hard, long-term work and many elements need to be in place for it to be successful," said Roland LaPlante, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Afilias "This report reveals that over the past eight years, .INFO has proven itself to be not just a globally intuitive path to information on the Net, but an enduring one as well."

.INFO now has over 5 million registrations and is approaching 4 million active Web sites. The top regions for registrations are North America (56 percent) and Europe (34 percent). The report also reveals that .INFO owners are finding genuine value in the domain, as more owners are renewing their names each year. .INFO sites are also attracting many visitors, as shown by the 13,000 .INFOs that are ranked in ALEXA's most trafficked sites list.

In addition to statistics on the health of .INFO, the report provides an update on important initiatives undertaken in .INFO over the last year--especially in the security area. Of particular note is .INFO's successful campaign to curb illegal domain use that has resulted in .INFO being among the "least-phished-in" large domains. This campaign combined rigorous monitoring and enforcement with a pioneering new Anti-Abuse Policy and serves as a model for other domains.

The full report is available at: http://www.info.info/webfm_send/70

http://www.gawkwire.com/domains/afilias_releases_update_on_the_info_domain.html

Dedicated Server Data Center Provider, Peak 10, Names Vice President

2009-02-27T09:33:00-05:00

Charlotte, NC (Gawkwire.com) Jeff Spalding, executive vice president of Peak 10 remarked, ''Mark's new role is critical as he will manage and promote our ongoing national success. He will lead the charge in responding to the increasing demand for Peak 10's services by small- and medium-sized enterprises across the nation. He has more than 20 years of experience in the IT and telecommunications industries and has been a valued partner, client, and long-time friend of Peak 10. We look forward to the addition of Mark's expertise and insight as we push ahead to further our service offerings to meet customer demand and to expand our brand and reach nationwide.''

Mr. Whetstone comes to Peak 10 from M3 Technology Group (M3TG), a Charlotte, N.C.-based managed and professional services company where he was the co-founder and managing director. A long time resident of Tampa, Fla., where he attended the University of South Florida with majors in marketing and business administration, he has worked in sales, business development, channel sales, national accounts and leadership roles for MCI/Verizon and EMC Corporation. In addition to M3TG, he also co-founded Tampa-based Gulf Coast Long Distance.

Mr. Whetstone added, ''Peak 10 is very well respected within the industry and companies nationwide are increasingly interested in its portfolio of services. I will focus my activities on addressing this growing demand by expanding our reach nationally, further leveraging our current strategic partnerships and forming new ones, while ensuring that an increasing number of businesses are aware of Peak 10's scalable services and around-the-clock support.''

Peak 10's managed IT and data center services improve reliability, increase revenue growth, lower costs and maximize internal resources for customers while keeping their valuable information technology assets close to the business. Peak 10 combines its secure network, high-tech data centers and portfolio of managed services with localized engineering and support to serve market-leading companies nationwide. The company owns and operates data centers in nine key U.S. markets that include Cincinnati, Ohio; Atlanta, Ga.; Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C.; Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; Louisville, Ky.; and Richmond, Va.

Peak 10 is the leading independent data center operator and managed services provider, delivering scalable, economical and reliable solutions for hosting and managing complex information technology infrastructure. The company combines multiple data centers and its portfolio of managed services with localized engineering and support to serve market-leading companies including LendingTree, Rivals.com, Global Knowledge, Pergo, Healthways, Churchill Downs and The Fresh Market. Peak 10 is SAS70 Type II compliant and helps companies meet the requirements of various regulatory compliance acts such as Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), HIPAA, PCI and Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLBA).

For more information on data center solutions from Peak 10, please visit: www.peak10.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/dedicated_server_data_center_provider_peak_10_names_vice_preside.html

Search Engine Strategies (SES) Announces Five New Members Joining Advisory Board

2009-02-26T09:10:00-05:00

New York, NY (Gawkwire.com) Search Engine Strategies (SES), the leading and most established search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) conference and expo series, today announced that five new members are joining its advisory board. The new advisory board members are: Matthew Bailey, President, SiteLogic; Bryan Eisenberg, Co-Founder, Future Now, Inc.; Andrew Goodman, Principal, Page Zero Media; Mike Grehan, Global KDM Officer, Acronym Media; and John Marshall, CTO, Market Motive.

The five new members join eight current members, who will continue to serve on the SES Advisory Board, which is chaired by Kevin Ryan, CMO, WebVisible, Inc:

Ron Belanger, Vice President of Agency Development, Yahoo Search Marketing;
Jeff Ferguson, Director of Online Marketing, Napster;
Chris Henger, Vice President, Affiliate Marketing, Performics;
Anne Kennedy, Managing Partner, Beyond Ink;
Jeff Levick, Director, Global Industry Development and Marketing, Google;
Pauline Ores, Senior Marketing Manager, Community and Collaboration Strategy, Global Small & Midmarket Business, IBM;
Erynn Petersen, Senior Manager, Advertising Platform Evangelism, Microsoft; and
Randy Peterson, Search Marketing Innovation Manager, Proctor and Gamble.

Matt McGowan, Vice President and Publisher for Incisive Media's Interactive Marketing Group, including the global SEM conference series Search Engine Strategies, SearchEngineWatch.com and ClickZ.com, says, "Over a year ago we created an advisory board consisting of individuals from the industry and beyond to help our programming and operations teams guide the direction of future conferences. The board has made significant contributions to the success of SES. We want to thank seven of the original advisory board members, who are now rotating out of the lineup, as well as welcome five new members who are joining the board members as we chart our way in this rapidly changing industry."

The members of the originaly advisory board who are rotating out include:

Sandeep Aggarwal, Senior Equity Research Analyst, Oppenheimer & Co.;
Jocelyn Griffing, Senior Vice President, Online Media, Icon International;
Steven Kaufman, Senior Vice President, Media Director, Digitas;
Carol Kruse, Vice President, Global Interactive Marketing, The Coca-Cola Co.;
James M. Lamberti, former Senior Vice President, Search and Media, comScore Networks;
Jeannie Moran, eCommerce Marketing Director, AutoNation; and
Gregg Stewart, Senior Vice President, Interactive, TMP Directional Marketing.

http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/search_engine_strategies_ses_announces_five_new_members_joining_.html

eMarketer CEO Geoff Ramsey to Appear on WebmasterRadio.FM's Rainmaker

2009-02-26T09:14:00-05:00

Fort Lauderdale, FL (Gawkwire.com) Geoff Ramsey, CEO of eMarketer, is a featured guest on RainMaker, a show dedicated to showcasing people who have excelled or made significant contributions to their respective industries and communities.

Since 1996, Geoff has been leading eMarketer in the development of a wide range of information products - including e-business reports and the world's largest database of Internet statistics - that help business executives from global Fortune 1000 companies make better, more informed decisions about their e-business ventures.

Geoff has become a well-known expert on e-business trends and is frequently quoted by the business and trade press, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune, USA Today, CNN, Business 2.0 and Advertising Age. He is also a dynamic public speaker who keynotes at major industry conferences, such as AD:TECH, IAB, The Conference Board, ARF, AMA, ANA, The Economist, and DMA.

"The wealth of information that eMarketer aggregates allows companies to posture, position and benchmark themselves," says Brandy Shapiro Babin, VP of Marketing at WebmasterRadio.FM and co-host of the RainMaker radio show, "We're excited to talk with Geoff regarding eMarketer and the journey that brought him to his position in the industry."

Ramsey is one of the most often quoted analysts in digital marketing. eMarketer, which Ramsey co-founded, is among the largest aggregators and statistical analysts of industry data. Geoff spent the first 17 years of his career in advertising.

Working at New York advertising agencies, including TBWA, NW Ayer & Partners and Ogilvy & Mather, he used his strategic marketing and research skills to help create marketing and advertising successes for multinational firms such as Procter & Gamble, Kraft General Foods, M&M Mars and AT&T.

On RainMaker, Geoff joins hosts Daron Babin and Brandy Shapiro Babin in a wide ranging conversation. Ramsey is one of the most informed Internet statistical analysts in the world. He has enjoyed a highly successful career from the early days with ad agencies such as Ogivy and TBWA to today where he is a recognized authority on digital marketing.

The future of digital marketing, advertising and podcasting, eMarketer research and analytic methods and Geoff's personal career path will be topics of discussion.

Join RainMaker at 6 p.m. Eastern, Thursday, February 26th for an interesting and stimulating conversation with Geoff Ramsey, CEO and Co-Founder of eMarketer.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/emarketer_ceo_geoff_ramsey_to_appear_on_webmasterradio_fm_s_rain.html

Delivering Cloud-Enabled High Performance XML Processing

2009-02-26T09:12:00-05:00

San Francisco, CA (Gawkwire.com) Inventigo and GridGain System partnered up in delivering industry first dedicated solution for high performance XML processing on highly distributed cloud computing infrastructure. The integration between GridGain's Open Cloud Platform and Inventigo's FastXML product provides ready to use solution for processing large XML payloads in near real-time fashion.

Says Nikita Ivanov, founder of GridGain project, "It is often overlooked by many software architects how a seemingly simple problem of parsing XML data can become a significant performance problem when using generic SAX and DOM XML parsing methods. With FastXML's unique patent-pending technology for generating custom streaming parsers based on visual annotation of XML schema with processing logic in Java and GridGain's ability to parallelize processing logic on the cloud our customers can employ one of a kind capability of processing massive XML payloads in near real-time - something that was practically impossible just few years ago…"

Adds Michael Gurevich, founder and CEO of Inventigo, "We are very pleased with the partnership. The glove-fit synergy between FastXML's ability to overlap parsing with invocation of relevant services and GridGain's core ability to distribute invoked services not only dramatically accelerates performance of XML-based applications but it also achieves it with an elegant ease. The applicability is endless…"

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/delivering_cloud-enabled_high_performance_xml_processing.html

In Email We Trust: L-Soft's LISTSERV(R) Maestro 4.0 Released Today

2009-02-26T09:17:00-05:00

Landover, MD (Gawkwire.com) Trust, permission and relevance in email marketing are more critical than ever because of the current economic downturn and today's cautious customers. L-Soft today unveiled LISTSERV Maestro 4.0, bolstering email marketers' and communicators' efforts to nurture trust and raise conversions through the strongest permission-based email targeting and data gathering technology on the market.

"Call it a challenge, call it an opportunity - for anyone wanting to make the most of email communication in today's economy, success comes down to setting yourself apart with relevant, meaningful communication that strengthens your brand and increases subscriber loyalty," said Outi Tuomaala, Executive Vice President, L-Soft. "LISTSERV Maestro is not just for traditional email marketers. Whether you're a company targeting a special regional offer to customers, a university reaching out to alumni around the globe or an association sending a member newsletter, you need to keep permission, targeting and data mining in focus to ensure that you're using your resources wisely and getting the best
results, all while building subscribers' trust."

The ability to ask subscribers for personal tracking permission garners recipients' trust. With LISTSERV Maestro 4.0, organizations can send the same mailing to a mixed group of recipients. The job will include personal tracking data - providing identifiable information about an individual subscriber's interaction with a message, such as open-ups and click-through events - for recipients who have given such permission while generating unique or non-identifiable tracking data for other recipients. Subscribers who have given personal tracking permission can receive the benefit of highly customized information and offers based upon their profiles, preferences and previous choices - for example, recommended book titles or continuing education courses.

In addition, the newest version of LISTSERV Maestro gives email communicators a higher level of fine-tuning in targeting and data definition. The software has the ability to dynamically tailor subscribers' choices to fit their needs, displaying only those options
that are available based on previous selections. For example, if senders target different special offers to specific regions, they can create fields that display the offers available in the region where each individual subscriber lives.

The data mining benefits in LISTSERV Maestro include advanced action tracking, from which senders can gain deeper insight into the impact of their email campaigns by learning the results of subscriber actions that go beyond the links in the email messages to track page visits and viral marketing activities occurring after the message is viewed.

Additional new key features in LISTSERV Maestro 4.0 include quick and easy report creation and database integration, target groups based on datasets, demographic reporting, system metrics and a job journal console.

LISTSERV Maestro is the only email marketing solution built on the legendary LISTSERV® software. LISTSERV Maestro is available for Windows, Unix (Linux; Solaris) and Mac OS X operating systems.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/in_email_we_trust_l-soft_s_listserv_r_maestro_4_0_released_today.html

Winners of the Top10 Dedicated Hosting Awards

2009-02-25T23:15:00-05:00

San Francisco, CA (Gawkwire.com) Top10DedicatedHosting today announced the most awaited Dedicated Hosting Awards. The award for Best Managed Hosting was garnered by DedicatedNow, the award for Best Dedicated Server was secured by eSecureData. WebIntellects was named as best VPS Hosting provider.

The Best Dedicated Hosting Awards are presented to the companies that led the industry and are based on the overall service quality, product offering, technological innovation, package diversity, value, customer support and users reviews and overall performance. These are the companies to look at in 2009.

"This award not only highlights DedicatedNow's growth and well-earned reputation for quality, but also continued emergence as a leader in the Managed Hosting and Managed Service industry," said Mr. Shelton Walker, Managing Director, Top10DedicatedHosting. Since 2003, DedicatedNOW has led the dedicated hosting industry by providing comprehensive management of Dedicated Servers. With an emphasis on customized solutions and adaptive customer support, DedicatedNOW leverages its partnerships and redundant network to provide unparalleled performance for its customers. DedicatedNOW plans the release of several new hosting products and services during the second quarter this year.

Mr. Reg Natarajan, President and CEO for eSecureData remarked, "eSecureData.com is delighted to learn of our selection as the Best Dedicated Server Provider of 2009. We have always striven to exceed expectations and continue to lead with new initiatives such as unmetered bandwidth and online server management systems. This promises to be an exciting year for eSecureData.com as we continue to innovate in the areas of online systems for server management, site management, traffic management and bulletproof, redundant network systems. It's nice to see that our efforts have been noticed by Top10DedicatedHosting.com".

Recently, eSecureData was also awarded Best Dedicated Server January 2009 award by DedicatedServerDir.

"We are thrilled to be recognized for the accomplishments in providing Firewall protected 100% fully managed VPS with 100% Uptime for the Network and 24/7/365 live monitoring ," said Leonard Geiger, the President & CEO of WebIntellects. WebIntellects has been offering VPS Hosting since 2000, longer then almost every provider with 8 diverse bandwidth providers and N 2 configurations on all key datacenter equipment.

To learn more about Top10DedicatedHosting's awards, please visit: Dedicated Web Hosting Awards Section.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/dedicatednow_esecuredata_and_webintellects_wins_top10_dedicated.html

Losing Value from IT Investments During Recession

2009-02-24T23:28:00-05:00

Chicago (Gawkwire.com) Get the CIO involved in the strategic planning process. Develop a clear roadmap for information technology ( IT) investments. Mobilize experienced leaders and team members to execute major projects. That sounds like a simple recipe for getting high value from a company's information and technology assets. But according to the second annual Digital IQ study released today by Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, Inc. (NASDAQ: DTPI), most companies still struggle to use IT to improve their financial performance.

Diamond's Digital IQ survey of 451 senior business and IT executives uncovered some surprising findings. For example, companies that heavily involve the senior IT leaders up front in the strategic planning process are four times more likely to be top performers in their industry than their competitors. However, only 20 percent actually include IT in strategic planning.

Only 29 percent said they are consistently successful in mobilizing the right mix of internal and outsourced IT resources to complete projects successfully.

Respondents also candidly confessed that their IT projects typically fall short on some critical measures. Only 45 percent said that projects are consistently delivered on time; 23 percent said they come in on budget. Most troubling, perhaps, only 16 percent said that IT projects deliver 100 percent of what was originally promised, which means a lot of expectations are unfulfilled and opportunities to save money or add new business capabilities are wasted.

"With budgets squeezed during a recession companies should focus on a few key ways to gain the maximum value from their IT investments," said Chris Curran, Diamond's Chief Technology Officer and an author of the DDIQ report. "The 20 percent of companies we surveyed that have strong strategic planning, mobilization and execution skills, what we call a 'high Digital IQ,' are much more likely to outperform their peers."

"Our concern," Curran said, "is that most companies aren't focused on increasing the capabilities that drive a high Digital IQ--integrating IT into the strategic planning process, developing a strategic roadmap to guide IT program implementation, and lining up the right mix of skills to execute projects efficiently."

Diamond research also provides insight into how Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are responding to recessionary pressures. According to John Sviokla, Diamond's Vice Chairman and Managing Partner-Innovation and Research, "The mix of IT spending is shifting to more strategic projects, with an even greater reliance on commodity services to lower the cost of running IT operations. That puts even more pressure on CIOs to strengthen their team's strategic, mobilization, and execution intelligence."

Improving key capabilities does not have to be an expensive proposition. The Diamond study found that the most successful firms spend only about 20 percent more time and effort on planning before they undertake large strategic projects. Considering that almost 60 percent of the survey respondents said they had a strategic roadmap for mobilizing the right mix of resources to execute projects, the incremental effort required to actually mobilize resources successfully is minimal

"The incremental value of that upfront planning can be a multiple of the investment, in terms of delivery success and new capabilities, and is even greater when you consider the millions of dollars at stake in a failed or delayed IT project," Sviokla said.

How can a company determine if it is in position to get maximum value from its IT investments in a recession? The Diamond Digital IQ report challenges executives to consider several key questions about the strategic, mobilization, and execution intelligence that resides in their organization, including:

Is our strategy right for the current environment and the inevitable recovery? Are our IT investments aligned with that strategy? Call all line managers and senior executives accurately describe the strategy?
Do we have a clear, multi-year roadmap to guide our strategic IT investments? Is there executive agreement on the sources of funding and resources necessary to deliver on the organization's strategy? Are skilled leaders with sufficient time in place to drive the company along that roadmap?
Do the company's IT project execution skills include strong capabilities in all essential areas, including program management, enterprise architecture, business requirements management, and stakeholder communications? Is there a shared business/IT governance structure, with a clear set of rules for priority-setting, to ensure that major IT investments deliver real value to the organization?

"Answering some hard questions about how your company stacks up on the dimensions of strategy, mobilization, and execution is the first step in ensuring that a company is using its IT assets to improve business performance," said Sviokla. "That analysis will provide a fresh perspective on the value that you're potentially leaving on the table, and the unnecessary risks you are injecting into the business." more.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/losing_value_from_it_investments_during_recession.html

Market Study Shows SharePoint Requires More Effort and Dollars Than Expected

2009-02-25T09:26:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) A recently released market study conducted by Information Architected (on behalf of AIIM and Oracle), found that half of the organizations using SharePoint experienced more effort and budget than expected in development of the SharePoint solution, and point to integration issues as among the greatest challenges to deployment.

"SharePoint still has a way to go to product maturity," observed Carl Frappaolo, Information Architected co-founder and principal, and author of the study. "While SharePoint has come a long way and now represents a valid choice as a component of ECM applications, the market is still ripe with opportunity for complementary solution providers and system integrators."

The need for integration is paramount because of the immaturity of most of the SharePoint functionality.

According to the survey, none of the SharePoint functions are used as an enterprise standard to any significant degree. File-sharing, the genesis of SharePoint, is the only functionality that has gained any real traction within organizations.

Among survey respondents, 47% use file-sharing significantly and another 13% use it as an enterprise standard. The next most popularly used functions are search and collaboration, but in each case only 38% of the responding organizations use it in a significant or enterprise-standard manner.

Figure 1. Rank the Degree to Which Your Organization Uses the Following SharePoint Functionality.

To download the full study, with over 25 charts and 20 pages of commentary, go to http://www.informationarchitected.com/moss09wp

"The reality of SharePoint," said Carl Frappaolo, "is that while many organizations have deployed SharePoint across multiple departments, most only use it as an internal portal for basic file sharing. Very few are using SharePoint for workflow or business process management, records management or social computing. The current killer applications for SharePoint are employee facing collaboration and light-weight knowledge management. More advanced uses are the rare exceptions."

Other Key Findings:

Roughly 70% use SharePoint at the Workgroup and Departmental level; 38% Across Departments or Enterprise-wide
Support of more complex applications cited by 59% as a major scaling issue.
67% are using SharePoint and another 16% plan on doing so, most installations are tactical and not strategic in nature.
No single SharePoint function received a strongly favorable ranking among users. File sharing, search and collaboration received the highest rankings, but even in these cases, the greatest response was "very good," not "excellent." All other functionality, with one exception, was mostly ranked between "fair" and good". The only deviation came in regard to portal platform functionality, which ranked between "good and "very good." Website Statistics, Google AdSense, and more.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/market_study_shows_sharepoint_requires_more_effort_and_dollars_t.html

Aplus.net Offers Google Webmaster Tools to Boost Search Engine Visibility

2009-02-25T09:24:00-05:00

Overland Park, KS (Gawkwire.com) Aplus.net, a leading Web hosting company and Internet solutions provider, now features direct access to Google® Webmaster Tools on all Aplus.net web hosting plans. Detailed reports, indexing tools, search queries and analysis are among the free resources available through the Aplus.net Control Panel, designed to improve a website's visibility in Google search results.

Google Webmaster Tools offers website owners a quick snapshot of how 'Googlebot' views their sites to enhance search engine visibility and drive traffic. This comprehensive toolbox lets users diagnose errors, content issues and other problems that could impact rankings in Google search queries. Users can access data on internal and external site links. The web interface also encourages users to share XML sitemaps, URLs and other information to further improve how Google crawls and indexes sites.

"Since its inception, this service has been highly regarded by webmasters ¬- and now we're making it easy for every one of our customers to continually optimize their search engine results as well," says Dennis Kittrell, Senior Product Manager at Aplus.net. "By adding it to the Aplus.net Control Panel, users are just a click away from actively understanding how Google sees and analyzes their sites. It's a powerful and proven tool."

