Gawkwire: Web Hosting and Internet News Resource

Buying Tech Gifts Online Stresses Women

2010-03-31T04:22:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) 1&1 has recently released a newly conducted research that suggest that technology items are the most stressful gifts for British women to buy online. The survey of 1500 online shoppers(1) finds that 1 in 3 women as well as 1 in 5 men feel that despite extensive choice, finding and ordering technology gifts causes them most headaches. For men, clothing is the most stressful gift to buy online, with 1 in 4 men (25 per cent) affected. Despite shopping being regarded as ‘the national pastime’, 76 per cent of Britons surveyed incurred stress whilst online shopping during the past 3 months. The study suggests that the way some products are offered online can be complex and alienating for many consumers. All online retailers will be more successful if their customers feel informed and supported throughout. 1&1 offers firms eShop packages with tools and features to help optimise the entire shopping experience.

1&1’s ‘Online Gifting Study’ finds that buying items for others online is not always a pleasure. 1 in 5 Britons (21 per cent) feel they become stressed shopping for any type of gift online. Across all adults, technology items are considered the most complex and stressful (26 per cent), followed by clothes (23 per cent), fragrance (9 per cent), jewellery (8 per cent) and toys (6 per cent). Perhaps unsurprisingly, gift vouchers are the least challenging purchase with only 2 per cent of shoppers displeased with the process.

There are significant variations by gender - around 1 in 3 women (30 per cent) are most stressed buying technology items, compared to only 18 per cent of men. However, there are plenty of product categories where men struggle more. When purchasing clothing gifts online, 1 in 4 men find the process complex and stressful compared to only 1 in 5 women. Similarly, when buying jewellery, 11 per cent of men incur stress while only 6 per cent of women feel the same. The same trend can be seen for gifts including fragrance, cosmetics and homewares. The study lends weight to the concept that retailers will benefit from supporting less confident customers with background materials and recommendations for their products.

Interestingly, younger age groups appear to suffer more discomfort than older shoppers when buying gifts online. For example, 16-25 year olds endure the most anxiety when buying technology items (34 per cent), more than any older age group. Similarly, other items traditionally associated with youth, such as DVDs and jewellery, provoke around twice as much stress in those aged under 25 years as they do for online shoppers aged 55+.

Oliver Mauss, CEO 1&1 Internet Ltd. said, "Despite the rapid growth and great many benefits of eCommerce, the study shows that consumers can still struggle with online shopping. Online retailers of all sizes must optimise their entire purchasing experience, and not merely how well their products are presented. Through product information, customer communication and a flexible shopping-cart process, consumers can be made to feel more comfortable, and in so doing customer spend and loyalty can be increased”.

The data suggests that online retailers can financially benefit from refining their processes and providing additional support materials for shoppers. 1&1 offers it’s Top Tips for optimising an online store:

1. Even large-scale retailers can sometimes overwhelm the consumer with a crowded design. Create a smart, clean design with a choice of options for product images and descriptions

2. Assist shoppers with making their choices by providing background material such as Advice Guides for items such as yours. With more guidance to hand, shoppers are less stressed and spend longer on a website

3. Provide a channel for support throughout the shopping cart process. If a shopper feels that help is only a click away, they will spend more money

4. Win trust by displaying customer feedback such as customer star ratings. This will help to allay any ‘fear factor’ that consumers may have

5. Invest in options for payment and delivery. Shoppers will often abandon purchases at the final stage because of doubts over fulfilment

Nowadays, affordable and easy to use eCommerce platforms can deliver any type or size of retailer with a swift and transparent shopping-cart process. 1&1 eShops present items in a customisable way and feature tools including Shop Designer, Customer Area options, and advanced shipping and currency options. 1&1 web hosting also offers customer communication tools such as In2Site Live Dialogue, Chat Channels and RatePoint. It has never been more affordable for retailers to upgrade their eCommerce platform. 1&1 eShop packages start from only from £4.99/month+VAT.