Webmasters can generate regular, automated reports using Google Webmaster Tools:

- Crawl Info: to ensure Googlebot is able to access a site, view URLs Google has had trouble crawling and address any page indexing problems
- Indexing Stats: to determine how a site is indexed and which pages are currently included
- Links Data: to view thousands of internal and external links to site pages as located by Google
- Top Queries: to identify top queries driving site traffic, particularly where the site is included in top search results
- Page Analysis: to view a site's top content and highlight keywords used by other sites for linking

Google Webmaster Tools is just one of the many marketing tools included with Aplus.net Personal, Business, Professional and eCommerce Web Hosting plans. Others include Search Engine Optimization, Keyword Rankings, Website Statistics, Google AdSense, and more.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/aplus_net_offers_google_webmaster_tools_to_boost_search_engine_v.html

Raxco Software Releases PerfectDisk 10 Enterprise Console

2009-02-25T09:20:00-05:00

Gaithersburg, MD (Gawkwire.com) Raxco Software, the industry leader in virtualization defragmentation software, today announced the release of the PerfectDisk® 10 Enterprise Console for total management of enterprise computers, servers and virtual environments. The enhanced console management system contains new features to give system administrators more customization and control of disk defrag efforts across an enterprise, including virtual environments.

Enhancements included with the PerfectDisk 10 Enterprise Console include:

- New virtualization reports show fragmentation issues across a virtual environment.
- New integration with VMware® Virtual Infrastructure Management allows VMware ESX Server-based datacenters to enhance their automation through a single point of management for their ESX-based and vCenter- managed Windows® guests.
- New integration with Microsoft® System Center Operations Manager 2007, allowing administrators to access fragmentation statistics and alerts and warnings from the SCOM 2007 console, providing a single point of management for their managed Windows environment.
- New configuration management and reporting that allows administrators to create and assign configuration profiles and report on configurations used.
- New Smart Reports provide a dynamic combination of reportable and pie charts.
- Now bundled with SQL Server Express Edition for improved performance and scalability.

"The PerfectDisk 10 Enterprise Console's new reporting and integration with leading technologies such as VMware Virtual Infrastructure Management and Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 make it a key component of system administrator's management systems," said Greg Hayes, manager of technical solutions at Raxco Software. "In these resource-constrained times, the ability to manage everything from a single point is critical to save time and resources, and the new management console now delivers more than ever."
The PerfectDisk 10 Enterprise Console is available immediately at www.perfectdisk.com and is priced at $199.99.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/raxco_software_releases_perfectdisk_10_enterprise_console.html

Hostway Rolls Out Enterprise-Class Backup Services

2009-02-25T09:19:00-05:00

Chicago, Illinois (Gawkwire.com) Hostway Corporation, the global Web services leader, announced today the availability of an advanced, near-continuous data protection (CDP) service that enables dedicated server and enterprise customers to protect their critical data from anywhere on the Internet. The new CDP service offers automated, secure backup and Web-based data recovery, ensuring that online businesses and corporations can quickly recover key information in the event of hardware failure, data corruption or a host of unforeseen circumstances.

Hostway has partnered with R1Soft to deliver a complete portfolio of cost effective, customizable backup solutions. Services range from managed backup and recovery to a high-performance, dedicated CDP Center capable of protecting large numbers of servers with customer administered policies and Web-based recovery.

All the solutions provide the ability to: schedule restore points on an ongoing basis, selective file or folder recovery, and true bare metal restore capability to quickly recover an entire server after a system disaster.

Optional off-site configuration leverages the Hostway footprint of data centers and global broadband network to provide an added level of security by separating customers' data from their production servers.

"Effective data protection and recovery is a critical component of every company's reliability and disaster planning. Our new backup solutions protect customers' data with point-in-time snapshots and rolling retention," said Todd Benjamin, director of enterprise hosting at Hostway. "By combining superior software with our state-of-the-art network and data center infrastructure, we make possible levels of reliability that our customers couldn't hope to achieve on their own."

The new data protection and recovery services are the latest in a portfolio of enterprise- class infrastructure and management solutions available to enhance the availability, security and performance of online and corporate IT applications based on the Hostway global network of redundant, state-of-the-art data centers. In addition to data backup, Hostway offers dedicated servers and managed services, firewalls, intrusion detection, load balancing and more. For more information, visit www.hostway.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/hostway_rolls_out_enterprise-class_backup_services.html

Hosted SaaS Platform at Attenda, Expands with BIW Technologies

2009-02-24T07:13:00-05:00

London, United Kingdom - (Gawkwire.com ) The terms of the contract include the delivery and operational management of its SaaS project control applications for the architectural, engineering, construction and property sectors.

Colin Smith, CEO of BIW, remarked, ''Our customers are running multi-million pound construction projects, so the performance and availability of the applications are key. The Attenda managed service is an essential part of our business and has supported our requirement for a rapid response to growth. The latest enhancements will give us improved performance, resilience and scalability, far in excess of any of our competitors.''

BIW is the European leader in SaaS collaboration and project control systems for the construction and property industry, measured by numbers of users, usage and volume of data. Collaboration services delivered on a Software as a Service basis by BIW were first employed in 1999 on UK capital projects for Sainsbury's. Today, BIW customers include Sainsbury's, House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer, BAA, Crest Nicholson, the UK Ministry of Defence, the Wellcome Trust, O2, Mace, Bovis Lend Lease, Kajima, Gleeds, ISG, Canary Wharf Contractors, and developers Nakheel, Land Securities and Ballymore.

An existing client since 2000, this latest contract renewal demonstrates BIW confidence in Attenda as its Software as a Service Provider. Attenda has proven experience in working with Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to successfully deliver SaaS applications, with the depth and breadth of expertise to help them through the commercial, technical and operational aspects of on demand software delivery.

Attenda is providing BIW with operational infrastructure and ongoing managed services, with secure, scalable and agile hosting environments, including platform deployment in the US, to facilitate the smooth, rapid and reliable deployment of its SaaS applications.

With varying client usage demands, large amounts of data and a requirement for proven disaster recovery capabilities, Attenda has implemented a virtualised IT infrastructure using the Attenda Visualisation Platform. With a typical 30% plus growth in client storage requirements, this platform enables BIW to scale rapidly without the need to over-provision large amounts of excess capacity. An expanded component of BIW's infrastructure will include a deployment hosted in Chicago, giving American clients greater legal protection for their data.

Attenda's Real Time Infrastructure RTI platform, a scalable, demand-based, virtualised IT infrastructure, delivers unprecedented business agility through the rapid deployment of computing resource, providing ISVs with the opportunity to grow their infrastructure with additional capacity as their own client base grows.
ISO 20000 accreditation reinforces Attenda's commitment to excellence in IT Service Management and recognises the adoption of its integrated ITIL-based process approach to the effective delivery of managed services to meet business and client requirements.

To learn more, please visit: www.attenda.net. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/hosted_saas_platform_at_attenda_expands_with_biw_technologies.html

Number of M2M Devices Shipped Per Year to Reach 430 Million Units by 2013

2009-02-24T07:06:00-05:00

San Francisco USA and Zurich Switzerland (Gawkwire.com) Harbor Research, the world's leading market research and consulting experts for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication and Smart Services, announces the publication of their 2009-2013 M2M / Pervasive Internet Market Forecast Report. The current report represents the most comprehensive analysis of intelligent device networking in the marketplace.

According to the report, Harbor Research forecasts that the number of intelligent device shipments will grow from 73 million units in 2008 and to 430 million units in 2013. Total device revenue is expected to exceed $12 billion by 2013. Much of the growth will be due to the increasing presence of Wireless PAN technology, including ZigBee and other 15.4 related technology, particularly those used in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs).

Harbor has assessed the impact of the current global economic slowdown, and sees that while growth has slowed below 20% in the short term, there remains strong demand for M2M communication and associated Smart Services. Smart Services are the post-sales solutions that take advantage of the real-time data being communicated by M2M devices.

The report notes that during this time adoption will be driven primarily by technological improvements, cross network integration, and advances in product innovation. Revenue opportunities are expected to shift away from basic enablement of devices and towards Smart Services. In particular, Harbor sees strongest demand for Asset Management and Energy Management in the coming years.

Glen Allmendinger, President of Harbor Research notes, "We're currently on the cusp of a transformation in the marketplace… The market for connected products and managed services will increasingly be driven by customer interaction to foster innovation. Over the next five years, we're going to see that the true value held in connected devices will shift towards value-added services where there's unheralded potential for revenue generation."

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/number_of_m2m_devices_shipped_per_year_to_reach_430_million_unit.html

Platformic Completes 100+ Enterprise Sites

2009-02-23T15:56:00-05:00

San Diego, CA (Gawkwire.com) Platformic, an end-to-end online web development environment and content management platform that allows businesses to quickly and easily build/update websites in real-time without sacrificing creativity or having to write code, today announced that its technology has been used to develop 100+ enterprise class websites. The technology, used by leading broadcast companies such as Comcast SportsNet, Bicoastal Media, Broadcast Company of the Americas and Peak Broadcasting, enables users to easily build and manage media-rich sites that incorporate social media tools and user-generated content. With Platformic, users of varying levels of expertise can maintain a high level of design aesthetic without sacrificing professional development standards or writing a single line of code.

“At Peak Broadcasting, we consider ourselves to be in the ‘content and branding’ business. For us it was not just a matter of building a series of websites for our 11 stations in Fresno and Boise, but an extremely important extension of our brand, and we wanted to make sure our online presence was consistent with our terrestrial presence,” said Todd Lawley, chief executive officer, Peak Broadcasting, LLC. “What really stood out about Platformic, from all of the other tools we looked at, was the level of flexibility to build professional, clean looking sites that are easy to navigate, and back end tools that can be easily used by a number of people from program directors, to promotions assistants, to web designers. We have about 10 people on staff that are able to easily update content and keep info fresh and relative to what we are doing. Feedback from listeners has been extremely positive.”

The game-changing aspects of Platformic are that users can create layouts “visually” and manage content from a browser in a fraction of the time while maintaining look, feel and design integrity. No longer do web masters have to enter Photoshop files into Dreamweaver, FTP content to a site and enter code or rebuild the same elements over and over on every page. Platformic takes flattened Photoshop files directly; Dreamweaver or other web development software is not required. Programmatic elements of the web site are made by pointing and clicking to add any of the dozens of ‘tools’ included with the enterprise edition. . The result is a completely customized website with a content management system that facilitates the ability to change the layout and content quickly and easily. Users can update sites or change their entire look in minutes with no downtime.

“Increasingly broadcast companies and other corporations are beginning to see the power of directly engaging customers and audiences online. Interacting more online requires the ability to act and respond quickly while also extending the same level of design and professional standards, in a time when businesses are trying to do more with less. With Platformic, no longer is technical expertise required to create a highly-customized, professional online presence. Instead, pages and sites can be created visually without templates and with a high degree of flexibility and no coding is required. And because it is provided through the web, businesses get the benefits of Software as a Service” said Claudio Canive, CEO of Platformic. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/platformic_completes_100_enterprise_sites.html

Remote Application Security Testing

2009-02-23T09:38:00-05:00

Irvine, California (Gawkwire.com) Application security is a critical component of today's enterprise risk and compliance management strategies as the application layer continues to be a key focus area by hackers seeking financial rewards. The headlines continue to be riddled incident after incident about how hackers infiltrate confidential/sensitive customer, corporate or partner information on "secure" websites. These attackers gain access to the secure information using vulnerabilities within web applications. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Internet scams have been on the rise as the economic crisis has worsened. These thieves are reported to target consumers and businesses in an attempt to get money and information for identity theft.

Based on these concerns application security has remained at the heart of the Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards and requirements. In fact in the last few years, data breaches have resulted in hundreds of millions of data records being compromised.

Despite the global downturn, demand for enterprises seeking to either become or maintain their PCI DSS compliancy remains high. In fact according to Rajat Mohanty, CEO of Paladion/Plynt, "Based on the strong level of interest we have seen from enterprises looking aggressively to meet PCI requirements in the area of application security testing, it has created a fantastic demand coming out of 2008 and going into 2009 for application security testing services. We have further matured through innovation based on customer feedback our ability to remotely conduct application pen testing as well secure code review. Through economies of scale and mature processes we can deliver these services to our customers in a way that allow them to effectively secure their applications and address their PCI requirements at a significant cost-savings."

What we are seeing in the industry in terms of the acceptance of using remote application security testing as an effective way to address PCI requirements and cost-effectively secure application is also echoed by top research analyst specializing in this area. Neil MacDonald, VP & Gartner Fellow at Gartner Inc. states "The demand for application security testing solutions have increased dramatically due to an increase in financially-motivated attacks at the application level as well as specific regulatory and compliance requirements. Most organizations don't have the resources to perform all application testing internally, so there has been an increase in interest and overall acceptance in remote external application testing services".

In direct support PCI DSS Application Security Requirements our Paladion/Plynt testing services ensure that all web-facing applications are protected against known attacks and help companies comply with all relevant requirements of PCI DSS, all applications must be developed, deployed, supported and refreshed according to these requirements.

They include the following:
1.   Web-facing applications (i.e.-Internet facing) must be protected either with a source code review by an authorized external independent entity or be protected by application firewalls.
2.   Applications should be tested for security vulnerabilities in addition to functionality testing by someone other than the authors of the actual code.
Paladion/Plynt offers their customers the following remote Security Testing Services:
1.   Remote code review for known coding flaws. With the primary goal of identify poorly coded web apps. Then we follow-up with a vulnerability scan and an application-layer penetration test to ensure application code is PCI complaint and secure.
2.   Quarterly Vulnerability Scans. As detailed in DSS section 11.2, requirement states run internal and external network vulnerability scans at least quarterly and after any significant change in the network (such as new system component installations, changes in network topology, firewall rule modifications, product upgrades).
3.   Annual/Quarterly Penetration Testing. Both internal and external (public facing) applications that process "sensitive" data should be penetration tested at least annually and whenever they undergo significant revision.

Organizations that have business models that depend on an online presence for facilitating credit card transactions through their web applications have to address PCI requirements. The risk of failing to comply are too important to ignore, no matter how difficult it is, nor how high the cost.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/remote_application_security_testing.html

Steve Robb Joins ControlScan as Vice President of Operations

2009-02-23T09:35:00-05:00

Atlanta, GA (Gawkwire.com) ControlScan, Inc. (controlscan.com), the leading provider of PCI compliance and security solutions exclusively focused on small merchants, today announced that Steve Robb has joined the ControlScan executive team serving as vice president of operations.

Over the course of a year, ControlScan has built a seasoned management team to help take the company to the next level, providing PCI compliance and security solutions for small e-commerce and retail merchants. Robb is a solid addition to the team with 20 years of experience working for growing technology companies in a variety of senior roles within marketing, customer service and support, product management and development, and professional services. As vice president of operations, Robb will utilize his broad base of experience to build efficiency and quality into the company's core business processes and technologies as ControlScan continues to grow and expand.

Robb said that one of the reasons he was attracted to the PCI compliance and security solutions provider was the company's focus on serving small merchants, which represent a large and growing market that continues to be underserved. "Security and financial services are huge, competitive industries, but ControlScan is laser-focused on providing PCI compliance solutions designed especially for the needs of the segment they want to lead, which is critical to success," said Robb.

Another top draw for Robb was ControlScan's people and culture. "I felt the energy and enthusiasm the moment I walked through the door," said Robb. "The team believes in the mission, has worked hard over the last several years to build a strong foundation, and possesses the drive required to be the leader in its market."

Just prior to ControlScan, Robb led the software development operations of over 30 different product groups for Infor Global Solutions, a $2.2 billion acquirer and consolidator of business software applications. In a subsequent role at Infor, he led all operational aspects of the company's inside sales functions, whose revenues grew over 425% in a six-month period.

Robb joins the company as ControlScan is enjoying its highest rate of customer acquisition in its 3-year history. "I am excited that Steve has joined our team," said Joan Herbig, chief executive officer, ControlScan. "Steve's work ethic and ability to provide leadership in many areas will help ControlScan capitalize on its momentum in a period of accelerated growth and beyond."

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/steve_robb_joins_controlscan_as_vice_president_of_operations.html

How To Weather A Stormy Recession

2009-02-21T06:00:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Trying to get through the current recession can make people feel like a tree getting knocked around in a hurricane.

But we don’t have to be victims, according to business turn-around expert and author Suzanne Caplan, chief blogger and founder of www.womenetcetera.com, an Internet business portal and social networking site for women over 50. Caplan believes that there are ways people can limit the damage of the recession and come out on top.

In the midst of a storm, people can sometimes tend to hide and cower and wait until it’s over before emerging from their shelter. However, sometimes it is wiser to act, and seek higher ground.

In the storm of a recession, Caplan believes higher ground does exist. You just need to know where to look for it. She offers the following tips:

• If you are doing nothing because you think it can’t get any worse; be assured that it will. Now is the time for action. Action is always preferable to inaction, because inaction spawns a pattern of victimization, and pins us down into a habit of only reacting to the bad, instead of planning for the better.

• The unknown is likely to be less threatening than you expect. This is particularly true about creditors; they have far less power than you may think. Tune out the noise until you are ready to work on a plan. Decisions made out of fear and anxiety are almost always the wrong ones, so take a breath and a blank piece of paper and write down a list of your liabilities and your assets and take stock of everything you can do to get the two lists to cancel each other out.

• Being Proactive is far better than being reactive. Once you know what you need to do with regard to any of your challenges, you should be the one to take the first action. Make it bold and with confidence. The more you play on your side of the field, the better off you are. Offense is easier to play than defense in this situation; you get to set the pace.

• If you are working in an industry at risk or for a company that seems vulnerable, now may be the time to move out on you own. Great fortunes are started in down times. Remember that most everyone shares one common trait with every successful entrepreneur – at one point or another; they’ve all worked for someone else, too.

• Think about taking over an existing business; there are owners who will finance the cost, particularly if they are close to retirement. Assets are very cheap at this point. Many business owners own more than one, and sometimes they are willing to sell off a profit-generating business in order to cover the losses of another. Take advantage of that condition to find an opportunity that matches your education, background and talents.

• The more diverse your clientele, the less likely you will be without sufficient income. Remember to market for growth. Don’t simply cater to your existing customer base, but rather, open your business aperture to include non-traditional potential clients. Those customers represent growth and prosperity. Do not put all your eggs in one basket.

• If you are living in or driving an asset which is overleveraged (you owe more than it is worth), give serious thought to getting out from under it. Like many large concerns, it is better to take a one-time hit to dump an upside-down asset than it is to continuing to allow it to pull revenue away from you a little at a time.

“In a storm, people can either be victims, or they can take positive steps to rescue themselves,” Caplan said. “The idea of mastering your destiny instead of letting circumstances master you is not a platitude or a bumper sticker. It is very real, and many of the most successful entrepreneurs discovered this reality at a time when they were at their lowest ebb.” http://www.gawkwire.com/business/how_to_weather_a_stormy_recession.html

Omnistar Interactive Introduces the Latest Version of OSI Affiliate, Version 5.4

2009-02-21T06:00:00-05:00

Columbia, MD (Gawkwire.com) Omnistar Interactive, maker of top tier web based software solutions for businesses looking to automate their functions and manage customer interaction through software solutions, is proud to introduce the latest version of the Omnistar Affiliate, version 5.4. The new affiliate software includes affiliate groups, new promotion methods, and additional email templates.

"With the introduction of the latest version of Omnistar Affiliate we have added a number of powerful features," said Tariehk Geter, CEO of Omnistar Interactive. "Omnistar Affiliate's new affiliate group function allows you to offer different affiliates different commission rates, ensuring you have the flexibility to use the software however it will most benefit your site."

The new affiliate tracking software offers new advertising methods include page peels and light boxes, allowing you to offer your advertisers as many different ways to advertise as possible. These new features are simple to use and very attractive when implemented. As well, the system provides you with an additional 20 templates for the email management system, ensuring your email marketing is attractive and effective.

"These new features make Omnistar Affiliate one of the best affiliate software solutions on the market," remarks Arlen Robinson, COO of Omnistar Interactive. "Our software can take your advertising to the next level, and with the low entry price and great features all packed into a sleek interface, Omnistar Affiliate is a great buy for any webmaster."

For more information on Omnistar Affiliate just visit www.osiaffiliate.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/omnistar_interactive_introduces_the_latest_version_of_osi_affili.html

Search Marketing Expo Announces SMX Cash Back Program

2009-02-20T09:32:00-05:00

Redding, CT (Gawkwire.com) The producers of Search Marketing Expo (SMX) today announced an innovative incentive program that pays exhibitors and sponsors for attracting conference delegates.

"Our Cash Back program will stretch our exhibitors' and sponsors' investments, while increasing the number of qualified SMX delegates. Everyone wins," said Chris Elwell, President of Third Door Media, the producer of Search Marketing Expo. "Our exhibitors and sponsors are all innovative marketers. This program enables them to apply their skills and earn tangible benefits," Elwell added.

"iProspect aggressively promotes its participation in SMX conferences in order to meet as many perspective clients as possible," said Chief Marketing Officer Bill Muller. "This incentive program rewards us for those efforts."

The SMX Cash Back program is simple. For every SMX ticket that participating exhibitors and sponsors sell, 25% of the value is credited toward their next purchase with SMX. The credits are earned and can be used at any SMX conference held in the United States.

For more information about exhibiting or sponsoring SMX events and the Cash Back program, contact Sean Moriarty, SMX Vice President of sales on (203) 536-4004 or at sean (at) thirddoormedia.com.

About Search Marketing Expo and Third Door Media:
The Search Marketing Expo - SMX conference series is produced by Third Door Media, Inc. Third Door Media's mission is to empower internet and search marketing professionals by providing trusted content and community services they need to be successful. Search Marketing Expo events held in the United States are SMX East, SMX West, and SMX Advanced. International events include SMX Munich, SMX Sydney and SMX London. The full list and schedule of events is available at http://searchmarketingexpo.com.

Third Door Media also publishes the search marketing news and analysis site Search Engine Land and produces Search Marketing Now, a lead-generation marketing solution for suppliers of SEM-related products and services. The company also owns Sphinn.com, the social news site where internet marketers share news stories, discuss issues in subject-specific forums and build their professional networks.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/search_marketing_expo_announces_smx_cash_back_program.html

Experian Offers Data Quality in the Cloud

2009-02-20T09:29:00-05:00

Sydney, NSW (Gawkwire.com) Experian QAS, a world-leading supplier of contact data management, this week launched Australia's first fully supported Cloud Computing Data Capture solution, Experian QAS Pro On Demand.

By using the data quality service 'in the cloud', Experian QAS customers can reduce the cost associated with traditional software licensing agreements, hardware and implementation costs, annual software maintenance fees and continuous upgrade cycles.

Experian QAS Pro On Demand is available through Experian's On Demand web portal and is hosted in the company's own highly secure data centres to ensure network reliability and first class data security.

Experian QAS Pro On Demand is also available through salesforce.com's AppExchange. The two systems are integrated to provide salesforce.com customers with an address validation tool, the benefits of which include reduced keystrokes and improved data accuracy in the CRM system. QAS Pro On Demand is customisable to individual business' requirements to help them achieve more accurate data quality at the point of capture.

Inaccurate data can damage business relationships and increase costs
QAS Pro On Demand software is designed to instantly search and verify addresses against up-to-date high quality reference data sources including Australia Post's Postal Address File (PAF), NZ Post's Postal Address File and 13 other international data sets.

Customer data is collected by organisations through a variety of channels, including face to face, over the phone, via email, web forms and sometimes even through instant messaging. Human error can cause incorrect data to be collected, even before it is used.

Experian research indicates that for every incorrect postal address, it can cost between $15 and $25 to correct the mistake.

"During an economic downturn, companies are increasingly focused on servicing their existing customers to maintain profitability," said Matt Glasner, General Manager, Experian QAS. "Every time customer data is entered incorrectly, businesses risk damaging customer relationships and facing a financial loss.

"If businesses are to survive and thrive during this time, they need to deliver first-class customer service. That means ensuring they have captured all the necessary information about their customers correctly."

"Experian research has found that organisations can also lose up to 19 percent of revenue because they have bad data," said Glasner. "Today's businesses simply can't afford that cost. Being able to quickly, easily and reliably access data quality solutions is critical."

Security of data is a primary concern for Experian, which provides its solution through its own data centres. "We have four international sites. Security is our first concern and the sites have been designed to a financial grade security model. We take both data security and physical security very seriously." said Glasner.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/experian_offers_data_quality_in_the_cloud.html

SES New York Offers Search Engine Marketing (SEM/SEO) Training Courses

2009-02-20T09:27:00-05:00

New York, NY (Gawkwire.com) As budgets continue to shift from print, direct mail and other traditional marketing practices to search engine marketing, online marketing conference Search Engine Strategies (SES) New York, taking place March 23-27, will feature two full days of training for marketers to learn the ins and outs of this rapidly growing sector. The SES Training (www.searchenginestrategies.com/newyork), historically held on the last day of each show, will kick off SES New York on Monday, March 23. Marketers can then apply the knowledge they gain from the show during hands-on workshops hosted by Bruce Clay and Web Analytics Association on Friday, March 27 at the Hilton New York.

As search marketing becomes a significant item in every successful business' marketing efforts, marketers, web developers, search engine optimization (SEO) consultants, search engine marketing (SEM) specialists and PR professionals all need stay up-to-date with the latest knowledge and tactics. These search marketing workshops provide the practices, applications and hands-on exposure needed to become (and remain) a top performer in the field. Registrants will leave these intensive workshops with the skills to improve their web visibility and business ROI.

SES classes include:

-Search Engine Marketing Metrics & Myths: searchenginestrategies.com/newyork/training.html#sem-metrics-myths
-How to Create a Successful In-House SEO Program: searchenginestrategies.com/newyork/training.html#in-house-seo
-Making Pay Per Click Pay - Best Practices in Pay Per Click Advertising: searchenginestrategies.com/newyork/training.html#pay-per-click
-Landing Page Testing Crash Course: searchenginestrategies.com/newyork/training.html#landing-page
-Blogging for Business: searchenginestrategies.com/newyork/training.html#blogging-business
-Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Workshop: searchenginestrategies.com/newyork/training.html#seo

Matt McGowan, Vice President and Publisher for Incisive Media's Interactive Marketing Group, including Search Engine Strategies, SearchEngineWatch.com and the ClickZ Network said, "Search marketing is the fastest growing discipline of marketing. It doesn't matter if you're new to the field or are an experienced web marketer - there is always more to learn. We have more hands-on training at SES New York than at any other digital marketing show because our attendees are the ones that stay on top of their game."

Further, search engine optimization and internet marketing company Bruce Clay, Inc. is offering a one-day SEO training course on Friday, March 27. The concentrated one-day SEO course will cover search engine-friendly tactics and proven strategies for optimizing a web site. Ethical SEO best practices taught will include proper keyword selection, content analysis and editing, avoiding spam, link building and more. Students will also receive a free one-year subscription to the SEOToolSet, which is Bruce Clay's full suite of industry-leading SEO tools and reports.

The Web Analytics Association has also partnered with SES New York to host two day-long workshops on Friday, March 27 that focus on online marketing campaign measurement and web analytics for site optimization. Marketers responsible for driving traffic through online advertising, search, or email marketing, improve navigation, increase engagement and improve conversion rates will learn the keys to success.

Those who register by Friday, March 6, 2009, for SES New York will save $200. For more information on SES Training workshops, see searchenginestrategies.com/newyork.

Incisive Media is a leading global provider of specialized business news and information, in print, in person and online. The company's principal markets include financial services, legal services, commercial real estate, marketing services and risk management. Incisive Media's market-leading brands include Accountancy Age, Computing, Investment Week, Legal Week, LegalTech, Post, Real Estate Forum, Risk, Search Engine Strategies and The American Lawyer. For more information, visit www.incisivemedia.com.

The American Lawyer, Daily Business Review, Legal Week, Post, Risk, Real Estate Forum and Search Engine Strategies are trademarks or registered trademarks of Incisive Media, LLC or affiliated entities.

http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/ses_new_york_offers_search_engine_marketing_sem_seo_training_cou.html

KickAssVPS.com First to Roll Out Windows Server 2008 VPS Hosting

2009-02-20T09:25:00-05:00

ST. PAUL, MN (Gawkwire.com) Offering the next-generation of Microsoft technologies, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 is the most recent publicly available iteration of the new server platform. Users can take advantage of a new portfolio of upgrades, including enhanced Web support with IIS7, more efficient management capabilities with the new Server Management suite, and increased security in the operating system and network stack. The beta period for KickAssVPS.com customers is expected to last until May.

KickAssVPS.com is able to offer Microsoft Windows Server 2008 during a special beta program to its VPS customers using Parallels Virtuozzo Containers 4.5, the industry’s preeminent virtualization software available exclusively to KickAssVPS.com as part of its Parallels Gold Partnership.

“Our high volume of VPS provisioning enables us to work more closely and directly with Parallels, the leading developer of virtualization technologies for our industry. It is always rewarding when we can leverage this relationship to deliver innovative new technologies exclusively for our customers, and it represents just another value-add that contributes to the allure our company boasts in the hosting marketplace,” said Brian Emerson, president and CTO of KickAssVPS.com. “As leader in the Virtual Private Server market, our customers look to us to introduce the latest features and developments available in the marketplace.”

Existing customers can sign up for the beta program through the KickAssVPS.com Web site or by calling the company directly at 651-204-0234.

To learn more about Microsoft Windows Server 2008 VPS hosting from KickAssVPS.com, please visit http://www.kickassvps.com/services/windows_2008.php

KickAssVPS.com provides standardized and customized Virtual Private Servers, operating with a 100% Microsoft Certified, United States-based workforce. Virtual Private Server plans, available on both Linux and Microsoft Windows platforms, start at $25 monthly. KickAssVPS.com also offers ColdFusion Hosting; SSL Certificates; Shared Web hosting; and Domain Name registration.

To learn more about KickAssVPS.com, please visit http://www.kickassvps.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/kickassvps_com_first_to_roll_out_windows_server_2008_vps_hosting.html

Better Business Bureau Accredits UltraQuantix, Accepts IntoBBBOnLine

2009-02-19T23:23:00-05:00

TURNERSVILLE, NJ (Gawkwire.com) As an accredited business UltraQuantix is required to follow a rigorous set of operating procedures and disclosure requirements. As part of its participation, UltraQuantix has provided the BBB with ownership and management information and agreed to dispute resolution services, at the customer's request, for unresolved disputes involving consumer products or services. UltraQuantix also abides by the BBB’s Code of Business Practices and Code of Advertising, in addition to participating in BBB's advertising self-regulation program.

“The BBB is the premier business authority when it comes to evaluating the ability of a business to positively serve their customers, provide a professional and friendly customer service experience, and handle disputes in a professional manner. After reviewing the BBB operating standards, we found ours to be in synchronization, so we started the accreditation process. It’s a natural fit,” said Peter Marek, founder of UltraQuantix. “As an accredited business, prospective consumers know they are dealing with a business that will be around tomorrow, treats their customers with the highest level of professionalism, and conducts business ethically.”

UltraQuantix offers Linux-based shared Web hosting plan choices, starting at $12/yearly for an entry-level solution and ranging to $96/monthly for more advanced solutions with greater resource allotments. The company also offers four Linux-based Virtual Private Server hosting plans, starting at $33.70/monthly.

All hosting plans include access to world-class customer support from UltraQuantix. The company offers telephone, live chat, and helpdesk support each weekday from 9am to 9pm EST. Server hardware is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In addition to Web hosting, UltraQuantix offers domain name registration, IT consulting for small businesses, Web design, and service monitoring from Hyperspin.

To learn more about UltraQuantix, please visit http://www.ultraquantix.com.

To view the BBB OnLine report on UltraQuantix, please visit https://www.bbb.org/online/consumer/cks.aspx?id=1090205161738.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/better_business_bureau_accredits_ultraquantix_accepts_intobbbonl.html

1&1 Internet Inc. Surpasses Yahoo

2009-02-19T16:09:00-05:00

Philadelphia, PA (Gawkwire.com) Web hosting company 1&1 Internet Inc. (http://www.1and1.com), today announced surpassing Yahoo as the fourth largest US web host based on WebHosting.Info's domain rankings.
The move by 1&1 marks an important milestone, after launching US operations about five years ago.

From the launch 1&1 has made a significant impact on the US web hosting industry. Since US inception 1&1 has been called one of the most aggressive web hosts, dramatically dropping standard industry prices, making everything from domains to servers affordable for small to medium businesses. 1&1 was able to leverage economies of scale to offer their services and products across the globe in order to be competitive within the individual markets. 1&1 Internet is an internationally successful company, and hosts the largest number of websites up and running with content. The substantial and steady growth in the US market has been supported by over 700,000 US customers to date.

Oliver Mauss, CEO of 1&1 Internet Inc., said, "We are thrilled with 1&1's continued success in the US market, topping a giant like Yahoo only happens with true perseverance. When launching in the US we knew that becoming a leader in this industry would be no small feat, but we've tailored our services to deliver packages that allow individuals to achieve success on the Web."

WebHosting.Info claims to be the largest research and statistics portal primarily dedicated toward the web services industry. Its purpose is to continuously release data presenting micro and macro statistics about the Web Services industry -- Hosting Companies, Registries, Domain Registrars, Data centers, etc. across the world. It also provides statistical trends and patterns across Countries, IP Addresses, Domain Names, Web Servers, Operating Systems and other variables directly or indirectly related to the Web Services Industry.

1&1 is the one-stop-shop for web solutions, providing a high quality service with the security of our state-of-the-art green data centers and
24/7 technical support. 1&1 currently holds over 7.8 million customer contracts worldwide and manages over 10 million domain names.

For more information on 1&1 Internet Inc. visit the website at http://www.1and1.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/1_1_internet_inc_surpasses_yahoo.html

Fpweb.net Sponsors SharePoint.Org Conference

2009-02-19T16:08:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) SharePoint.Org, held by SusQtech, is the second annual SharePoint conference for associations and non-profit organizations. “We are excited to showcase our Managed SharePoint Hosting services at this event,” said LaMear. “As the first and only company in the world to host SharePoint back in 1999, we have a high level of knowledge and experience to share with this group.”

Attendees will have access to daily sessions packed with information and expertise for SharePoint WSS and MOSS users of all levels. Fpweb.net will also be providing an educational session, presented by LaMear himself, on the benefits of SharePoint in a Software as a Service (SaaS) hosted model. “Since we already host SharePoint for several non-profit and government agencies, we understand the needs and requirements involved in their unique SharePoint environments,” said LaMear. “This session will explain how a SaaS provider can take care of those requirements for them, saving the organization time and money.”

For more information or to register for the SharePoint.Org Conference, go to www.sharepointconference.org. Fpweb.net will also be attending several other SharePoint Conferences in 2009. For details on these events, Fpweb.net’s Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) hosting or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) hosting, visit their site or call 866.780.4678.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/fpweb_net_sponsors_sharepoint_org_conference.html

New Phishing Attacks Combine Wildcard DNS and XSS

2009-02-18T12:00:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) The first attacks using this combined method of wildcard DNS records and XSS were detected by Netcraft on February 10th, although the source code behind the attacks suggest that the planning had begun a day earlier. The attacks have continued to the present day, and the fraudulent eBay login form remains accessible through the wildcard domains.
Fraudsters launched the attack using a number of sites that host vulnerable versions of iRedirector Subdomain Edition. This PHP and MySQL based system allows website owners to use wildcard DNS records on their domains to forward subdomains like http://user.example.com to URLs like http://www.example.com/members/~username.
A cross-site scripting vulnerability on the affected iRedirector sites is allowing the fraudsters to inject framesets into specific pages. These framesets load content from one of the fraudsters' websites hosted in France at http://df0x.54.pl, which in turn loads an iframe located at http://0xdc4bdd88:88/ws/eBayISAPI.dll/. This injected iframe presents a fraudulent eBay login page, which prompts the victim to submit their eBay User ID and Password to a site hosted by Sudokwonkangnambonbujang in South Korea.
Because the vulnerable sites can be accessed via wildcard DNS records, the fraudsters have made the attacks look all the more convincing by making the hostnames look similar to those used by the genuine eBay login page. For example, the attack has used many hostnames that are similar to this:

The hostnames used in these attacks also contain a seemingly random string of hexadecimal digits. These are simply MD5 hashes of small integers. It is likely that this semi-random measure is being used to try and bypass simplistic firewalls or email filters, which may not recognise fraudulent URLs if part of the hostname changes.
The unobtrusive methods used in the current wave of attacks have obvious appeal to fraudsters — the wildcard DNS records mean that it's easy to use arbitrary hostnames for each attack, allowing each vulnerable site to be convincingly used for many different targets. Furthermore, there is no need for the fraudsters to fully compromise a website, as the cross-site scripting vulnerability allows the fraudulent content to be placed on the sites without gaining internal access to the server. Finally, all it takes is a simple Google search to find additional sites with the same vulnerabilities. The combination of these factors makes it entirely feasible to automate the whole process. http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/new_phishing_attacks_combine_wildcard_dns_and_xss.html

Free Webinar: Copywriting Keys to Conquering the Social Media Kingdom

2009-02-18T09:25:00-05:00

Boca Raton, FL (Gawkwire.com) Prior to the Internet and Web 2.0, content was King. Now with a whole new world of social media, online marketing and instant connections, conversations and communication, content is…still king.

"There is no doubt that Social Media is powerful, pervasive and full of unprecedented potential," explained Craig Cannings, founder of VAClassroom.com and a noted online sales and e-learning expert. "But no matter how new and different this marketing medium is, it is still driven by the one thing that has always been "king." And that is content."

To address the ever-growing need for words that sell in an online marketing environment and through social media in particular, Allison Nazarian and Craig Cannings, Co-founders of CopywritingKingdom.com, are presenting a FREE webinar event, "Discover the Copywriting Keys to Conquering the Social Media Kingdom" on March 5, 2009 at 5:00PM (Eastern U.S).

The webinar is perfect for solopreneurs, online business owners, virtual assistants and other online professionals seeking develop their copywriting skills to succeed and shine in this rapidly evolving Social Media landscape.

"The importance of sound copywriting skills cannot be underestimated in this new Social Media kingdom," explained Allison Nazarian, CopywritingKingdom.com Co-Founder. "Many businesses are seeking to share their content through targeted Social Media channels, but are often disappointed with the lack luster results they experience. And don't just take it from me…many of the best Internet Marketers out there agree that copywriting is the single most important skill for any business owner or online professional looking to succeed in the content-driven Social Media landscape.

2008 was the year that Social Media grew in leaps and bounds, gaining mainstream prominence and interest across many business communities. Social Network sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.com saw rapid increases in traffic and users, and experts agree that the reach and influence of Social Media among businesses will grow to unprecedented numbers in 2009 - and beyond.

Cannings noted that together, compelling content and Social Media Marketing know-how make up the "best one-two punch in the marketing world today," adding that "The businesses that know how to produce great content in the form of articles, blog posts and through such content-sharing sites as Hubpages and Squidoo, can and will generate a wave of targeted traffic to their business blog and website - and grow their reputations and their businesses -- like never before."

With just some new or more evolved copywriting keys in their marketing tool kit, amazing and positive results can be achieved. "And best of all," Nazarian added, "You don't have to be a professional copywriter to write copy that sells!"

Cannings and Nazarian will be presenting a FREE webinar on March 5, 2009 (5 PM EST/ 2PM PST) entitled:

"Discover the Copywriting Keys to Conquering the Social Media Kingdom in 2009 and Beyond."

This webinar will feature a sneak preview of the upcoming live training program, "Mastering Copywriting in a Social Media World."

To view a video of this upcoming webinar and to sign-up for this event, please go to the below website:

http://www.CopywritingKingdom.com

All registrants will also receive a FREE Special Report entitled, Five Copywriting Strategies Guaranteed To Successfully Bring You, Your Brand & Your Business Into The New Kingdom

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/free_webinar_copywriting_keys_to_conquering_the_social_media_kin.html

DiscountASP.NET Launches Microsoft Failed Request Tracing Module

2009-02-18T09:24:00-05:00

Pasadena, CA (Gawkwire.com) DiscountASP.NET, a leading innovator in Windows hosting, announces launching support for the Microsoft Failed Request Tracing Module for Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS7) on their Windows 2008 hosting platform.

With the launch of Windows 2008 and Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS7), Microsoft introduced IIS Manager, a new IIS administration tool which provides end users with a familiar user interface to remotely manage IIS7 server configurations. Using IIS Manager, DiscountASP.NET customers can view settings and manipulate their web.config files for features that have been delegated to them.

The Failed Request Tracing feature provides a way to diagnose and troubleshoot often difficult-to-see problems with web applications by capturing the complete trace events for a request and recording them to a log file when the request fails. By analyzing the step-by-step request and response process, it is possible to identify problems by examining when they occurred and determining the cause.

To support this launch, DiscountASP.NET introduces new tools in their hosting control panel to allow customers to enable access to the Failed Request Tracing module, to specify where to create the log file in the event of a request failure and to control the number of log files that are created.

"Delivering on our goal to provide customers with maximum control over their shared hosting environment, we now offer a powerful tool to help our customers troubleshoot their web applications." said Takeshi Eto, VP Marketing at DiscountASP.NET. "We are committed to innovation in our Windows 2008 hosting platform."

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/discountasp_net_launches_microsoft_failed_request_tracing_module.html

WebmasterRadio.FM Premieres New Program Mobile Presence

2009-02-18T09:20:00-05:00

Fort Lauderdale, FL (Gawkwire.com) Cell phones and mobile computing devices are set to become one of the primary gateways to the Internet over the next two years. WebmasterRadio.FM presents a new show addressing the rapidly growing mobile Internet market, Mobile Presence, premiering Wednesday February 18 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

Hosted by noted mobile marketing thought leaders Cindy Krum, Jordan Kasteler and Kim Dushinski, Mobile Presence takes a rounded and expert look at one of the fastest growing segments in online and digital marketing.

Listeners will learn how to design web documents for mobile and how to best deploy advertising for mobile computing devices. For webmasters, designers and advertisers, learning how to use the mobile Internet is becoming increasingly important. Mobile ad-spend is increasing year over year with an anticipated surge in 2009 and 2010.

"We will focus on mobile SEO and development, and also cover SMS and mobile email strategies," said Cindy Krum of RankMobile.com. "Mobile Presence will look at how mobile fits into the marketing mix. Mobile isn't meant to stand on its own, so we will discuss how it can be most effectively integrated into your existing marketing campaigns."

The program airs every Wednesday at 1 pm Eastern Time and on demand inside the Internet Marketing Channel at www.WebmasterRadio.FM.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/webmasterradio_fm_premieres_new_program_mobile_presence.html

LeaseWeb Becomes VMware Service Provider Partner

2009-02-17T14:36:00-05:00

Amsterdam, (Gawkwire.com) VMware, the market leader in virtualization software, and LeaseWeb (www.leaseweb.com), one of Europe’s largest business hosting providers, have signed a strategic cooperation agreement.

The agreement will allow LeaseWeb clients to rent rather than buy VMware software for their Web environments. As the European VSPP, LeaseWeb will be present with an exhibition stand in the vCloud pavilion during VMworld Europe 2009 in Cannes from February 24 through 26: http://www.vmworld.com/community/conferences/europe2009/sponsors.