For more information on 1&1 hosting visit the website at www.1and1.co.uk

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

Free Body Piercing with New Server Order

2010-03-31T14:19:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) ServerBeach is offering new and existing customers a free body piercing for every new server ordered on April 1st. Qualifying customers will receive their piercing at the ServerBeach stand at this year’s Internet World in London, April 27 – 29.

Dominic Monkhouse, MD, ServerBeach said: “We were tired of the typical boring giveaways that have been done to death. We’ve decided to do something a little more interesting and give our customers something more memorable. So roll up – order a server on April 1st and get metal!”

Tattoo and piercing specialist Dante of Frith Street Tattoo commented: “We loved this idea as soon as we heard of it. Who wants a cheesy free promo keychain when you can get a piercing instead? This is a really cool idea – we’re looking forward to the first ServerBeach customer.”

Contact the ‘Get Metal’ team on 0800 840 7480 to place your order on April 1st and receive your piercing at Internet World. http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/free_body_piercing_with_new_server_order.html

Fasthosts Enables Resellers to Move into Cloud Computing

2010-03-31T14:18:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Fasthosts today announced the launch of Rise, an IaaS (infrastructure-as-a-service) provider enabling thousands of resellers to move into cloud computing.

Rise (www.rise-partners.co.uk), a brand new company from Fasthosts, will provide cloud and dedicated infrastructure as well as end-to-end solutions for channel partners to either resell, or offer as a white label service under their own brand.

Andy Burton, CEO of Fasthosts and Rise, said: "There is a lot of talk about cloud computing and much of it is hype right now. Vendors obviously thought that if they made enough noise then consumers would find them but that's not how many small and mid sized businesses in particular buy IT. They’re aware of the cloud, but are often confused about what it delivers and how they can utilise it, and usually rely on a third party ‘trusted advisor and supplier’ to guide them. What we're addressing with this launch is how SMBs buy IT, not just why they should. By providing cloud services to the channel partners, we’re enabling those companies that have the trusted relationship with the end customer to deliver the benefits in a way that is clearly understood by the customer."

Rise will ensure that the IT and telecommunications channels have the opportunity to embrace the considerable benefits that cloud infrastructure can offer in terms of agility, scalability and cost effectiveness.

Burton continues, “This, we hope, is seen as good news for the channel after many predicted cloud computing would be bad news for businesses who traditionally sold packaged software or on-premise hardware. If anything this should give resellers an even stronger bond with their customers as they can continue to provide on-premise solutions as they always have, but can now add hosted solutions to that portfolio as well. A combination of the two looks the best bet for some years to come."

Rise is offering value-added resellers and systems integrators the opportunity to partner with them through a new and beneficial programme to add cloud solutions to their portfolio as a complement to their existing business and expand their available market.

Rise is in turn launching a new platform called - Data Centre on Demand, an Infrastructure as a Service offering based upon the Microsoft Dynamic Data Centre. It will serve as a showcase for Microsoft's Hyper-V technology, enabling virtualisation efficiencies in the data centre which can pass scale as well as cost- and energy-saving onto users.

Bob Tarzey analyst and director Quocirca, comments, “Many SMBs look to their resellers for advice on new technology developments, such as cloud based services. The cloud has a lot to offer, especially when it comes to commodity applications like email, backup and web hosting; enterprise class capability at SMB prices. Resellers need to look at how they rebalance their portfolios to include cloud based services and continue to help their SMB customers procure the most cost effective IT solutions. To achieve this, resellers need to identify cloud service providers with a strong reseller focus that understand the indirect sales model and are prepared to share the annuity revenue that cloud services generate.”

Jeff Lenton, In2itive Business Solutions (www.in2itive.biz) – “We’ve been party to the Fasthosts Internet Group channel proposition for a time now, and believe this is a service that the IT consultancies, VAR’s and SI’s will benefit from. The support to build cloud services into the channel proposition is clear, and the focus from the Rise account teams on the partner growth is very welcome.” http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/fasthosts_enables_resellers_to_move_into_cloud_computing.html

Corelink Data Centers Announces President/COO

2010-03-31T14:17:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) CoreLink Data Centers today announced the hiring of Michael Duckett as President and Chief Operating Officer.