Virtual Server
The cooperation between VMware and LeaseWeb will be handled through the VMware Service Provider Program (VSPP) of VMware. This program provides for a select number of top hosting providers to supply licenses for virtual servers on the basis of periodic rental agreements. LeaseWeb clients will benefit through easier access to, and greater flexibility in the use of, virtualized hosting.

VMware Hosting at LeaseWeb
“This cooperation will allow us to provide our hosting clients with virtualized dedicated servers in a quick and scalable manner,” says Con Zwinkels, LeaseWeb’s managing director. “LeaseWeb clients will have the ability to pay their licensing fees periodically, ‘by virtual server by month.’ Thus, they will no longer have to make costly start-up investments for virtualized hosting. The partnership program will therefore make it much easier for our clients to switch to a virtualized hosting environment.”

The ability to sign periodic rental agreements will also add flexibility to virtualized hosting solutions. Zwinkels: “This will allow our clients to quickly adapt their Web infrastructure to their current needs. Furthermore, it will make their Web infrastructure highly scalable and eliminate the hassle of having to deal with complex licensing models. The ability to rent also improves the efficiency of virtualized hosting environments. Clients only pay for actual use.”

Hosting Enterprise
LeaseWeb has developed a VMware-based virtualization platform. The virtualization platform is especially attractive for Web environments in the enterprise market and the higher segment of small- and medium-size businesses. “A virtualized hosting environment based on VMware can offer them significant advantages,” says Zwinkels. “VMware is state-of-the-art virtualization software and therefore ideal for use in enterprise environments and larger business environments. The design of the VMware platform on which the virtual server runs provides a high level of scalability and availability of the Web environment. Migrating virtual dedicated servers to other servers is also much simpler, and it will not affect the applications.”

LeaseWeb’s virtualization platform and other hosting services will be demonstrated at an exhibition stand in the vCloud pavilion in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, during VMworld Europe 2009 from February 24 through 26. LeaseWeb is one of the sponsors of the vCloud pavilion, along with Cisco, Intel, Logica, Atos Origin, and other companies.

Virtual Hosting: VSPP
Hosting providers are a key target market for VMware. For this reason, on June 6, 2007 the manufacturer of virtualization software abandoned the old ‘pay-per-socket’ model and introduced the VMware Service Provider Program (VSPP) specifically for top hosting providers. Under this partnership program, clients only pay licensing fees based on actual usage. This will benefit LeaseWeb’s clients in both the enterprise and small- and medium-size business sectors. Disadvantages of the old licensing model included the high start-up costs, and limitations in terms of efficiency and flexibility.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/leaseweb_becomes_vmware_service_provider_partner.html

Apple issues massive security update for Mac OS X

2009-02-17T09:30:00-05:00

Apple today issued multiple updates for Mac OS X and Java that patched 55 bugs, including one for its Safari Web browser that prompted a security researcher to blast the company for a half-hearted approach to security.

The updates were the largest released by Apple in nearly a year.

The year's first bug updates from Apple patched 48 security vulnerabilities in the company's operating system and its components, four in Apple's implementation of Sun Microsystems' Java, two non-security flaws it admitted it had introduced with faulty code in Mac OS X 10.5.6, and one fix it said was a "proactive security measure." The majority of the bugs -- 32 altogether -- were in open-source components or software not originally crafted by Apple, as in the case of the quartet of Java flaws. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/apple_issues_massive_security_update_for_mac_os_x.html

Extranet Collaboration Manager for SharePoint Featured in Microsoft Study

2009-02-16T13:28:00-05:00

Nashville, TN (Gawkwire.com) Extranet Collaboration Manager for SharePoint 2007, an add-on software product that helps SharePoint 2007 users collaborate more effectively with individuals outside their organizations, is featured in a Microsoft Office System Customer Solution Case Study about A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions. Extranet Collaboration Manager for SharePoint 2007 was created by SharePoint Solutions, a national leader in Microsoft SharePoint training, consulting and add-on software.

A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions, a unit of the global consulting firm A.T. Kearney, is a leading provider of technology solutions for procurement challenges. While deploying a series of Web-based tools for clients, the unit identified the need for a more effective collaboration mechanism between its consultants and clients. This led to the establishment of a client extranet based on technologies from Microsoft® and SharePoint Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.

To maintain competitiveness, A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions needed to deliver results to clients faster; increase the breadth and usefulness of those results; and make them more accessible. It initially deployed eRoom collaboration software but found that eRoom lacked many of the advanced collaboration features required by sophisticated collaboration users, such as wikis, threaded discussions, blogs and other next-Web technologies.

A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions addressed its collaboration need by adopting an extranet solution based on the 2007 Microsoft® Office system, including Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007. To streamline and enhance manage¬ment of the extranet, the unit turned to Extranet Collaboration Manager for SharePoint 2007, which facilitated the deployment and user management of the extranet client sites.

"A.T. Kearney's intent for its extranet was to have a 'site collection,' which is a single, centralized collaboration area on the extranet for all information and activities related to each client, with subsites for the specific engagements or projects for that customer," said Tony Bierman, senior software engineer for SharePoint Solutions.

"Using our Extranet Collaboration Manager tool, the unit is now able to handle the process of creating sites as needed through automation and the convenience features we provide."

As an example, Bierman cited the unit's use of Extranet Collaboration Manager for SharePoint 2007's site provisioning automation. Each site collection created is automatically placed in its own isolated content database.

"A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions utilizes all the user-management features of Extranet Collaboration Manager to handle creating, inviting and managing their forms-based authentication users," he said.

Extranet Collaboration Manager for SharePoint 2007 is designed to help administrators deploy and manage their Office SharePoint Server-based extranets in a highly secure manner. The A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions IT department uses Extranet Collaboration Manager for SharePoint 2007 to implement the secure partitions of the extranet that enable the firm to host multiple client sites on a single instance.

Site Provisioning Assistant, one of Extranet Collaboration Manager's features, eliminates bottlenecks by providing centralized management for controlling how new Office SharePoint Server 2007 sites are requested and provisioned. Authorized business participants can create their own project sites by using an automated provisioning tool configured by the A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions IT department.

The IT department also can delegate the management of subsites, allow extranet site access through self-registration or by invitation only, allow site participants to change their own passwords and track all management activity and site changes for auditing purposes.

Security is enhanced by having participants sign on to the extranet using a form-based logon that stores accounts in a database based on Microsoft SQL Server® 2005 data management software, rather than in the firm's Active Directory® service. This reduces public access to the directory.

"We are transforming the way we deliver client service, thanks to the extranet," said Hugo Evans, chief information officer for A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions. "This is making us more competitive."

To view the A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions case study, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000003407

Based in Nashville, Tenn., SharePoint Solutions has been a nationwide leader in expert-led public classes on SharePoint products and technologies. The company's software division professionally develops high-quality commercial add-ons for SharePoint. Workflow Essentials, its most recent product, is a cost-effective, reliable way to augment Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer Workflow capabilities. For more information, visit http://sharepointsolutions.com.

A.T. Kearney, based in Chicago, Ill., is a leading management consultancy that serves clients in all major industries as well as government agencies. It has more than 2,500 employees worldwide. For more information about A.T. Kearney Procurement & Analytic Solutions products and services, visit: www.atkearney.com.

For more information about the Microsoft Office system, go to: www.microsoft.com/office.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/extranet_collaboration_manager_for_sharepoint_2007_featured_in_m.html

Yahoo! Web Analytics Leaps Ahead of Google Analytics for Enterprise Use

2009-02-17T09:23:00-05:00

Boston, MA (Gawkwire.com) Although Google Analytics has captured an unprecedented customer base among SMB website owners, Yahoo!'s emerging Web Analytics service surpasses Google in several key categories relevant to enterprises, according to new research by independent analyst firm, CMS Watch.

Today CMS Watch released its 470-page Web Analytics Report 2009, which evaluates twenty web analytics platforms against twelve potential use-cases. Vendors reviewed include Bango, Coremetrics, GlanceGuide, Intellitracker, Lyris, Nedstat, Omniture, Unica, Visible Measures, and WebTrends, as well as Google and Yahoo!. (Yahoo!'s offering came via a 2008 acquisition of longtime analytics vendor IndexTools.)

"Google Analytics made a name for itself by providing a no-cost, easy-to-use service," explained CMS Watch contributing analyst Phil Kemelor, "but it's no longer the only free analytics game in town."

CMS Watch found that Yahoo! Web Analytics surpasses Google in several key areas, including:

Better access control options and simpler approach to multi-site analytics
Larger default monthly page-view limits (200MM vs. 5MM - unless you have an active AdWords campaign)
Access to traffic data: Both vendors retain the right to hold and use your web analytics data for their own purposes, but only Yahoo! gives you the ability to export out your raw, unaggregated data
Longer historical availability of raw data
To be sure, Google retains an impressive brand name, and has made recent advances in its analytics platform, including a long-sought report API. "Nevertheless, savvier enterprise customers explain that their concerns about data access and migration -- especially in the absence of effective data verification services -- made them queasy about signing on with Google," notes CMS Watch founder Tony Byrne.

CMS Watch also found that Yahoo! Web Analytics had its drawbacks, including an administrative complexity that accompanied its functional richness, and present lack of 24/7 tech support. "Ultimately, for some enterprises, neither Google nor Yahoo! makes a good fit," explained Byrne, "and those customers should consider fee-based web analytics solutions."

The Web Analytics Report 2009 is available for purchase online from CMS Watch.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/yahoo_web_analytics_leaps_ahead_of_google_analytics_for_enterpri.html

Fasthosts Launches Green Initiative

2009-02-17T09:24:00-05:00

Philadelphia, PA (Gawkwire.com) Fasthosts Internet, (http://www.fasthosts.com), a leading reseller web hosting provider, announced they are participating in a green initiative, which ensures all services run from a green data center. Fasthosts is part of United Internet's Global Green Initiative whose renewable resources save 30,000 tons of CO2 every year. Fasthosts is certified by Green-e, the nation's leading voluntary certification program for renewable energy. Fasthosts is purchasing enough Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from the non-profit, Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF), to match 100 percent of the electricity used at the company's data center.

"At Fasthosts it is important for us to offer our resellers a service that will allow them to succeed. Environmentally conscious products and services are in a great demand now, so we've decided to offer our resellers the ability to sell a green product at no extra cost. Besides being a valuable selling point for our resellers, Fasthosts is proud to be an environmentally responsible company," said Steve Holford, CMO of Fasthosts.

Complete details of Fasthosts' green efforts can be viewed on the Fasthosts Green Web page (http://www.fasthosts.com/about-fasthosts/greener-hosting/). For over a decade, the Green-e program, administered by the Center for Resource Solutions, has been certifying renewable energy that meets environmental and consumer protection standards that it developed in conjunction with leading environmental, energy and policy organizations.

Fasthosts provides its US resellers with dedicated service 24/7 with US based technical support via phone or email. All US customer websites are hosted within the company's green state-of-the-art data center in Lenexa, KS and benefit from 30GBit high-speed connectivity.

For more information on Fasthosts and reseller web hosting, see the website at http://www.fasthosts.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/fasthosts_launches_green_initiative.html

WebmasterRadio.FM Town Hall Meeting Featuring EngineReady.com

2009-02-17T09:21:00-05:00

Fort Lauderdale, FL (Gawkwire.com) WebmasterRadio.FM, the premier free, 24/7 Internet business radio network focused on the B2B marketplace announces a broadcast of Town Hall Meeting featuring EngineReady.com, on Tuesday, February 17th, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

Jim Hedger hosts this Town Hall Meeting, with Engine Ready's Vice President of Marketing Brian Lewis, who introduces us to Engine Ready's newest product called "Conversion Critic".

"This 30-minute interview details how Conversion Critic critiques and improves custom-built landing pages," WebmasteRadio.FM host Jim Hedger said.

Conversion Critic is an online tool for search marketers designed to help them analyze and improve landing pages. The tool scores a marketer's landing page based on 37 criteria, providing key feedback on suggested modifications for increasing conversion.

This WebmasterRadio.FM Town Hall Meeting will be available for podcast, mobilecast and in archived format inside the Town Hall Meetings channel at www.WebmasterRadio.FM.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/webmasterradio_fm_town_hall_meeting_featuring_engineready_com.html

GoGrid Expands Cloud Product Line with Larger Virtual Server Instances

2009-02-17T09:26:00-05:00

San Francisco, CA (Gawkwire.com) GoGrid, the Cloud Computing division of ServePath, LLC today announced the immediate availability of larger RAM, CPU and persistent storage Cloud Server instances. The new 4 and 8 GB RAM Cloud Servers further broaden GoGrid's line of Web and Database Cloud servers, enabling complete infrastructure in the Cloud.

To bring higher performance server lines into the GoGrid cloudcenter, all 64-bit GoGrid images are now available in 4 and 8 GB RAM configurations. The 4 GB RAM server images can be deployed via the GoGrid web portal and API. The 8 GB RAM server images currently may only be deployed via the GoGrid API.

The 4 and 8 GB RAM images, available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1, CentOS 5.1, and Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 64-bit operating systems bring a new level of performance to the GoGrid line. 4 GB Cloud Servers have 3 CPU Cores and 8 GB have 6 CPU Cores, ensuring dedicated CPU allocations and high performance.

All GoGrid Cloud Servers come with persistent storage. The new larger RAM allocations announced today, are delivered with increased persistent storage: 4 GB Cloud Servers have 240 GB of hard drive space and 8 GB have 480 GB of storage allocated at boot time. Additional storage can be added using GoGrid's dynamically scalable Cloud Storage offering which includes a 10 GB free allotment to start with. Each 1 GB thereafter costs $0.15/GB/month.

Further information on the new 4 and 8 GB RAM GoGrid Cloud Servers can be found at:

http://www.gogrid.com/how-it-works/technical-specifications.php

Server Release Information on these new images can be found at:

http://wiki.gogrid.com/wiki/index.php/Release_Log

Windows users are requested to read our Release and Errata pages as there are some known issues specific to 8 GB Windows Servers which may require a workaround and that they should be aware of before using 8 GB GoGrid Servers with Windows. Errata page: http://wiki.gogrid.com/wiki/index.php/Errata

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/gogrid_expands_cloud_product_line_with_larger_virtual_server_ins.html

SoftLayer CDNLayerâ„¢ Grows Even Stronger

2009-02-16T16:01:00-05:00

DALLAS, TX (Gawkwire.com) SoftLayer today announced new advanced features for CDNLayer, the company’s proprietary content delivery network. The features can be accessed and controlled through the SoftLayer Customer Portal and API, and include:

• Content Authentication: providing digital transaction control to restrict content access and enable e-commerce solutions.
• Cache Clearing: eliminating cached files from all CDN PoP’s to remove time sensitive material quickly and easily

CDNLayer has been greatly successful since launching a year ago, with bandwidth consumption growing 500% from the third to fourth quarters of 2008 alone. Enterprises of all sizes have found exceptional opportunities and value in the service’s capabilities and no-contract pricing model. Customers pay only $0.20/GB for bandwidth used. Combined with SoftLayer’s other standard, commitment-free services, this makes CDNLayer a highly cost-effective solution, especially for customers that face periods of unexpected traffic spikes and Internet bottlenecks.

“On the Internet, content is king. CDNLayer not only gives our customers consistent and reliable content delivery, it brings them a tool for managing and securing content access and digital rights,” said Nathan Day, SoftLayer Chief Technology Officer. “These new features extend CDNLayer’s capabilities for protecting the value of customers’ content and maximizing its return.”

CDNLayer moves content geographically closer to end-users, which helps minimize the distance that content has to travel, avoid network traffic jams, and decrease latency. In addition to the new features announced today, the service also provides customers:

• SoftLayer’s content access control service, utilizing unique tokens or IP addresses to authorize access
• Flexibility to write their own content access control tools
• FTP access across the SoftLayer private network to load content with unlimited additional bandwidth
• Bandwidth monitoring through CDN PoP
• Origin pull of content for managing content from an origin web server

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/softlayer_cdnlayer_grows_even_stronger.html

Liquid Web offers Fully Managed Ruby on Rails Hosting

2009-02-15T23:45:00-05:00

LANSING, MICHIGAN (Gawkwire.com) Liquid Web customers are able to deploy highly scalable and fault tolerant Rails configurations within minutes. By creating a single click RoR deployment solution, Liquid Web developers have greatly simplified the process to deploy, manage and update RoR hosting environments. This means that RoR developers can focus on writing great code instead of handling the time-consuming task of installing, integrating, updating and tweaking their Rails hosting environment. Liquid Web hosted RoR applications are fast, resilient and cost-effective.

"Liquid Web's Ruby on Rails clients can be confident they are in good hands because Liquid Web provides flexible month to month pricing and Heroic Support Engineers that proactively monitor their servers 24 hours per day."

- Director of Marketing, Travis Stoliker

Liquid Web Ruby On Rails Hosting Features:
•             Fully Managed Rails Updates
•             Fully Managed Dedicated Databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL & SQLite)
•             One Click Application Deployment
•             SSH for Secure Private Access
•             RubyGems Package Manager Pre-Installed
•             Web Server Support for Mongrel, Thin, Passenger & FastCGI

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/liquid_web_offers_fully_managed_ruby_on_rails_hosting_for_vps_sh.html

3FN Launches Tools for Dedicated Server Customization

2009-02-16T09:41:00-05:00

San Jose, CA (Gawkwire.com) 3FN Inc., Triple Fiber Network, the world's leading provider of web hosting, including dedicated server, shared and collocation hosting and other web hosting services, launches new tools for dedicated server customization.

Triple Fiber Network is pleased to announce the new addition of powerful features to its dedicated server offers. Our valued customers can now choose from many advanced features when ordering a dedicated server.

The first option allows to select the required operating system. The options include FreeBSD, Linux Stable, Windows 2008 Web Edition, Windows 2003 Standard Edition and custom option. If you need other operating system, and you do not see it listed, there is a custom selection as an option. Bandwidth server options focuses on consultative approach with our clients. The new tools provide options to address multiple IP requirements.

Although 3FN provides all its hosting customers with fully managed dedicated server hosting services, every customer can also choose from additional monitoring services in order to receive maximum uptime. Monitoring options are: bronze monitoring plan (ping only), silver monitoring plan (ping,ssh, apache), gold monitoring plan (all services + 1x security audit) and platinum monitoring plan (all services + monthly security audit). There is a wide range of choices for DDoS protection. 3FN is devoted to protect customers from Distributed Denial of Service attacks and other security vulnerabilities.

There is also an option for remote reboot and remote console. Both are important features that our valued customers can choose to use. The new tools provide an option of adding multiple IPs option which is very useful for search engine optimization and rankings.

"We have made another advance step launching tools for dedicated server customization. New tools for dedicated server customization are delivered in the most professional manner with only our clients' needs in mind. We are honored to deliver hosting services to thousands business and corporate web sites as well as personal and popular web resources. We provide unlimited possibility, advanced technology, high reliability and security for dedicated server hosting to our valuable customers. The outstanding conditions for dedicated server hosting by 3FN have been recognized by our customers all over the world," says Dean McToner, the 3FN spokesperson. "Ordering one server with 3FN there is a striking opportunity to receive effective, customized hosting solution because of the variety of powerful features that our customers can select. This will ease webmasters' efforts and make their works more efficient. The new tools for dedicated server customization is practical and help webmasters to customize hosting solutions according to their needs and businesses requirements."

Moreover, on a dedicated server order page there is an additional field for notes or questions related to hardware or operation system installation. The dedicated order server page is supplied with a build-in calculator that will automatically calculate your choosing package plan and its price, showing pricing for each option.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/3fn_launches_tools_for_dedicated_server_customization.html

PubCon South, Austin, Texas, Announces Extensive Conference Session Line-Up

2009-02-16T09:38:00-05:00

Austin, TX (Gawkwire.com) PubCon, the search engine and Internet marketing conference and expo, has announced an extensive line-up of industry-leading speakers at PubCon South, Norris Executive Conference Center, Austin, Texas, on March 11-13, 2009. Themes include Organic SEO, SEM, Social Media, Networking and Linking, along with sessions of Interactive Site Reviews.

Brett Tabke, PubCon's organizer and WebmasterWorld's CEO, said, "If you're serious about your business on the Internet, we've put together an extensive conference line-up to help you get the most out of your search engine and Internet marketing programs. With two top-notch keynote speakers, Guy Kawasaki and Google's Matt Cutts, and sessions covering all topical aspects of the Internet, I know attendees will come away with fresh marketing initiatives."

PubCon South is a multi-track conference with an extensive program of educational, highly topical sessions, where cutting-edge Internet marketing knowledge is shared with attendees. As an example, PubCon South will hold sessions on the theme of SEO covering:- In House SEO, Universal and Personal Search, Organic Keyword Research and Selection, Top Secret Tools of the Trade, SEO Site Design, etc. Sessions on the topic of SEM include:- Large Scale Bid Management, Conversion Optimization and Testing, Ecommerce, CMS, and Shopping Cart Optimization, etc. The Social Media Theme includes sessions on Twitter Landscape, Consumer and Community Generated Content, Emerging Social and New Media Landscape, etc. For the complete list of over 30 sessions, visit the PubCon South Session Grid. For the complete list of sessions, visit the PubCon South Session Grid.

Conference registration, and a full list of speakers and sponsors is at http://www.pubcon.com

About PubCon
PubCon is a multi-track educational conference hosted by SearchEngineWorld & WebmasterWorld. PubCon events are for thought leaders and professionals in search engine and Internet marketing to gather and to share best practices in the design, development, promotion and marketing of their Internet businesses and brands.

For more information about the conference, contact Brett Tabke at 512-231-8107 or brett at webmasterworld.com

In the U.K., contact Neil Marshall at 512-231-8107 ext 106 or engine at webmasterworld.com

For more details about sponsorship and exhibition opportunities, contact Strategic Marketing Director Joseph Morin at 512-231-8107 ext 104 or joe at webmasterworld.com

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/pubcon_south_austin_texas_announces_extensive_conference_session.html

topseos.com Names 10 of the Best Link Popularity Companies for February 2009

2009-02-13T09:41:00-05:00

Plymouth, IN (Gawkwire.com) The popular ranking site, topseos.com, announces the best link popularity firms for the month of February. After much scrutiny, topseos.com has narrowed the field to just 10 excellent companies. The topseos team has committed itself in finding the best companies that offer web-based services. They have completed their monthly assessment of companies offering link popularity services.

Independent Authority on Search
Link popularity is the act of building popularity and familiarity for your company. It gives you a presence in the web which you can use to market your services. This is part of any comprehensive search engine optimization campaign. With Link popularity, web marketing professionals create links to your target website. The aim of these professionals is to make the links as natural as possible to be searched.

With the increase of web marketing companies in the world it becomes harder and harder to find a competent company that produces results. topseos has compiled the best in link popularity service companies for you.

The top 10 link popularity service firms are:
1.   Intrapromote LLC
2.   Bruce Clay Inc.
3.   Web.com Search Agency
4.   We Build Pages
5.   Sharpize.com
6.   Netsmartz
7.   Vertical Measure
8.   Justilien
9.   Martini Buster
10.   Alliance Link

These top web marketing firms have gone through an extensive evaluation process that includes examination of actual results. This includes looking at return on investment, analysis methods used, and overall customer experience just to name a few. After much scrutiny we have narrowed the list down to the companies above.

Link popularity firms that would like to be considered for the topseos rankings can apply at: www.topseos.com/rankings/search-engine-marketing-agencies/apply-for-ranking.

To learn more about the best Link Popularity Companies, visit: www.topseos.com/rankings-of-best-link-popularity-services-companies.

http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/topseos_com_names_10_of_the_best_link_popularity_companies_for_f.html

Bloggers Have Just Five Days Left To Qualify For $2,000

2009-02-13T09:40:00-05:00

Minneapolis, MN (Gawkwire.com) (ChapeauBlogAwards.com) Chapeau Blog Awards is counting down towards its announcement of 2009's Most Brilliant Blog. Bloggers, in categories ranging from technology to entertainment, have just five days left to enter their blog and qualify for a $2,000 grand cash prize and recognition as 2009's "Most Brilliant Blog".

Brilliant blogs must consistently deliver upon their audiences expectations. Over the next five days, bloggers still have a chance to discover how well they have lived up to audience expectations as voters begin to decide on which entry into Chapeau Blog Awards is 2009's "Most Brilliant Blog."

Enter Chapeau Blog Awards by Tuesday, February 17th and submit your blog to one of the following categories:
Arts & Design
Health & Beauty
Technology
Parenting
Marketing & Advertising
Real Estate & Development
Hobbies
Finance
Travel & Leisure
News
Entertaining
Web Design & Development

$2,000 will be awarded for 2009's "Most Brilliant Blog" along with 4 iPod Touch's for the top four honorable mention blogs.

Enter Chapeau Blog Awards today by visiting Chapeau Blog Awards website.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/bloggers_have_just_five_days_left_to_qualify_for_2_000.html

Surpass Hosting Markets Third-Annual 'One Love' One-Dollar Promotion

2009-02-13T09:42:00-05:00

ORLANDO, Fla. (Gawkwire.com) Lasting only until Monday, February 16 – just three days – One Love 3 is focused on the company’s Power plan, now boasting 500GB of storage space and unlimited monthly data transfer. All shared hosting plans include a strong portfolio of features and are hosted on servers powered by Quad-Core Technology.

“We’re at it again," said Kayla Fleming, vice president of sales, Surpass Hosting. "When we first launched ‘One Love’ in 2007, we thought we had created a short term promotion create an incentive for prospects to try our services without laying out much cash. But three years later, ‘One Love’ has really grown into something much stronger and more important for the Surpass Hosting brand. It’s become a distinguishing mark, and it’s exciting for all of us."

New customers are eligible to take advantage of the One Love 3 promotion. Some terms and conditions may apply to One Love 3. More details are available at http://www.surpasshosting.com/one-love-2009-terms.php.

Surpass Hosting has offered the unique promotion twice previously, mostly recently in February 2008. To learn more about One Love 3, this year’s promotion, please visit http://www.surpasshosting.com/one-love-2009.php.

To learn more about Surpass Hosting, please visit http://www.surpasshosting.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/surpass_hosting_markets_third-annual_one_love_one-dollar_promoti.html

HostMySite.com and Applicure Team Up to Protect Customer Data

2009-02-12T09:22:00-05:00

Newark, DE (Gawkwire.com) HostMySite.com, a managed dedicated server hosting company, is partnering with Applicure Technologies Ltd. to help customers protect their websites and web applications from external and internal attacks. These security solutions will help customers augment their traditional perimeter security measures, eliminate internal security breaches, and assist with legal security and compliance requirements.
Yaacov Sherban, Applicure CEO, stated, "HostMySite.com has achieved its leadership position by delivering premium hosting solutions backed by great service and support, which is a mirror image of Applicure's approach to security technology. dotDefender will now be available to HostMySite.com's large dedicated hosting customer base, bolstering its position as the web application security solution of choice for the hosting industry."
Even with network firewall and anti-virus security measures, malicious users can breach a website using a number of attacks, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and session hijacking. These dangerous attacks appear as harmless traffic to a network firewall or anti-virus program and will therefore be allowed to pass through.
Applicure's dotDefender web application security solution gives HostmySite.com customers the option to affordably protect their websites, applications, and data from malicious users seeking to exploit vulnerabilities. The solution is based on a comprehensive knowledgebase and sophisticated pattern matching technology, which identifies attacks accurately and stops them before they reach a website or application.
"We are excited about working with Applicure and bringing dotDefender to our customers," said Brian Raboin, HostMySite.com Vice President of Operations. "This solution is unique in its design, function and ease of use. When our support staff brought dotDefender to my attention and told me what it did and how it worked, I knew we had to make it available to our customers."
HostMySite.com customers will be able to easily and affordably add additional security to their hosting without expending extra time and effort managing and updating these security methods on their own. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/hostmysite_com_and_applicure_team_up_to_protect_customer_data.html

1 IN 3 BUSINESSES STILL DO NOT OPTIMISE THEIR POSITION IN SEARCH ENGINES

2009-02-12T09:21:00-05:00

Gloucester, UK (Gawkwire.com) More than 1 in 3 (35 per cent) of UK businesses with a website make no effort to optimise their position within Internet Search Engines, according to research released today by Fasthosts Internet Ltd, (www.fasthosts.co.uk), the UK's number one web hosting company. Worryingly, the survey of 405 UK businesses found that many business owners are unaware of how search listings are compiled, and are confused over the cost and time required to optimise their own rankings. A further survey over 1600 UK consumers found that consumers today are heavily reliant on search engines to find retailers, and have a strong preference for ‘Organic’ or main search engine results as opposed to additional ‘Sponsored’ links which businesses pay to display, with more than 1 in 3 people (38 per cent) choosing to ignore these when they appear. Fasthosts’ data also reveals that the proportion of UK businesses that do not submit their websites to search engines has fallen from 49 per cent in 2006 to only 17 per cent in 2009.

As our gateways to the Web, Internet Search Engines are the most commonly used websites for the majority of Britons. However, Fasthosts’ ‘Online Search For Business Survey’ found that one third of British businesses are reducing their chances of being found online by failing to optimise their search rankings. Fasthosts’ survey also found that 40 per cent of business owners either have no idea or an inaccurate view of how online search results are determined. Search engine results are, in fact, ordered according to a combination of relevance to search terms and optimisation techniques used by the individual website owners.

Around 1 in 5 business owners (19 per cent) incorrectly believe that the order of search engine results cannot be influenced by the publishers of websites such as themselves. A further 12 per cent suspect that results are ordered entirely according to how much has been paid by the businesses listed.

Thus, it is perhaps unsurprising that 1 in 3 companies (35 per cent) still do not make any efforts to optimise their search rankings, making them more difficult to find online as a result. When this figure is combined with the 17 per cent completely absent from search engines, a very alarming half (52 per cent) of all British businesses are not benefiting from ‘Search Engine Optimisation’ (SEO) – a vital commercial practice in 2009. Given that over two thirds (69 per cent) of companies recognise that consumers often rely on main search results to find online retailers, it is remarkable that so many businesses remain on the sidelines.

Steve Holford, Chief Marketing Officer, Fasthosts Internet Ltd, said "No business today can afford to neglect its position within search engines.   In learning the basics of how Internet search works, a business owner will appreciate what a powerful impact it can make on their sales function".

Widespread confusion amongst business owners over the cost and time involved with SEO could be a potential reason for many enterprises neglecting the issue. A third of owners (33 per cent) surveyed believe that it would not be possible to implement any optimisation themselves using an SEO tool. 1 in 5 owners (22 per cent) believe that it would be ‘challenging’ or ‘impossible’ to achieve any improvement of their rankings themselves.

Furthermore, two thirds of companies (68 per cent) over-estimate the cost of optimising their rankings, with 40 per cent over-estimating the cost of an SEO tool by at least 3 times.   Whilst understandably, many businesses may be reluctant to make large investments online, the business case for SEO solutions is highly impressive. From only £100 a year, a company can implement a solution that will ensure improved rankings.

A further study by Fasthosts of 1600 UK adults, exploring the public’s day-to-day use of search engines, found that Britons have a strong preference for ‘Organic’ or main search results as opposed to additional ‘Sponsored’ links. More than 1 in 3 people (38 per cent) claim to ignore these whenever they appear. The findings further underline the need to perform search engine optimisation for business websites. With two thirds of web users (66 per cent) reporting that they always pay attention first to main results, businesses should ensure that their website has an optimal structure and content for search engines. By choosing and ‘tagging’ one main keyword or short phrase for each page of their website, a business can encourage search engines to associate the page with that phrase.

Today, there are web-based tools available which any business can use to improve their position within search engines. For example, Fasthosts TrafficDriver, available from only £24 per year+VAT, will submit a business website to hundreds of search engines worldwide and guarantee a Google listing. TrafficDriver also generates detailed monthly reports that can provide excellent insights when defining an online marketing strategy. Such ‘point & click’ solutions for search engine optimisation are rapidly increasing in popularity.

Holford added, "In the coming year, more firms will turn to the Internet as a swift and cost-effective way to expand their sales and lead generation. Research suggests that SEO should now be a top priority for many UK enterprises. It could well become their wisest investment this year".

As the UK's largest web host, Fasthosts offers a comprehensive range of web solutions including domain name registrations, email solutions (including mobile email services), shared web hosting, dedicated servers, online payment services, reseller web hosting and feature-rich broadband packages. For more information on Fasthosts, see the website at www.fasthosts.co.uk http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/1_in_3_businesses_still_do_not_optimise_their_position_in_search.html

Two Key MySQL Executives Leave Sun

2009-02-10T09:31:00-05:00

They include Marten Mickos, the CEO of MySQL before it was acquired by Sun last year for about $1 billion, and Michael "Monty" Widenius, founder and original developer of MySQL.

Widenius said in a posting on his blog on Thursday that he told Sun management last Fall that he would resign because he "strongly believed that the 5.1 release was not ready and that those problems needed to be fixed before it went GA (general availability)." ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/two_key_mysql_executives_leave_sun.html

Engine Ready Releases Free Landing Page Analysis Tool

2009-02-10T09:27:00-05:00

San Diego, CA (Gawkwire.com) Engine Ready announced today the release of ConversionCritic, an online tool available to search engine marketers designed to help marketers analyze and improve their landing pages. For a limited time, ConversionCritic will be available to the public free of charge.

ConversionCritic is the only online tool that effectively scores a marketer’s landing page based on 37 criteria, providing key feedback on suggested modifications for increasing conversion. Marketers will receive summary and detailed reports on the Marketing effectiveness, Offer clarity, Readability, and Engagement (using the acronym MORE) of their pages.

“The dynamics that persuade a visitor to be your customer are numerous and complex, and depend on your product/service offering, competitive influences and the demographics of your target audience”, reports Engine Ready’s CEO Jamie Smith. “ConversionCritic is a great online tool for search marketers to see exactly which on-page factors are contributing to higher conversions and what improvements are needed to further increase the conversion rate.”

To access ConversionCritic, visit www.conversioncritic.com. For a limited time Engine Ready will be making this tool available to the public at no charge.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/engine_ready_releases_free_landing_page_analysis_tool.html

AspDotNetStorefront ML/DNN v7.1.2 Released

2009-02-10T09:25:00-05:00

Westlake, OH (Gawkwire.com) AspDotNetStorefront is pleased to announce the new ML/DNN v7.1.2 release of the ML for DotNetNuke platform. Based on months of cumulative feedback from customers and partners, AspDotNetStorefront ML/DNN version 7.1.2 for DotNetNuke is now released focusing on enhancing the feature set, usability, and reliability of the ML/DNN platform.

Such improvements include significant enhancements in the ability to handle international and multi-locale sites, as well as updates to admin site functionality, shipping, tax handling, support for multi-portal sites, and hundreds of additional improvements facilitating even stronger e-commerce capabilities with AspDotNetStorefront's ML/DNN shopping cart platform.

We're very excited about the progress we have made with this release
"We're very excited about the progress we have made with this release," said AspDotNetStorefront's COO Dan Van Kuren. "Merging two best-of-breed platforms such as AspDotNetStorefront's industry leading ecommerce and DotNetNuke's CMS system represents a significant challenge. This latest release shows that we are dedicated as an organization to supporting merchants and developers using the DNN platform, and continues our commitment to lead the DotNetNuke e-commerce shopping cart market in features, reliability, and overall value."

New customers and existing customers with current maintenance plans will have access to the new release starting on January 27, 2009 at http://www.aspdotnetstorefront.com/. Other customers interested in upgrading can contact our sales department at sales (at) aspdotnetstorefront (dot) com or dial 602- 490-0243 option 2.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/aspdotnetstorefront_ml_dnn_v7_1_2_released.html

Exclusive Coverage of the Search Marketing Expo West (SMX) 2009 Conference

2009-02-10T00:20:00-05:00

Fort Lauderdale, Fl (Gawkwire.com) WebmasterRadio.FM, the premier free, 24/7 Internet business radio network focused on the B2B marketplace and the official radio network of the Search Marketing Expo conference series, announces exclusive coverage from the floor of the Search Marketing Expo West (SMX) 2009 Conference starting today and running through February 12th.

WebmasterRadio.FM will be reporting from the show floor with "roving reporter" interviews with panelists and attendees, including a special live broadcast of "PPC Rockstars" featuring a PPC Webmaster Roundtable as part of "WebmasterRadio.FM's SearchBash at SMX West 2009" after-hour party from the Hyatt Santa Clara.

"WebmasterRadio.FM's live coverage keeps tabs on the pulse of the event for both conference goers and those who can't make it to Santa Clara," said Brandy Shapiro-Babin, WebmasterRadio.FM Vice President of Marketing. "Our roving reporters will be scouring the event floor for up-to-the-minute interviews and spot coverage. If there's a scoop, you'll hear it!"

WebmasterRadio.FM is the official radio network of the Search Marketing Expo conference series, the largest and most important conference dedicated to the search engine and search engine marketing industries. The Search Marketing Expo West (SMX) 2009 Conference event runs February 10th thru the 12th at the Santa Clara, California Convention Center.

SMX West coverage and all WebmasterRadio.FM programs are available in podcast format through all major podcast portals, and in mobilecast and archived format on-demand at www.WebmasterRadio.FM.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/exclusive_coverage_of_the_search_marketing_expo_west_smx_2009_co.html

OpenDNS and Kaspersky Lab Team to Fight Massive Windows Conficker Worm

2009-02-09T09:42:00-05:00

San Francisco, CA (Gawkwire.com) OpenDNS, provider of the award-winning service that makes the Internet safer, faster, smarter and more reliable, today announced it has teamed with leading antivirus company Kaspersky Lab to fight the wide-spread Conficker virus. The effort to fight Conficker uses the newly introduced OpenDNS Botnet Protection feature, which provides network administrators visibility into the networks they operate and sends notification if the Conficker Windows worm has successfully penetrated their network. This insight then gives network administrators the knowledge necessary to disable the worm and prevent it from causing damage. The Conficker virus, also known as Kido and Downadup, surfaced in late 2008 and targets the Microsoft Windows operating system, exploiting a known vulnerability in the Windows Server service used by most versions of Windows.

"For a virus as widespread as Conficker, the ability to quickly and easily see if the virus has penetrated your network is hugely significant when considering as many as 10 million PCs are infected so far, and the damage the virus could potentially do. For the first time, OpenDNS is leveraging its globally distributed DNS network to combat malware," said OpenDNS Founder and CTO David Ulevitch. "The joining of Kaspersky Lab, a world-class antivirus company, and OpenDNS, the leading provider of DNS infrastructure and security services, gives network administrators a significant advantage in the fight against malware and botnets."

"Despite not introducing any technological innovation, the Conflicker/Kido worm is regarded to be one of the most dangerous IT threats at the moment," said Vitaly Kamluk, Head of Antibotnet Research, Kaspersky Lab. "The worm was supposedly propagated via an existing botnet -- this shows how dangerous the integration of two different malicious technologies might be. Speed of reaction in such cases is very important. We are open to all the communities and services that may help here. OpenDNS is one of the leading free and secure online services and we are happy that in this joint effort we can protect OpenDNS users as well."

OpenDNS Botnet Protection, as well as its use to fight the Conficker virus, represents a key innovation in the use of the Domain Name System. Conficker, also known as Downadup, uses a set of seemingly random domain names as a meeting place for the virus to exchange data with its author, such as how many new machines each host has brought into the botnet, or details on any code upgrades or attacks the owner wants to take place. These domain names are generated using an algorithm so they change every day, making traditional methods like revoking domain registrations used by botnet authors ineffective.

Kaspersky Lab has taken steps to preemptively predict the domains that will be used in coming days by the virus, and is collaborating with OpenDNS by sharing the predicted domains. OpenDNS Botnet Protection then blocks the domains from resolving inside the OpenDNS service, for all OpenDNS users. Consequently, OpenDNS Botnet Protection prevents the virus from taking part in any further actions at the instruction of the virus author, and effectively prevents the virus from causing additional damage and alerts networking administrators of malware living on their network.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/opendns_and_kaspersky_lab_team_to_fight_massive_windows_conficke.html

GlobalSign EV SSL Certificates Secure Leading UK Brands

2009-02-09T09:39:00-05:00

London, UK (Gawkwire.com) GlobalSign Ltd (www.globalsign.co.uk), one of the longest established Certification Authorities (CA) and specialists in SSL Certificate security, today announced that the BT online shop, dabs.com, and moonpig.com are the latest major brands to adopt GlobalSign Extended Validation (EV) SSL technology to secure their ecommerce web sites. EV SSL represents the most significant advancement in how consumers identify a secure site since the inception of SSL over 10 years ago. It activates the browser’s green address bar and prominently displays advanced security and identity information.

EV SSL Certificates are issued by publicly trusted Certification Authorities under much stricter guidelines than standard SSL. By deploying EV SSL online retailers can build higher levels of trust and confidence among consumers. EV SSL activates the green address bar in high security browsers such as IE7, Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome and Safari. As well as turning the address bar green, web sites using EV SSL feature the standard SSL “padlock” and identify the organisation behind the website by displaying the company name. These visual indicators provide a clear business differentiator for online companies taking preventative action against today’s relentless phishing attacks. The adoption of EV SSL shows consumers that the retailer is firm in their commitment to online security.

“We congratulate BT Shop, dabs.com and moonpig.com on their adoption of EV SSL security,” said Paul Tourret, Managing Director, GlobalSign. “We are pleased to see a growing number of household names illustrate their commitment to using this trust enabling technology by upgrading to EV SSL and we’re happy to be able to help such committed companies lead the way in protecting their brands online.”
Recently awarded with the new WebTrust for EV accreditation, GlobalSign is highly focused on providing organisations with the strongest SSL security in the market. By offering a simplified, competitively priced, feature packed range of SSL, with free inclusion of Server Gated Cryptography (strong security), and promotional 3 for 1 server licensing, GlobalSign makes the strongest levels of SSL accessible to all online retailers, from small and medium enterprises to large household brands. Organisations with existing non-EV SSL Certificates can easily upgrade to GlobalSign’s EV SSL and benefit from multi-year savings and promotional pricing. For more information on EV SSL and to see the GlobalSign Extended SSL Certificate in operation please visit http://www.globalsign.co.uk/.
update both the Operating System and the CM4all Application.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/globalsign_ev_ssl_certificates_secure_leading_uk_brands.html

PPC Summit: Tough Times Call for Maximizing Search Engine Marketing

2009-02-09T09:43:00-05:00

Los Angeles, CA (Gawkwire.com) In tough economic times, with increasing competition and tightening marketing budgets, marketers are forced to make decisions based on how to most effectively maximize their advertising dollars. As companies proceed with caution and move forward with their 2009 marketing initiatives, they are shedding some light on the Search Marketing industry. According to a recent Marketing Outlook survey, 44% of business executives plan to increase their Search Marketing ad budget dollars in 2009.* Marketers are recognizing more and more that Search advertising must be incorporated into their marketing strategy.

A key finding according to IDC's Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast, Search ads will dominate internet advertising, capturing more than one-third of annual online ad spending worldwide. "One of the biggest reasons for the increase in Search ad spend is that Search allows marketers to gain a greater amount of exposure and reach larger targeted audiences--while spending less and driving their cost per acquisition (CPA) down," said Mary O'Brien, PPC Summit CEO. "Proven over time, Search Engine Marketing and Pay Per Click advertising have been highly efficient and effective advertising vehicles, and continues to grow despite the economic climate because consumers turn to Search to fulfill their shopping needs and make sure they are getting the best deals."