Duckett comes to Corelink from Terremark Worldwide, Inc. where he was Senior Vice President, Operations. While at Terremark, Duckett was a core member of the executive team that orchestrated high organic growth as well as successful execution of M&A opportunities. Prior to Terremark, Duckett ran the telecommunications & network operations for Florida Power & Light (FPL) where he was responsible, among other things, for all operations and related budgeting for the division.

"Michael is a great addition to the Corelink team,"stated Geoff Hampson, Corelink Data Center's founder and CEO, "He brings over 20 years of industry experience and knowledge, along with a proven track record of managing and operating successful high growth business and rounds out the senior team, positioning Corelink for rapid growth and value creation"

Duckett and his family will be moving to Chicago in the near future and will work out of Corelink's Head Office there.

Learn more about Corelink's Phoenix, Seattle, Las Vegas and Chicago colocation and hosting services.

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

Free Email Hosting for Non-Profits at Greatmail

2010-03-31T14:16:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Greatmail announced it is offering non-profit organizations free basic email hosting for up to 50 users. The free service allows non-profits to have email accounts at their domain hosted on Greatmail’s enterprise class infrastructure developed specifically for high availability email service.

The basic email hosting service is provided free of charge provided the non-profit organization has a web site and agrees to post a Greatmail technology partner link at the bottom of the organization’s home page or on another approved page. Additionally, non-profits can receive discounts upgrading to Greatmail's premium email hosting platform including increased server storage, hosted Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint hosting.

The free email hosting includes both POP3 and IMAP access, SMTP with authentication, spam filtering, antivirus protection, webmail and web based account administration. All Greatmail hosting plans are protected by the company’s privacy policy that strictly prohibits scanning of messages for content driven marketing and advertisements.

Greatmail provides comprehensive email solutions for businesses and organizations worldwide. In addition to the company’s flagship email hosting service, Greatmail offers web and application hosting, dedicated server hosting, server clustering, reseller email hosting, SMTP servers, and high volume email hosting.

Greatmail's servers are located at climate-controlled facilities equipped with complete power protection via on-site UPS and diesel generators, pre-action fire suppression, major internet backbone connections, 24-hour network supervision by qualified technicians and automated system monitoring.

For more information, please visit our email hosting service overview. Or to register a free email hosting account for your non-profit organization, contact us online.

One of the email hosting sector's first providers, Greatmail has been providing email hosting and related technology services since 2002. To learn more about Greatmail, please visit our home page at greatmail.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/promotions/free_email_hosting_for_non-profits_at_greatmail.html

Open-Xchange Announces New VP of Sales

2010-03-30T13:00:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Open-Xchange has increased its U.S. sales presence by announcing the appointment of Behshad Behnam as vice president of sales, Americas.

The company increased users to more than 15 million people worldwide – an increase of 80 percent in 2009.

“As we continue to deliver our collaboration software working with U.S. service providers, Behshad will be a great resource,” said Frank Hoberg, executive vice president of sales and a founder of Open-Xchange. “We work with providers all around the world and have lots of interest in the U.S. so we want to have a ‘go-to guy’ that partners can count on.”

Today, Open-Xchange is used by leading hosting providers in the U.S., such as Dotster and Network Solutions, as well as 1&1 Internet in the U.S. and Germany.

Behnam most recently was the channel sales manager for Apptix which rolled out a new reseller program to recruit systems integrators, managed service providers (MSPs), and telecommunications companies. Prior to that, he was in a channel sales management position at DS3 DataVaulting, which was recently acquired by Terremark.

He spent three years at Parallels as a channel sales representative with responsibility for expanding the company’s products and services to the hosting market. Behnam has also held sales positions at Oracle and WorldCom. He is a graduate of George Mason University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Management Information Systems (MIS).