In 2009, Pay Per Click (PPC) Summit, leading educational Search Engine Marketing conference, will bring Microsoft, Google and other industry experts together to teach businesses how to integrate Search Marketing more heavily into their overall marketing mix. PPC Summit will hold two-day conferences with in-depth training, hands-on workshops, panel discussions, strategy sessions, networking and much more. PPC Summits will be held in Chicago: April 22-23, New York: May 13-14 and Los Angeles: September 24-25.

Now more than ever, marketing professionals need to be savvy and knowledgeable about Search Marketing in order to stay ahead of the competition. At PPC Summit, marketers will have the opportunity to learn how to maximize their Search Marketing ad dollars and benefit from the information-packed tracks and sessions on successful Search Engine Marketing strategies for B2B and B2C marketing in a weak economy. The PPC Summit expert trainers will teach businesses where to put their ad dollars, how to effectively manage search campaigns, how to improve their results and get more sales.

PPC Summit Sessions Cover Winning Search Engine Marketing Tactics:

How to set up and manage pay per click campaigns across Google Adwords, Yahoo! Search Marketing, Microsoft adCenter and more
Identifying hot keywords that drive profitable conversions
Motivating Search Engine Marketing copywriting techniques
Tools, solutions and resources that will increase CTR and conversion goals
Web Analytics Tracking: how to do it efficiently and effectively
Winning bidding strategies for cost saving measures
Secrets of landing page development and deployment
Real-world Case Studies, Metrics and much more
How to recognize and avoid click fraud and online ad revenue losses
Present and future B2B and B2C Search Engine Marketing opportunities

Pre-registration discounts are now being offered for marketers to attend PPC Summit and learn from Microsoft, Google and other world renown Search Marketing experts. PPC Summit is offering a $400 discount to attend the conference in Chicago: April 22-23, New York: May 13-14 and Los Angeles: September 24-25. All interested parties can register online at www.ppcsummit.com/overview.html?PR1

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/ppc_summit_tough_times_call_for_maximizing_search_engine_marketi.html

DOs and DONâ€™Ts of Recession Marketing: Five Cheap and Easy Techniques to Embrace

2009-02-07T06:00:00-05:00

New York, NY (Gawkwire.com) It’s one of the cruel ironies of business. When the economy is bad, you need to pull out all the stops to reel in new customers and extract more sales from current ones. Unfortunately, just at the time your rational brain is telling you to rev up your marketing efforts, your fear-driven gut is telling you to conserve money. Which message should a conflicted businessperson listen to? Both, says MaryEllen Tribby: Choose a variety of simple, inexpensive marketing vehicles and fire away.

“You don’t have to spend a lot of money to ensure that your marketing message is heard loud and clear,” says Tribby, publisher and CEO of Agora Financial’s Early to Rise and coauthor (along with Michael Masterson) of Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business (Wiley, October 2008, ISBN: 978-0-470-37502-0, $24.95). “There are plenty of inexpensive and very highly effective ways to attract new customers and stay in front of old ones.”

Tribby—whose book explains how to use a variety of both new and traditional media (i.e., multi-channel marketing) to reach a wider customer base, build customer loyalty, and increase sales—says there is a right way and a wrong way to sell during a recession. Here, she offers a few critical dos and don’ts:
The DOs…

DO send out an e-mail newsletter. Even if you have a small bricks-and-mortar business, you should be collecting the e-mail address of every customer who walks through your door. That way you can send them a regular newsletter with special offers, special events, coupons, and more.

“Your newsletter will keep your best customers coming back again and again,” says Tribby. “You can send your newsletter with cheap software like Get Response, which for only $17 per month Early to Rise uses to send e-mail to more than 440,000 subscribers. Or you can set up a new account with free e-mail services like Yahoo or Gmail to send messages to your list of customers.”
DO try your hand at online public relations. If you have a new product coming out, you should announce the news online. Write an informative press release with plenty of “contact” info that leads back to your own website or business. But because not too many people will be interested in reading only about your business, be sure to link your “news” with a hot topic of the day. It could be something that’s been in the news or that is controversial in your industry. Then submit it to online press release sites like PRWeb.com or Free-press-release.com.

For example, Tribby reports that she had the good fortune to interview Newt Gingrich in March 2007. Immediately after the interview, ETR posted a press release to several online press distribution services. It also uploaded comments about the interview to news-aggregating services, blogs, and political forums (with a back-link to the release posted in its Investors Daily Edge archive).

“Within the weeks following the initial interview, website visits and traffic ranking more than doubled and conversion also showed a spike,” says Tribby. “Three months later, the release was still being picked up by the media and through syndication…and the Investors Daily Edge website was enjoying residual traffic and back-links from this effort.”

DO hold teleconferences (a.k.a. teleseminars). Anybody can pick up a telephone and start talking. And that’s the key to using teleconferences to promote your business. It works like this: You find an expert in your industry to interview over the phone, you arrange a number for your customers to call in to hear the interview either for free or a modest fee, you offer another product to your customers during the call, and you record the call (which you can sell later).

“Essentially, you could have hundreds, or even thousands, of your customers listening in to your marketing message for minimal cost,” says Tribby. “My own company does teleconferences that cost less than $1 per attendee to produce. We actually had one that brought in $330,000.”

DO participate in joint ventures. Leverage your relationships with other, likeminded businesses in your niche or in related industries through joint ventures. Each JV is different, but it basically involves working together to promote each other’s products, with each side taking a split of the profit. It’s a great way to accelerate the growth of a business without spending much money.

“When joint venturing, look for strong partners, businesses that have skills or resources you lack,” advises Tribby. “Make sure each side’s contribution is equal and decided in advance. Make agreements simple, but put them in writing. The idea is to create joint ventures that are easy to maintain, financially lucrative, and long-lasting.

“Agora Inc., the ‘parent’ company of Early to Rise, grew its business from $1 million to $60 million primarily through joint ventures,” she adds. “It partnered with outside investment writers to publish financial newsletters and grow each publication’s subscriber list.”

DO use pay-per-click (PPC) ads. Services like Google AdWords offer a great low-cost way to advertise online. The best part is that your ads are targeted to Web surfers who are looking for products or services just like yours. You can even target your ads to specific geographic areas—perfect for bricks-and-mortar businesses.

In PPC advertising you pay only when someone clicks on your ad on the results page of Google. And your ads, which are three lines with a headline and your URL, show up only when someone is searching for keywords you have designated for your ad. You bid on these keywords, which should be terms that you think your target market is searching for. Because you bid and control how much you spend, you can limit your investment to as much or as little as you’d like.

“The key to success with PPC is testing,” notes Tribby. “You have to change your headlines, copy, and offer until you find the combination that brings in sales.”
…and the DON’Ts

DON’T overplan. The worst thing you can do in business is overplan, endlessly tweaking until everything is “just right.” Just do something and get your product or marketing effort out there. There is plenty of time to improve after you’ve seen what the market wants.

“The team here at Early to Rise debated for several days over the title of this book, Changing the Channel,” says Tribby. “We just couldn’t make a final choice…but the publisher needed it ASAP. So we took our top three candidates and threw them up online on a separate PPC ad for each title. Then by tracking how many clicks each ad got, we found our title. We let the market ‘decide,’ in other words.”

DON’T overspend. You don’t need to overextend your budget. You don’t need to hire an expensive consultant to craft your marketing plan. You don’t need to spend thousands to build your website. Cheap freelancers are easy to find. And most of this work you can—and should—be doing yourself.

DON’T fall in love with your ideas. Be ready to start over with new marketing copy or even a new product if the market tells you to—i.e., if nobody buys.

“At my own company, one of our top selling programs of the past year, a product that made us a lot of money, hasn’t been selling that much in the new year,” says Tribby. “It is tempting to just give it more chances, to let this program prove it can sell again. But the truth is that it no longer works, and we have to find something else to take its place.”

The bottom line? Marketing your business is not rocket science, says Tribby. It’s a simple matter of following proven formulas and executing methodically.

“In recessions people tend to panic and make bad business decisions,” she adds. “They either choose expensive and/or ill-suited marketing vehicles, which is bad, or they stop marketing altogether, which is worse. Don’t be one of them. Just stay calm and focused and keep sending your message out, relentlessly. When the recession ends, you’ll be glad you kept a cool head about you.”

About the Authors:
Michael Masterson is not your typical businessman. An ex-Peace Corps volunteer, he never took a class in business, doesn’t read the business press, and doesn’t like to talk business. He spends his spare time writing poetry, collecting fine art, and practicing Brazilian Jujitsu. His neighbors call him a bohemian capitalist. And with good reason.

He wrote his first poem when he was 10 years old and started his first business a year later. Since then, he has written more than a thousand poems and short stories and played an integral part in dozens of successful businesses in a variety of industries.

In 1999 Michael helped launch EarlytoRise.com, an Internet-based company that provides advice and training in “health, wealth, and wisdom.” Started initially as an informal weekly e-mail to a handful of his protégés, it quickly morphed into a $28 million enterprise.

In addition to consulting with ETR, the primary focus of his business life these days is as consultant to Agora, Inc., a $300 million, Baltimore-based publisher of information products with offices in England, France, Spain, Germany, South Africa, and Australia.

Notwithstanding clandestine luncheons that erupt into new multimillion-dollar ventures, Michael insists that he has been spending most of his time teaching and writing since he retired, for the second time, when he turned 53.
He writes poetry and fiction (“somewhat badly,” he says), as well as books on business and wealth building (all of which have been Wall Street Journal, Amazon.com, or New York Times bestsellers). “I have a readership that appreciates the way I look at things,” Michael says. “And that is gratifying.”

His nonfiction books include Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat; Seven Years to Seven Figures: The Fast-Track Plan to Becoming a Millionaire; Automatic Wealth for Grads…and Anyone Else Just Starting Out;

Automatic Wealth: The Six Steps to Financial Independence; Power and Persuasion: How to Command Success in Business and Your Personal Life; and Confessions of a Self-Made Multi-Millionaire.

Changing the Channel is his eleventh book and his sixth with John Wiley & Sons. He continues to write about starting and developing small businesses on a weekly basis in the EarlytoRise.com e-zine.

MaryEllen Tribby has led the Early to Rise team since May of 2006 as publisher and CEO. She has over 20 years of publishing and business experience, most notably in direct marketing. Since coming on board, she has more than tripled ETR’s revenue.

Her extensive experiences in the publishing industry began at 10 years old, when she delivered her local daily newspaper in her hometown of Parsippany, New Jersey. Of course, at the time she did not realize that one day she would be working for some of the largest publishing companies in the world.

Before joining ETR, Ms. Tribby served as president of Weiss Research in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and vice president of Globe Communications in Boca Raton, Florida.
Prior to moving to Florida, New York City was where Ms. Tribby truly gained her publishing expertise. While working at Times Mirror magazines, she learned many channels of marketing and implemented hundreds of successful marketing campaigns through direct mail, radio, television, and print.

At the age of 26, she managed a division of Forbes. From there she was recruited to head of marketing and circulation for Crain’s New York Business.

MaryEllen often speaks on expert panels at industry specific events, including those hosted by the Specialized Information Publishers Association (SIPA), Financial Information Publishers Association (FIPA), and Direct Marketing Association (DMA).

Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business, coauthored by Michael Masterson, is her first book.

She currently resides in Boca Raton, Florida, with her husband of 12 years, Patrick, and their three beautiful children, Mikaela, Connor, and Delanie.

When she is not working, you will find MaryEllen at one of her children’s sporting events or relaxing on the beach with her family.

About the Book:
Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business (Wiley, October 2008, ISBN: 978-0-470-37502-0, $24.95) is available at bookstores nationwide, major online booksellers, or direct from the publisher by calling 800-225-5945. In Canada, call 800-567-4797.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/dos_and_don_ts_of_recession_marketing_five_cheap_and_easy_techni.html

Twelve Days Left For Bloggers To Qualify For $2,000 From Chapeau Blog Awards

2009-02-06T09:24:00-05:00

Minneapolis, MN (Gawkwire.com) www.ChapeauBlogAwards.com - Chapeau Blog Awards is alerting the world's most brilliant bloggers, in categories ranging from marketing to real estate, that the February 17th deadline to secure recognition as
"Most Brilliant Blog" and a $2,000 cash prize is rapidly approaching.

For months, the world's most brilliant bloggers have wondered what they would do with an extra $2,000 to start the year. With Chapeau Blog Awards entries closing in just twelve days, one lucky blogger is ready to discover exactly what they will do with an additional $2,000.

Enter Chapeau Blog Awards by February 17th and submit your blog to one of the following categories:
Arts & Design
Health & Beauty
Technology
Parenting
Marketing & Advertising
Real Estate & Development
Hobbies
Finance
Travel & Leisure
News
Entertaining
Web Design & Development

$2,000 will be awarded for 2009's "Most Brilliant Blog" along with 4 iPod Touch's for the top four honorable mention blogs.

Enter Chapeau Blog Awards today by visiting Chapeau Blog Awards website.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/twelve_days_left_for_bloggers_to_qualify_for_2_000_from_chapeau_.html

Exclusive Coverage of Internet Retailers Web Design 2009 Conference

2009-02-06T09:21:00-05:00

Fort Lauderdale, FL (Gawkwire.com) WebmasterRadio.FM continues its tradition of bringing the best in conference and trade show coverage with its Internet Retailer Convention Web Design 2009 special. WebmasterRadio.FM, the premier B2B online radio network, is pleased to present interviews from the recent Internet Retailers Web Design 2009 Conference held in Miami Florida.

Gathered over the two day conference, WebmasterRadio.FM spoke with many of the best known names in Internet commerce. Those interviewed include; Jack Lord, publisher of the Internet Retailer Magazine and organizer of the conference, best selling author Brian Eisenberg, award winning search engine marketer Stephan Spencer, leading business consultant Bernadette Wu, and others.

"The Internet Retailer Conference was one of the most interesting tech shows I've attended in months," said WebmasterRadio.FM interviewer Jim Hedger, "The focus and dedication to excellence from the speakers and vendors was extraordinary."

Though online retailers are extremely concerned about the economy, the Internet provides a business environment with far lower overhead costs for merchants. Events like the Internet Retailers Conference present tremendous learning and networking opportunities for online merchants. WebmasterRadio.FM gathered a number of high profile interviews at the event which are available in the WebmasterRadio.FM archives (www.webmasterradio.fm/Specials/Specials/Internet-Retailer-Web-Design-2009-Coverage.htm)

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/exclusive_coverage_of_internet_retailers_web_design_2009_confere.html

Fpweb.net Offers Blackberry Services for Shared Exchange Hosting

2009-02-06T09:20:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Fpweb.net has been offering mobile Blackberry service to dedicated Exchange hosting clients for some time now. As customer demand continues to grow, they’ve decided to extend the service to shared Exchange hosting clients as well. “In this economy, we understand that not all clients have the need or funds to deploy an entire dedicated Blackberry server,” said Rob LaMear IV, Fpweb.net CEO. “Shared Blackberry Exchange hosting allows small businesses to take advantage of anytime, anywhere mobile business communication at a price they can’t get in-house.”

With this new offer, Fpweb.net Small Business Exchange hosting clients in a shared server environment can add mobile Blackberry service to their account on a per user basis. Cost is only $10 per user, per month, with no additional hardware or software costs. For more information on Shared Blackberry and Exchange hosting, visit their site or call 866.780.4678.

Founded in 1996, Fpweb.net provides managed hosting services for SharePoint, Exchange, CRM and Project Server. Their worry-free solutions offer clients the ability to focus on their core business, while cutting IT costs 60%. With more than 1 million SharePoint users around the world, Fpweb.net strives to become the leading customer service organization in the hosting industry. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner with 24/7 US support, they’ve earned the trust of over 5,000 enterprise clients including the NY Yankees, U.S. Air Force, IBM and DOW Chemical.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/fpweb_net_offers_blackberry_services_for_shared_exchange_hosting.html

For Those Who Still Have A Job, Bonuses Take A Big Hit

2009-02-05T09:40:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Spring Associates, Inc., public relations executive search and consulting firm has published its compensation findings in the 13th annual corporate communications and public relations compensation study called The Official PR Salary & Bonus Report© - 2009 Edition.

Salary, bonus and other data are compiled and analyzed using Spring Associates private database containing detailed job information on more than 20,000 credentialed PR corporate and agency professionals nationwide. The data is collected on a daily basis from direct contact between PR professionals and Spring Associates.

Here are some informational snippets from the Report….

Salaries
Overall, average corporate communications base salaries increased 2.2% compared with the previous year's 3.8%. PR agency base salaries increased 2.5% compared to the previous year's decrease of 3.9%.

The nine "key metro cities" (those with the greatest number of PR professionals), New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas/Houston, Washington DC, and San Francisco as a group, posted an average salary increase of 2.5% vs last year's 4.2% for PR firms, and an average increase of 2.2% vs the previous year's 4.0% for corporate communications departments.

The five major regions of the country - northeast, southeast, midwest, southwest and west, (excluding the nine key metro cities), reveals that corporate communications average salaries were up 2.1% vs 3.3% while PR agency average salaries increased by 2.4% vs last year's 3.2%.

Salary Title Highlights
Corporate Specialists:           regionally +2.6            9 key metro cities +2.2
Corporate Directors:      regionally +2.3            9 key metro cities +2.2
Agency Account Execs:           regionally +3.7            9 key metro cities +3.2
Agency Exec VPs:              regionally +2.6            9 key metro cities +2.4

Bonuses (substantial decreases occurred across the board)
When all titles and specialty categories are combined on a national basis, corporate communications professionals averaged bonus decreases of minus 31.6% (prior year's increase was 8.6%), compared to PR agency personnel who came in with a minus 36.4% decrease (prior year's increase was 9.6%) in bonuses.

Bonus Title Highlights (all specialties, nationwide, vs previous year)
Corporate (%): Specialist -43.0 vs +16.1, Manager -45.7 vs +10.3, Director -34.5 vs +7.3, VP -21.6 vs +4.8, Sr VP -13.2 vs +4.4.

PR Agency (%): (all specialties, nationwide, vs previous year)
Acct Exec -44.9 vs +12.4, Sr Acct Exec -35.2 vs +12.2, Acct Sup
-41.2 vs +11.2, VP -38.9 vs +8.0, Sr VP -28.9 vs +8.3, Exec VP -29.5 vs +5.2.

PR Agency Hourly Billing Rate Highlights (all titles, all regions, vs previous year - SW is a new addition to the regional figures, therefore, no previous figures this year).
Ad Agency Owned (%): NE 1.4 vs 3.9, SE 2.1 vs 4.0, MW 2.8 vs 4.2, SW N/A, W 2.2 vs 5.0
Top 100 Independents (%): NE 2.6 vs 6.5, SE 2.6 vs 4.5, MW 2.8 vs 4.6, SW N/A, W 4.0 vs 4.7
Other Independents (%): NE 3.5 vs +5.5, SE 3.3 vs 5.4, MW 5.1 vs 5.7, SW N/A, W 3.4 vs 6.9

On average nationally, the agency side fared slightly better than the corporate side in base salary compensation, 2.5 vs 2.2. However, when the relative cost of corporate benefits are included, once again, the corporate communications pros pulled ahead.

Observations
Base salaries for both corporate and agency personnel were down slightly from the year before as of December 2008. However, as the report notes, the hardest hit portion of a PR pro's compensation package last year was their bonus. Those fortunate enough to receive bonuses, saw the amount dwindle 34% on average.

2008 started out as a decent year of activity and growth for the first two quarters, even though there were early signs of caution in making new hires. Then things started to change slowly and did not start to become "dicey" until mid-year 2008. The one-two punch of the mortgage crisis and recession began to take hold in the form of sharply reduced and/or obliterated budgets along with many layoffs in PR through the end of 2008.

Now in the first quarter of 2009, the pace of hiring has slowed to a crawl. However, from our vantage point, the corporate side of the business is hiring at a slightly brisker pace than the agency side. Obviously, we're seeing more agency layoffs than corporate, because the agencies employ more PR professionals and because revenue and billable hours are so closely allied.
inc.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/for_those_who_still_have_a_job_bonuses_take_a_big_hit.html

Best SEO Companies for February 2009

2009-02-05T00:35:00-05:00

Plymouth, IN (Gawkwire.com) topseos has announced the list of the best organic optimization companies in the world for February 2009. topseos.com has made a name for itself as the most in depth ranking system for internet marketing companies on the internet. They have established themselves as the place to go for up and coming SEO companies to be recognized as innovators and leaders in the industry.

Independent Authority on Search
Organic optimization is the act of increasing the visibility and ranking of websites on the search engines. This is a very important aspect of internet marketing because it helps businesses get ahead in the competitive Internet world.

Many companies offer organic optimization but very few can produce results. Some companies may claim to be the best, even with no concrete results. Beware of fly by night operations that will take your money without providing the top rankings that they promised to you.
The top 30 Organic Optimization companies compiled by topseos.com are as follows:

1.   Bruce Clay Inc.
2.   Increase Visibility Inc.
3.   SEOP
4.   Intrapromote LLC.
5.   ArteWorks SEO
6.   SEO Image Inc.
7.   Customer Magnetism
8.   Portent Interactive
9.   Direct Hit Solutions, Inc.
10.   Web.com Search Agency
11.   ThinkBIGsites
12.   eVisibility, Inc.
13.   Whoast Inc.
14.   Yellow7 Interactive
15.   SEO Inc.
16.   eBrandz Inc
17.   Getupdated Internet Marketing
18.   SEO.com
19.   High Position Limited
20.   Weblinx Limited
21.   Sems
22.   iProspect
23.   1st on the List Promotion Inc.
24.   First Page SEO
25.   HighPoint Search Marketing
26.   Infatex
27.   Reprise Media
28.   PageTraffic
29.   Inteliture
30.   SEER Interactive

These companies have gone through a rigorous selection process that involves customer interviews, examination of knowledge and measurement of past success. After continuous assessment and evaluation, topseos has narrowed it down to the 30 best organic optimization companies in the world.

Organic Optimization Firms that would like to be considered for the topseos rankings can apply at: www.topseos.com/rankings/search-engine-marketing-agencies/apply-for-ranking.

To learn more about the best SEO Firms, visit: www.topseos.com/rankings-of-best-organic-optimization-companies.

http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/best_seo_companies_for_february_2009.html

Web Hosting Internet Services Firm, Tucows, to Reveal Financial Report

2009-02-05T09:38:00-05:00

Toronto, Canada (Gawkwire.com) Tucows management will host a conference call the same day at 5:00 p.m. (ET) to discuss the results and the outlook for the company. Participants can access the conference call via the Internet at http://tucowsinc.com/investors.

For those unable to participate in the conference call at the scheduled time, it will be archived for replay both by telephone and via the Internet beginning approximately one hour following completion of the call. To access the archived conference call by telephone, dial 416-640-1917 or 1-877-289-8525 and enter the pass code 21295734 followed by the pound key. The telephone replay will be available until Monday, February 16, 2009 at midnight. To access the archived conference call as an MP3 via the Internet, go to http://tucowsinc.com/investors.

Tucows provides Internet services for web hosting companies and ISPs. Through the global network of over 9,000 service providers, its OpenSRS group provides millions of email boxes and manages over eight million domains. Tucows is an accredited registrar with ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). The company holds a domain name portfolio of approximately 150,000 domain names that are available for sale, monetized through advertising and support our wholesale Personal Names Service. Its Retail division sells Tucows services to consumers and small business owners through Domain Direct, IYD (It's Your Domain) and NetIdentity.

For more information visit: www.tucowsinc.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/web_hosting_internet_services_firm_tucows_to_reveal_financial_re.html

Limestone Networks' new Elite Series of Enterprise level Intel Xeon-based servers

2009-02-05T09:45:00-05:00

DALLAS, TX (Gawkwire.com) Limestone Networks, Inc., the Dallas-based dedicated hosting company, has officially launched its new Elite Series line of Enterprise servers. This new line makes the long-anticipated Intel Xeon processors available to all Limestone Networks customers.
The Elite Series of servers consists completely of Xeon 5400 series, Dual-Processor, Quad-Core configured servers, with state of the art Harpertown processor cores. Harpertown cores support in excess of 48GB of RAM on a single server. The Elite Series currently provides Xeon 5405, 5420 and 5450 processors operating at 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 Ghz, respectively.
Xeon 5400 series processors are the highest-performance dual socket server processors currently available. They combine with Limestone’s affordable pricing to give clients top value in the dedicated server market.
Each Elite Series configuration comes standard with IPMI 2.0 control, which integrates control of the keyboard, display and mouse (KVM) over IP, giving backend access to each server. The line also features ECC Registered DDR2 SDRAM, and Western Digital RE3 drives – the latest in enterprise-grade hard drives. By using the latest in enterprise computing technologies Limestone Networks says it can ensure customers of near total uptime on lightning fast servers.
All Elite Series servers are also linked directly into the Limestone Private Tunnel, which securely links all Limestone Networks dedicated servers together, to provide unlimited, unmetered, on-demand scalability for both new and current clients who want to switch to, or add, an Elite Series server to existing clusters within the network. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/limestone_networks_new_elite_series_of_enterprise_level_intel_xe.html

ReliableSite Deploys JuniperÂ® Hardware Firewalls to Boost Security

2009-02-04T10:28:00-05:00

NEW YORK, NY (Gawkwire.com) ReliableSite.Net LLC (http://www.reliablesite.net), a Web host serving individuals and businesses, today announced the completion of its deployment of Juniper® hardware firewalls, offering the industry’s most respected and preeminent security technology.

The Juniper® devices have been deployed network-wide in ReliableSite’s New York, New York datacenter facility, and all existing customers automatically receive protection from the new hardware firewalls. There are no additional costs or requirements for customers as part of the upgrade. In addition to the hardware firewalls, ReliableSite utilizes a vast variety of other security practices and technologies to protect its customers.

“After mitigating a number of isolated security incidents in the past several months, we saw the need to raise our security efforts to the next level. In choosing Juniper, we opted for a premium solution that delivers one of the most reliable and effective security solutions available in our industry,” said Radic Davydov, owner of ReliableSite.

Juniper® makes an assortment of network management hardware devices. ReliableSite has adopted enterprise-grade hardware from Juniper’s robust security technologies portfolio.

ReliableSite offers a power uptime guarantee in its New York datacenter, outfitted with UPS and diesel generator backups, cooling backup with multiple redundant temperature and humidity controls, and round-the-clock network uptime with a series of premium top-tier bandwidth providers.

In the next several months, ReliableSite plans to introduce dedicated severs in a second datacenter facility. Details will be available in future announcements.

To learn more about ReliableSite, please visit http://www.reliablesite.net.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/reliablesite_deploys_juniper_hardware_firewalls_to_boost_securit.html

Decrease in Business Owners Worried About Economy

2009-02-03T23:29:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) PayCycle, Inc, America's #1 online payroll service, today released results of a proprietary survey comparing small business owner sentiment over the past ninety days. Results show that since a similar survey completed in late October 2008, the percentage of small business owners who are "very worried" about the economy has decreased by almost one-third.

The earlier survey, fielded between October 16-21, 2008, showed that over half (56%) of small business owners were "very worried" about the economy. In the new survey, fielded between January 27 and February 2, 2009, that number dropped to 39%, while the largest group is now still "somewhat worried" (48%) as compared to 35% before.

This uptick in optimism is despite nearly half (48%) indicating they are "not at all confident" that President Obama and Congress will pass a stimulus package that addresses the needs of small business owners. Thirty-nine percent (39%) indicated they are "somewhat confident" that the President and Congress will pass a stimulus package that will meet their needs, and only 13% indicated they are "very confident" about this.

"The October survey was conducted just after the market crash and small business owners were, justifiably, very scared. Now, we are seeing small business confidence begin to creep up," said Jim Heeger, president and CEO of PayCycle Inc. "This may be the reflection of the 'can-do' spirit of the American small business owner and possibly the change in the administration in Washington. But clearly half of small business owners aren't yet convinced that the stimulus package will directly help them," continued Heeger.

When asked about an economic recovery, 58% of respondents now believe the recovery will take another 12-18 months, compared to 50% in the earlier survey. The survey showed that both the extreme pessimists (those who earlier predicted an economic recovery in more than 18 months) and extreme optimists (those that earlier predicted an economic recovery in less than six months) are beginning to converge on predicting an economic recovery in the 12-18 month range.

"We are beginning to see a moderation of expectation around an anticipated economic recovery. Small business owners are typically realists; they are closest to the consumer and are an important barometer of expectation," continued Heeger.

The survey, conducted between January 27 and February 2, 2009, compiled responses from 478 small businesses randomly selected from PayCycle's broad, national base of over 75,000 small business customers. The previous survey, conducted from October 16-21, 2008, compiled responses from 215 small businesses, also randomly selected from PayCycle's base.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/30_decrease_in_small_business_owners_worried_about_economy.html

All-New Skype 4.0 for Windows Now Available

2009-02-04T09:26:00-05:00

LUXEMBOURG (Gawkwire.com) Thanks to the feedback of tens of thousands of people, the new version offers full-screen video calling, crystal clear call quality and is easier to use than ever before. In addition, Skype users will find all of the features they have come to expect – free voice and video calls to other Skype users, instant messaging, SMS, as well as calls to landlines and mobile devices around the world at very low rates.

Face-to-Face Video Calling

“Video calling has emerged as a very popular way for people to communicate online,” said Mike Bartlett, director of product strategy for Skype. “Whether it’s saying hello to your daughter at college or reading a book to your child while you’re away on business—video calling lets you have the conversations that make a difference and it really feels almost as good as being there.”

With the all-new Skype, people can experience the benefits of free face-to-face video calling. It’s now easier to start a video call and experience full-screen video, which makes conversations more intimate and engaging.

Additionally, a new built-in bandwidth manager ensures that consumers have the very best Skype video calling experience possible even on a low-bandwidth connection. If you have a fast enough connection (recommended 400 Kb/s or higher), a dual-core processor PC and a Skype Certified High Quality Video webcam, Skype delivers up to 30-frames-per-second High Quality Video.

Improved Call Quality

Call quality is substantially improved in the new version of Skype. The new audio codec achieves wideband audio quality using 50% less bandwidth than previously required. Moreover, it introduces super wideband audio that delivers crystal clear, richer and warmer sound to those using a compatible headset and a high quality broadband connection. The bandwidth manager interacts with the codec to adjust quickly to fluctuating bandwidth conditions to produce the most reliable sound.

Easier Than Ever

Skype now makes it easier to set up your headset, microphone and webcam, so getting started is fast and simple to do in a few steps. The new Conversations Tab makes it easy to keep track of multiple conversations in one place, and you can switch seamlessly to your preferred communication method – free voice and video calls to other Skype users, instant messaging, SMS, as well as calls to landlines and mobile devices at Skype’s low rates. In addition, you can choose to use Skype in two different views. Default View has everything neatly contained in a single window or Compact View allows you to resize or put each conversation into separate windows.

“This is just the latest example of how Skype is continuing to innovate and improve its software to deliver an even better voice and video calling experience,” said Bartlett. “The combination of feedback from tens of thousands of users over the last two years of development has allowed us to create a truly amazing experience that puts the focus on bringing people closer together even when they are continents apart.”

For a more detailed explanation of many other features and improvements or to download Skype 4.0 for Windows visit: http://www.skype.com/go/download.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/all-new_skype_4_0_for_windows_now_available.html

Web Hosting Domain Registrar, GoDaddy, Commands SSL Market Share

2009-02-04T09:24:00-05:00

Scottsdale, AZ (Gawkwire.com) According to Netcraft Ltd., a leading industry analyst, of the more than 220,000 SSL certificates added to Web sites during 2008, Go Daddy issued more than 100,000.

Bob Parsons, CEO and Founder of GoDaddy.com remarked, ''Why are we growing so fast? We think people are much quicker to spot real value these days. Why would anyone pay more than four times the price for the very same thing?''

Go Daddy SSL Certificates offer the same functionality and the same top-notch security as higher priced competitors – but at Go Daddy it costs one-fourth the price and comes with industry-best support.

Cost is a logical reason why the 'old guard' provider is losing ground each time a new survey publishes. Right now, VeriSign not only charges more than four times as much as Go Daddy for an SSL Certificate, but VeriSign also requires customers to purchase a cert for each server being used. All Go Daddy certificates include an unlimited server license, meaning one Certificate can be used on multiple servers, potentially saving companies thousands of dollars above and beyond the base price.

Go Daddy issued more new SSL Certificates than VeriSign and the rest of the competitors combined during the last quarter of 2008. A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate enables encryption of online transactions and communications. GoDaddy.com SSL Certificates are offered in three assurance validation levels: Standard, Deluxe and Premium Extended Validation SSL. All GoDaddy.com certificates offer up to 256-bit encryption.

While Go Daddy is a leader when it comes to protecting data transmitted online, the company also devotes considerable effort when it comes to keeping the Internet safe. Go Daddy has a presence in Washington, D.C. and recently helped shape two new federal laws. One protects kids from online sexual predators by prohibiting the transfer of live images of child abuse via the Internet, increasing funding to fight child exploitation on the Web, and providing Internet companies easier measures to shut down online predators targeting children. The second law gives Web companies much-needed tools to take illegitimate Internet pharmacies offline.

GoDaddy is a provider of services designed to enable individuals and businesses to establish, maintain and evolve an online presence. GoDaddy provides a variety of domain name registration plans and web site design and hosting packages, as well as a broad array of on-demand services. These include products such as SSL Certificates, Domains by Proxy private registration, ecommerce web site hosting, blog templates and blog software, podcast packages and online photo hosting. The GoDaddy Group, Inc. has more than 28 million domain names under management. GoDaddy registers, renews or transfers a domain name every second. GoDaddy.com is the world's No. 1 domain name registrar according to Name Intelligence, Inc. GoDaddy.com is also the largest paid hosting provider in the world, according to Netcraft Ltd. During 2007, The GoDaddy Group registered more than one-third of all domain names registered in the top six generic top-level domains, or gTLDs, including .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz and .mobi.

To learn more, please visit: www.godaddy.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/web_hosting_domain_registrar_godaddy_commands_ssl_market_share.html

Marketo Appoints SaaS Sales Expert Amy Guarino to Direct Alliance Program

2009-02-04T09:22:00-05:00

San Mateo, CA (Gawkwire.com) Marketing automation leader Marketo today announced the appointment of Amy Guarino to vice president of business development. Guarino joins the lead management vendor at a time of rapid growth for the company and new challenges for marketers. Guarino will focus on building new and cultivating existing Marketo Alliance relationships --marketing agencies, systems integrators, resellers, industry experts and technology leader--to extend the company's reach and help marketers meet their revenue goals.

"Marketers rely on a broad network of service and solution providers to help them drive maximum value from marketing spend," said Phil Fernandez, president and CEO at Marketo. "I am pleased to welcome Amy to the management team, and am bullish about her ability to ratchet up Marketo's focus on the channel. As an experienced Marketo Leads Management user she will be highly effective and credible in demonstrating to our partners the significant value of the Marketo solution."

Marketers rely on a broad network of service and solution providers to help them drive maximum value from marketing spend
I am pleased to welcome Amy to the management team, and am bullish about her ability to ratchet up Marketo's focus on the channel. As an experienced Marketo Leads Management user she will be highly effective and credible in demonstrating to our partners the significant value of the Marketo solution.
I am thrilled to be joining Marketo
Marketo sweeps into 2009 on the heels of its most successful month to date, with the channel playing a significant role in its success. The Marketo Alliance program consists of five distinct categories of companies:

Expert partners - Companies that provide best practices and hands-on consulting resources to help marketers take full advantage of Marketo lead management solutions
Agency partners - Firms that offer marketing strategy, creative and design services, and provision Marketo lead management solutions to their clients
Referral and reseller partners - Companies that sell, implement and support Marketo solutions to mid-market and enterprise customer
Solution partners - Technology companies whose solutions complement Marketo, such as salesforce.com
Marketing moguls - Strategic advisors whose thought-provoking insights and research help accelerate innovation and best practices for Marketo clients

"I am thrilled to be joining Marketo," said Guarino. "I was drawn to the company by its tremendous momentum in the marketing automation market, widely recognized to be among the largest and fastest-growing front-office application categories. In this economic environment, sales and marketing leaders need to look at different ways to impact top line revenue and improve the efficiency. Marketo is well-positioned to take advantage of these requirements."

Guarino recently lead the global channels and alliance efforts at Right90, a venture-backed SaaS company providing sales forecasting and planning to manufacturing companies. As an early Right90 employee, Guarino directed the sales and marketing organization, focusing efforts on channel and alliance business, including building Right90's critical partnership with salesforce.com. Prior to Right90, Guarino was the vice president of global sales at Biz360, a marketing analytics SaaS company. She has more than 20 years experience in sales and channel management, working with companies including Latitude Communications, AlterEgo and iPass. Guarino began her career with a 13-year engagement at IBM fulfilling various sales, management and channel roles, and was recently named to the 2009 Women of Influence in Silicon Valley. Guarino has a B.A. in government and international relations from the University of Notre Dame.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/marketo_appoints_saas_sales_expert_amy_guarino_to_direct_allianc.html

Tier Announces Final Closing of Acquisition

2009-02-03T12:00:00-05:00

RESTON, VA (Gawkwire.com) Commenting on the transaction, Ronald L. Rossetti, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tier Technologies stated, "It would be difficult to find a better strategic fit for us. The advanced technology of ChoicePay and their growing utility vertical are fully consistent with our long-term strategic plans.”

Nina Vellayan, Chief Operating Officer commented further, “We were impressed with the immediate synergies of the two companies from the beginning of our negotiations. Their platform will allow us to offer our current clients new features and benefits faster than we originally expected. Also, the addition of a number of talented staff, many with deep industry experience, to the Tier organization will further strengthen our organization.”

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/tier_announces_final_closing_of_acquisition.html

Beginning of Landrush Period for .TEL Domain Name Extension

2009-02-03T06:00:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Leading domain name registration provider Network Solutions® announces the beginning of the Landrush period for the new .tel top level domain extension. Open to everyone, from businesses to individuals, the Landrush phase begins at 10am Eastern Time on February 3, 2009, and runs until March 23, 2009. The retail price for a landrush .tel domain name is $375 for three years.

A brand new domain name extension that has just completed its sunrise period, .tel provides businesses or individuals with the ability to manage important contact information directly online. Every .tel domain name purchased from Network Solutions comes with a management console that allows the domain registrant to store, manage and publish phone numbers, e-mail addresses, Web links, location records and keywords, as well as other information relevant to their business or personal life. Easily managed, convenient listing options allow the domain owners to display their information as they see fit, and allow the people they want to be able to access private information through a privacy and 'friending' system.

"There are many reasons to register a .tel domain name," said Sean Kaine, Network Solutions' director of Product Management. "The Telpages.com global online directory may be the best--it's a great way to get your business found online while adding links that can help your search engine rankings."

In addition to these benefits, each .tel listing will be included in the Telpages.com global directory, a new resource customers can use to search by name or keywords to locate a business they are looking for.

"By creating what can be thought of as an interactive online business card, .tel allows domain owners to expand their ability to communicate with and be reached by customers from any device connected to the Internet quickly, simply and at very low cost," added Justin Hayward, communications director at Telnic Limited, the registry for .tel. "The .tel domain is especially beneficial with more users connecting to the internet via mobile devices like Blackberry® and Smartphones."

For more information on the .tel landrush period, visit Network Solutions.

http://www.gawkwire.com/domains/beginning_of_landrush_period_for_tel_domain_name_extension.html

Majority of Malware and Phishing Attacks Undetected

2009-02-02T23:41:00-05:00

Arlington, VA (Gawkwire.com) Cyveillance, the world leader in cyber intelligence, today announced that a recent test of best-of-breed anti-virus vendors and Web browser anti-phishing filters revealed that more than half of active malware and phishing threats on the Internet go undetected, with an average detection rate of 37 percent for malware and 42 percent for phishing. This data(1) was captured as part of Cyveillance's "2H 2008 Cyber Intelligence Report," which was issued today.

"Given the dynamic nature of today's online threats and the traditionally reactive approach taken by today's malware and phishing detection technology, conventional signature-based solutions are inherently at a disadvantage to keep up," said Panos Anastassiadis, CEO and Chairman of Cyveillance. "Because the majority of damage occurs during the first 24 hours of an attack, early detection of attacks is crucial. By combining today's defensive technologies with proactive intelligence gathered in real-time, organizations can significantly limit the harm inflicted by today's dynamically changing threats."

In addition to a detailed evaluation of the effectiveness of leading anti-virus malware detection and Web browser anti-phishing technologies, the report also tracks the online "fraud chain" comprised of malware components that store and serve malware executables, distribute malware to consumers, and receive and store the confidential information collected from infected computers.

Other key report findings include:
- Data tracked during second half of 2008 shows that the United States and China continue to be the top distributors of malware on the Internet.
- 159 unique new brands were phished in the second half of 2008, which represents a slight decrease compared to the number of new brands targeted during the same time a year ago.
- Phishers continue to expand attacks globally and across new industries. In the second half of 2008, Cyveillance saw an increase in the number of new phishing targets in countries that had yet to be phished as well as new targets in the media and social networking industries.

Anti-virus Malware and Web Browser Test Results
More information about Cyveillance's testing of anti-virus malware vendors and Web browser anti-phishing filters is included in the company's "2H 2008 Cyber Intelligence Report."

Malware
Cyveillance identifies a malware threat as a file or application downloaded from a Web site or server that exhibits properties that are both involuntary and malicious in nature. An active malware threat is one that has been located on a live Web site within the last 30 days.

Because anti-virus solutions primarily detect previously identified malware threats, perpetrators quickly replace recently discovered malware threats with modified versions and exploit this discovery lag-time to evade detection and infect unsuspecting machines. As such, the Cyveillance test which took place between November 30 and December 29, 2008, looked at twelve best-of-breed anti-virus vendor solution(2), deployed in their default settings with auto-update features enabled to ensure all malware signatures were within vendor parameters.

Phishing
Phishing threats are social engineering scams that rely on both technology and human interaction to carry out online fraud and identity theft. The schemes are varied but typically involve a spoofed (spam) email that mimics an email from a legitimate and respected organization in order to steal personal information (e.g., username and password, credit card number, Social Security number, etc.). The information collected is then used for identity theft purposes.

To better understand the daily risks consumers face from phishing attacks, Cyveillance test sampled unique and confirmed phishing attacks uncovered against a variety of organizations. To measure the effectiveness of some of today's leading consumer anti-phishing protections (3), Cyveillance fed these confirmed live attacks through four of the most widely used browsers with embedded anti-phishing technology. The data was fed in real-time to each browser and then again 24 hours later to determine detection rates over a minimal period of time.

All figures and statistics in the Cyveillance "2H 2008 Cyber Intelligence Report" are actual measurements rather than projections based upon sample datasets. The cyber intelligence included in this report includes data collected and analyzed between July 1 and December 31, 2008. It represents aggregate cyber intelligence findings that Cyveillance has delivered to its OEM data partners, except where otherwise noted. For more information about
Cyveillance's research findings, please visit: http://www.cyveillance.com/web/forms/request.asp?getFile=113.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/majority_of_malware_and_phishing_attacks_undetected.html

Anywhere IT to Drive $4 Trillion Worldwide Market by 2016

2009-02-03T09:38:00-05:00

BOSTON, MA (Gawkwire.com) Yankee Group today published two new Framework Reports that reveal that the information communications and technology (ICT) marketplace is on the verge of its most significant transformation yet and is poised to hit the $4 trillion mark worldwide by 2016. This transformation is about the shift of IT complexity into the network cloud, making it possible for the corporate experience to more closely reflect the consumer experience. Yankee Group predicts that Anywhere IT will change the way people work, give a competitive edge to early adopters of Anywhere technologies and dramatically reshape the enterprise vendor landscape. Even amidst the current economic turmoil, Yankee Group analysts advise organizations to begin exploiting Anywhere IT now or risk losing a competitive edge.

“Each wave of technology change has challenged enterprise IT to master newer, cheaper and faster hardware, software and networks to improve efficiency and support business innovation,” said Zeus Kerravala, Yankee Group senior vice president and author of the new report, “Introducing Anywhere IT.” “While this rapid change has improved systems and processes, it has also increased the complexity of the IT environment. Anywhere IT will transform how enterprises operate, creating a more consumer-like experience for the worker. It will enable the user to work from any location on any device, with the best possible experience that the device and network allow.”

Anywhere IT moves complexity into the cloud and expands IT into non-traditional areas. This shift will enable corporations to connect everything in the workplace — conventional connected devices such as laptops and PCs, but also non-traditional devices like employee ID badges, factory equipment and other vertically specific equipment. Simplified and automated communications to exponentially more devices will cut costs by two orders of magnitude, creating a market that is twice as large and extends to ten times the number of endpoints. This will drive dramatic growth of the information communications and technology marketplace from $2.2 trillion worldwide today to $4 trillion in just seven years.

A companion report, “Energizing the Anywhere Enterprise,” analyzes three recently introduced technologies and identifies the dramatic impact they can have when combined together as part of the transformation to Anywhere IT. According to Sheryl Kingstone, Yankee Group director and report co-author, “The fusion of cloud computing, application mobility and social media — already creating value individually — will mesh in new and unexpected ways that enhance collaboration, increase employee effectiveness and improve the overall customer experience in an Anywhere Enterprise.” The report also provides organizations with actionable 2009 IT initiatives that are critical for embarking on the path to Anywhere IT.

Yankee Group Framework Reports

Yankee Group has adopted a top-down, question-driven research agenda led by six simple but powerful questions that frame our investigations. Our six Framework Reports, each aligned to a key question, set the direction for Yankee Group’s research throughout the year. Our Enterprise Framework Reports focus on two questions: How will the Anywhere Network transform the enterprise and its workforce, partners and customers? and How will the Anywhere Network transform enterprise IT, and what impact will that have on the Anywhere Network? Look for these Framework Reports, as well as new videos from Kerravala and Eugene Signorini, Yankee Group vice president, discussing the new reports, at http://www.yankeegroup.com/framework.do.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/anywhere_it_to_drive_4_trillion_worldwide_market_by_2016.html

HD Communications Corp. Introduces an In-Wall Wi-Fi, Data, and VoIP Device

2009-02-03T09:29:00-05:00

Ronkonkoma, N.Y. (Gawkwire.com) HD Communications Corp., a leading wireless electronics company, unveiled today its new In-Wall Wi-Fi, Data, VoIP, and PoE device at the INTERNET TELEPHONY CONFERENCE & EXPO at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida. The HD27000 is an all-in-one device designed specifically for hotels, motels and the enterprise market. "We listened to our customers and simply gave them what they wanted," said Don Davis, President and CEO. "Hotels, motels and businesses require good Wi-Fi, a wired ethernet connection, good Internet security, and the ability to plug in a VoIP phone as well as power it. The HD27000 does it all in one clean package," Davis added. The HD27000 is a small, PoE-powered 802.11b/g access point that is IEEE> 802.3af PoE-compliant and is designed for locations wired for Category5/Cat5e/Cat6 cable or planning to wire for Ethernet cable. The hotel, motel and enterprise markets seem to be perfect customers for this product.

The HD27000 is an 802.11b/g wireless access point with multiple SSID's so customers can set up both public and private networks. The device also has an RJ45 jack on the front that is PoE (IEEE 802.3af-compliant) that can power a VoIP phone or just provide a data port to the location. The device has the latest in security available and is powered via Cat5 cable that feeds into the back of the HD27000. All of these features are contained in a device that fits into a single gang electrical box. "The HD27000 is a result of over two years of working with customers with our earlier in-wall product, the HD24613, which has been installed in thousands of locations around the world. Customers always want more and we try to accommodate as much as we can," Davis stated. The VoIP industry is certainly an area destined for growth as large enterprises look to reduce their monthly costs. HD Communications Corp. seems to be following that trend and continues to introduce cost-saving products. Last month they introduced the HD26172, a wireless bridge solution to connect the wired network between two buildings so companies could eliminate a T-1 or T-3 connection. When asked if this is the new direction the company is going, introducing cost-saving devices, Davis added, "We are living in challenging times and we, as a company, need to listen carefully to our customers. If you can bring more features to a customer and additionally lower their overall costs, everybody wins."

HD Communications Corp. has had tremendous growth in the broadband wireless arena over the past few years, more than doubling their sales in 2008. As they continue to pursue new markets and introduce new products they hope to continue to grow despite the ailing economy.

Customers and installers interested in learning more about the HD27000 should contact Eric Olson at their corporate office; (888) 588-3800 ext.126, or (631) 588-3877 ext. 126.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/hd_communications_corp_introduces_an_in-wall_wi-fi_data_and_voip.html

CBTS Acquires Virtualization Software Developer Virtual Blocks, Inc.

2009-02-03T09:33:00-05:00

CINCINNATI, OH (Gawkwire.com) CBTS, the technology solutions division of Cincinnati Bell Inc. (NYSE: CBB), today announced the acquisition of Toronto-based Virtual Blocks, Inc. A division of Commerx Computer Systems Inc., Virtual Blocks is a leading software developer in the area of virtualization.

The acquisition will strengthen CBTS’ leading-edge data center solutions for businesses of all sizes and provide a foundation for continued geographic expansion.

“Joining with Virtual Blocks allows CBTS to extend our successful business model, brand image, and vendor partnerships both inside and outside of the continental United States in order to better serve customers,” said John Burns, president of CBTS. “In 2008, CBTS partnered with Virtual Blocks to launch the CBTS Virtual Data Center service, which has received a great deal of interest from current and prospective customers.”

The CBTS Virtual Data Center is a utility computing service that allows customers to provision and manage virtual servers in a secure cloud computing environment. Some common uses for the Virtual Data Center include cost-effective virtualized disaster recovery solutions; rapidly deployed test/development environments; on-demand server capacity with utility billing; and managed services including Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint hosting.

“We share a commitment with CBTS to developing innovative solutions in the rapidly emerging area of virtualization,” said Stuart Levinsky, founder and president of Virtual Blocks. “We are excited to be part of CBTS’ growth plans and to support their role as a trusted technology adviser.”

Virtual Blocks’ product portfolio includes the Virtual Server Grid (VSG) for service providers and large IT organizations and the Virtual In-a-Box Environment (VIBE) for small to medium-sized business customers. The VSG is installed at CBTS and Bell Canada, and the VIBE is distributed across North America by Arrow and Synnex resellers.

The acquisition of Virtual Blocks closed on Jan. 30, 2009. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/cbts_acquires_virtualization_software_developer_virtual_blocks_i.html

Dedicated Colocation Hosting Firm, PEER 1, Releases FirstCall Support Solution

2009-02-03T09:34:00-05:00

Vancouver, British Columbia (Gawkwire.com) By connecting customers with appropriate experts within the very first call to the support desk, FirstCall Support, dedicates immediate attention to callers, which allows customers to focus on running their own businesses, instead of getting bogged down by IT issues or development.

Brian Daffern, Director of Support at PEER 1 noted, ''Our strong base of both loyal and new customers is a real testament to the type of experience we try to create for all of our hosting customers, and the importance we place on customer service. We make it a priority to remain proactive and passionate when it comes to the service we provide to our customers, ensuring that they have all of the individual support and tools needed to run a successful online business.''

The company began rolling out 24x7x365 FirstCall Support in November 2008 to answer customer questions and resolve issues by connecting in-house PEER 1 managed hosting experts with customers through a faster, more efficient process. Exclusive to PEER 1's FirstCall Support is the SmartKey authentication tool that provides PEER 1 technicians customer-approved access to customer servers allowing PEER 1 to immediately begin working on any issues.

Shane Geisheimer of DigitalDay explained, ''Since we started working with PEER 1 for our hosting needs, we have seen a level of service that is unprecedented, helping us grow our business to where it is today. We know that no matter what needs or questions we have, there's a knowledgeable and friendly member of the PEER 1 team willing to work with us to immediately resolve any matter that comes up.''

Addressing customer feedback across all lines of hosting services, and in a proactive effort to stay ahead of future customer needs, PEER 1 also has re-launched its web site, with a more streamlined, user-friendly design that clearly distinguishes between the company's managed, dedicated, through its ServerBeach brand, and co-location hosting services. The new layout is more closely integrated with the ServerBeach site (www.serverbeach.com), which is also being redesigned with a new layout to launch in February. The new sites are designed to provide easier navigation through information and resources, including tabbed browsing between ServerBeach and PEER 1.

PEER 1 is an online IT infrastructure provider, with over 10,000 customers. PEER 1 delivers highly scalable managed hosting and co-location solutions to ensure customers' online presence is always fast, always available. Since 1999, PEER 1 has grown to include data centers and network points of presence in 17 major cities across North America and Europe. Serving a variety of companies, PEER 1 offers solutions that grow through every stage of web commerce, regardless of company size. The company's headquarters are in Vancouver, Canada and the stock is traded on the TSX Venture exchange under the symbol PIX.

To learn more about FirstCall Support, please visit: www.peer1.com/hosting/support.php

For more information about PEER 1, please visit: www.peer1.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/dedicated_colocation_hosting_firm_peer_1_releases_firstcall_supp.html

SoftLayer Offers SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

2009-02-02T16:43:00-05:00

DALLAS, TX (Gawkwire.com) SoftLayer Technologies, the on-demand virtual data center services provider, has added SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell, Inc., to its wide portfolio of fully supported server operating systems (OSs). SUSE is an enterprise-grade distribution of the open source Linux OS. It will be available to all SoftLayer customers for no additional cost.

“In today’s economic climate, there is an even greater need for enterprises to lower their total cost of IT. But no one can afford to do that at the cost of power or stability. SUSE answers both challenges,” said Nathan Day, SoftLayer Chief Technology Officer. “We’re committed to bringing our customers current, effective solutions like SUSE. They can focus on their own business challenges and trust we’re always finding better ways to meet their IT needs.”

SUSE provides the open source benefits of Linux along with important enterprise features, including:
ï‚§ Microsoft Management Tools compatibility
ï‚§ Support for Xen virtual machines
ï‚§ Scalability for running unlimited virtual machines

SoftLayer is leveraging Novell ZENworks Linux Management for the installation and management of all SUSE deployments. As with all SoftLayer services, SUSE can be ordered and provisioned on-demand, in real time for any SoftLayer server through the company’s industry-leading Customer Portal or API.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/softlayer_offers_suse_linux_enterprise_server.html

NaviSite Expands Dedicated Hosting Offerings with Parallels

2009-02-02T16:42:00-05:00

ANDOVER, MA (Gawkwire.com) NaviSite, Inc. (“NaviSite”), a leading provider of Enterprise Hosting and Application Services, recently launched Parallels Plesk Panel 9.0 and Parallels Plesk Billing 6.0 within its Dedicated Hosting offering. With a focus on bringing enterprise class reliability and performance to small and mid-sized businesses, this launch extends NaviSite’s leadership to providing the industry’s most powerful and complete Parallels Plesk solution for hosting resellers and service providers through its Dedicated Hosting Business Unit.

Parallels Plesk Panel 9.0 is an easy, profitable and complete hosting automation control panel. It is easy to use and its integrated solution provides an out of the box best-in-class experience with minimal up-front setup. Web hosting resellers will profit from the integration of the Application Packaging Standard, reseller level account control and the deep integration with Parallels Plesk Billing. NaviSite’s launch includes the new Parallels Plesk Panel 9.0 with Billing bundle, available for license in a monthly model. The integrated and affordable solution provides back-office automation, thereby freeing resellers to focus on customer acquisition and service.

“NaviSite has extensive experience servicing Web hosting resellers with its own proprietary tools and billing platform. With the addition of Parallels Plesk Panel 9.0, we are able to enhance our offerings for service providers,” said Sumeet Sabharwal, Senior Vice President of Dedicated Hosting. “Enabling small business owners to offer the best Web hosting services and manage their hosted servers easily, efficiently, securely and profitably is one of our primary objectives. The new Parallels Plesk Billing Bundle addresses these objectives in an integrated yet cost-effective manner.”

“NaviSite’s industry leadership, experience in the reseller market, and the Always There support model is optimized to help resellers succeed and achieve profitable growth in an extremely competitive industry. This is enhanced by the combination of Parallels Plesk Panel and Parallels Plesk Billing, which enables resellers to automate back-office tasks so staff are free to focus on revenue-generating activities,” said Jack Zubarev, President of Service Provider Division, Parallels. “We are excited that NaviSite is amongst the first hosting providers to implement the Parallels Plesk bundle to service this growing market.”

NaviSite’s dedicated server solutions feature the latest technology, including dedicated servers with NaviView Server Monitoring and Server Management, Intel® Quad-Core CPUs, and a choice of operating systems including Red Hat®, CentOS, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or 2008®. Other available advanced services include virtual dedicated servers, shared and dedicated Cisco® firewalls, shared and dedicated load balancers, managed backup, and SAN storage.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/navisite_expands_dedicated_hosting_offerings_with_parallels.html

One Million SSL Sites on the Web

2009-02-02T12:00:00-05:00

Netcraft's first SSL Survey in November 1996 found a total of only 3,283 certificates around the globe. It took nearly a year for this total to grow to ten thousand, and it wasn't until August 2000 that the total exceeded a hundred thousand. In comparison, the past year has seen an average growth of more than 18,000 certificates per month.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/one_million_ssl_sites_on_the_web.html

Sales of Smartphones to Reach 300m by 2013

2009-02-02T09:38:00-05:00

Hampshire, UK (Gawkwire.com) High-end mobile handsets (so-called 'smartphones') are expected to account for a growing proportion of mobile phones sold each year, potentially sustaining the performance of key brands such as Nokia at a time of economic uncertainty. A new report from Juniper Research forecasts that, between 2008 and 2013, annual sales of smartphones will rise by 95% to over 300 million.

Underpinning Juniper's forecast is the finding that a rising demand for complex Web 2.0-centric applications is broadening user appeal and expanding the overall market for 'Smart' devices. This key trend is not being lost on handset manufacturers, large and small alike, as they increasingly rely on sales of high-end devices to mass market users. Thanks to this change in focus, smartphones will increasingly become the basis for the next generation of mobile devices.

According to Smartphone report author Andrew Kitson: "The process of evolving mobile phones into Internet-centric, highly personalised mobile computers is well underway. Changes in the design and form of mobile devices, such as the inclusion of large touch-based displays, have been taken to their limits. Looking ahead, the shape and form of next-generation devices will most likely be led by software and content, rather than hardware, as vendors such as Nokia strive to make their devices highly personalised and rooted firmly in the online environment. "

Other findings include
By 2013, around 23% of all new mobile phones will be smartphones, up from 13% in 2008
Overall, mobile device shipments grew by a nominal 5-6% at best in 2008, but key vendors are projecting a decline of up to 10% or more in 2009
As margins on handsets fall, vendors like Nokia and Sony Ericsson are increasingly diversifying into the service provision arena as a means of bolstering earnings - solutions such as music libraries and location-based social networking present significant opportunities in the future

Whitepaper and further details of the study 'Next Generation Smartphones: Players, Opportunities & Forecasts 2008-2013' can be freely downloaded from http://www.juniperresearch.com. Alternatively, please contact John Levett at john.levett(at)juniperresearch.com, telephone +44 (0)1256 830002.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports, and industry commentary.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/sales_of_smartphones_to_reach_300m_by_2013.html

Helping CMOs Avoid Common Search Marketing Pitfalls

2009-02-02T09:37:00-05:00

Redding, CT (Gawkwire.com) Helping chief marketing officers (CMOs) and their marketing colleagues avoid common mistakes in their search engine marketing initiatives will be the focus of a special session at Search Marketing Expo - SMX West.

SMX West will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, February 10-12.

Entitled "The Dozen Most Common Search Marketing Mistakes That CMOs Make," this session offers attendees an opportunity to hear from a panel of senior level search marketers across a variety of industries, business models and company sizes. They will share their experiences, advice and perspective on these dozen critical mistakes, how to avoid them, and how understanding these critical issues can dramatically increase search marketing results.

The session is designed for CMOs and other senior-level marketing decision-makers and is open to all SMX West attendees. It will take place February 10 at 1:15 p.m.

Search engine marketing firm iProspect is sponsoring the session. Chris Sherman, Executive Editor of Search Engine Land, will moderate. Speakers include:
- Keith Dieruf, Manager, Online Marketing /Interactive Marketing, Ameriprise Financial
- Jody Farmer, Vice President, Strategic Marketing, CreditCards.com
- Jane Flint, Manager, Practice Leader, Kaiser Permanente Internet Marketing Services
- Brian Kaminski, EVP and Managing Director, iProspect San Francisco
- Karen Weber, Vice President, eMarketing, Irwin Union Bank

"Now in its second year, SMX West offers an outstanding educational opportunity for search marketers. iProspect is looking forward to participating as a Premier sponsor of this quality event," said Bill Muller, iProspect's chief marketing officer. "We're also eager to contribute to the educational value of SMX West by sponsoring 'The Dozen Most Common Search Marketing Mistakes That CMOs Make,' on Tuesday afternoon," he added.

SMX West will offer more than 80 sessions and presentations by leading search marketing authorities specializing in areas such as search engine optimization (SEO), paid search advertising, link building, keyword analysis, and Web analytics. See the complete list of sessions, presentations, and speakers at http://smxwest.com.

Those interested in attending the event can register online or by phone at 1-877-242-5242 for just $1,395 until February 9th for an All-Access Pass, which includes sessions, keynotes, networking activities, hot lunches, and complimentary WiFi access. Registration at the door will be $1,595.

Nearly 50 leading search marketing solution providers will exhibit at SMX West. Expo hall tickets, which include access to more than 30 sessions in the SMX Theater and iProspect's "The Dozen Most Common Search Marketing Mistakes That CMOs Make" session, are free with online pre-registration, or $50 at the door.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/helping_cmos_avoid_common_search_marketing_pitfalls.html

Fasthosts Offers Free Reseller Account

2009-02-02T09:41:00-05:00

Philadelphia, PA (Gawkwire.com) Fasthosts Internet Inc., (http://www.fasthosts.com), a leading reseller web hosting provider, announced they are offering a free reseller account for one year. The offer is available through the end of March; anyone can sign up via the Fasthosts.com website.

Fasthosts offers an excellent new way to resell own-branded web solutions including web hosting and domain names. Fasthosts' unique philosophy offers resellers unlimited web space and bandwidth enabling them to create their very own packages and set their own prices, and includes a high quality hosting plan free to resellers that delivers 100% profit. With 12 months free Reseller Account, Fasthosts comprises an excellent no-risk way for American IT pros and entrepreneurs to start their own web solutions brand.

Fasthosts' Reseller Account, currently free for 12 months (savings of $600/year), enables a user to create their own web hosting brand and retail web solutions at their own price points. With Fasthosts, resellers have complete flexibility in structuring their hosting plans - resellers can create a customized package for each end customer, design and create their own range of packages or simply resell Fasthosts' own off-the-shelf packages. Fasthosts' philosophy for reseller hosting will free US resellers to achieve the best possible business model. Fasthosts provides both Linux and MS web hosting, a comprehensive range of domain name registrations and award winning MS Exchange email packages for resale.

Fasthosts provides its US resellers with dedicated service 24/7 with US based technical support via phone or email. As a reseller hosting specialist and the UK's number 1 reseller web host, Fasthosts is well placed to offer a high quality reseller web hosting service. All US customer websites are hosted within the company's green state-of-the-art data center in Lenexa, KS and benefit from 30GBit high-speed connectivity.

For more information on Fasthosts and reseller web hosting, see the website at http://www.fasthosts.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/fasthosts_offers_free_reseller_account.html

Network SolutionsÂ® Launches New Business Email Service

2009-02-02T09:44:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Leading e-business solutions provider Network Solutions® announces the launch of a new business email service. The new Network Solutions Business Email package is a comprehensive communication solution designed especially for small businesses, offering the features and benefits of an enterprise-level email solution at prices small businesses can afford. The new Network Solutions Business Email hosting includes advanced group collaboration tools that are available companywide and around-the-clock--no matter where employees are located -- such as shared calendars, shared contacts and other sophisticated tools that help small businesses stay connected and compete in today's environment.

Customers now have a choice of email services that meet varying business needs. Network Solutions continues to offer its Personal Email service that includes an email address that matches your domain name, industry leading spam and virus protection, and access from any device that can connect to the Internet; all without annoying ads. Or they can choose the more advanced features of Network Solutions Business Email which are helpful for any business, from a small startup to an enterprise level operation that wants to easily share messages, calendars, and contacts without the cost and hassles of setting up their own email server. The old and new systems are easily compatible, making the transition from one to the other a simple move.

"In today's competitive small business environment, projecting a professional image is just as important as the product or service provided," said Bill Jolly of Network Solutions. "Using an email address that shares the same domain name as your Web site is a simple and effective step to achieve this." Jolly added, "And now, Network Solutions Business Email offers the advanced features many growing businesses need, like more storage and the ability to share calendars, documents, tasks and contact lists. As your business expands our email services will grow with you."

For more information, visit Network Solutions.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/network_solutions_launches_new_business_email_service.html