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/open-xchange_announces_new_vp_of_sales.html

Peak 10 Selected as Award Winner for External Support

2010-03-30T13:00:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) HDI announced Peak 10 as the winner of the 2010 HDI Team Excellence Award for External Support. This award was presented at the 2010 HDI World Conference on Technical Service and Support held recently in Orlando, Fla.

“Clients come to Peak 10 for expertise in hosting and managing online systems and delivery of 24x7 comprehensive support, which demands that our Support team be able to address both centralized and localized issues within the scope of the various service level agreements in place for each customer,” said David Jones, the president and chief executive officer of Peak 10. “Our Support team continues to receive national acclaim thanks to a highly-trained group that is dedicated to staying current on the latest technologies and certifications, and resolving customer issues with skill and efficiency.”

This award honors Peak 10 for achieving the highest standards of excellence in service desk operations. The HDI External Team Excellence Award is the “gold medal” of the technical support profession. The selection of the HDI Team Excellence Award winner is based on specific criteria that evaluate the companies’ ability to demonstrate excellence in three categories: people, process, and technology.

Sophie Klossner, HDI Executive Director of Membership and awards chairman, commented on this achievement, “Peak 10’s Support team has shown great advancement and growth in the past five years. They took the challenge of becoming a Team Excellence winner to heart and with their contributions in working together they have achieved the highest honor from their peers in the support industry. I am proud of the work that Peak 10 has done in becoming this year’s External Team Excellence winner.”

Customer service at Peak 10 is led by a highly-trained management team dedicated to encouraging excellence in all staff members through cooperation with other engineers, acquiring new certifications and having direct input into how the support center is run on a day-to-day basis. This level of commitment has allowed the support team to grow and exceed all expectations.

“This gratifying award reflects the hard work and strength of our entire Support team and its leader, Jeffrey Brooks, whose guidance has taken our customer satisfaction to new levels” said Dan Wixon, the senior vice president of service delivery at Peak 10. “Our unparalleled customer service stems from our ability to place great emphasis on providing customers with the attention and focus of a local data center provider, while maintaining the skills and resources of a national player.”

Peak 10’s managed IT and data center services improve performance and reliability, lower costs and maximize internal resources for customers while keeping their valuable information technology assets close to the business. The company combines its secure, private network and enterprise-class data centers with world-class engineering and support to serve market-leading companies nationwide. As a managed services leader, Peak 10 offers a wide range of technology services including virtualization, managed hosting, and cloud-based services in a cost-efficient and reliable platform for its customers. The company owns and operates data centers in ten key markets that include Cincinnati, Ohio; Atlanta, Ga.; Raleigh and Charlotte, N.C.; Tampa, Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Nashville, Tenn.; Louisville, Ky.; and Richmond, Va.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/peak_10_selected_as_award_winner_for_external_support.html

Byron Calls for Better Mobile Phone Internet Controls

2010-03-30T13:00:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) With parents’ growing concerns about their children’s safety when accessing the web, compounded recently by Ofcom reporting that a quarter of primary school age children have profiles on social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo, a new report published yesterday by Professor Tanya Byron calls for better mobile phone internet controls. Whilst Byron’s recommendations are a step in the right direction, AdaptiveMobile, the mobile security specialist, believes that many more comprehensive measures could be taken to protect children against the complete set of risks they face.

Simeon Coney, VP Business development, AdaptiveMobile, comments; “Whilst measures such as an easy-to-use panic button can go a long way to helping social networks to identify and stop threats as early as possible, parents are still calling for more visibility and increased control.

“One issue which is making this battle even tougher is the growing trend toward accessing web content via mobile phones. With it becoming the norm for children under 10 to have their first mobile phone, many parents are finding it more and more difficult to keep track of what their children are accessing or with whom they are communicating. Without suitable parental controls in place, children are potentially subject to harassment, unsolicited messaging and inappropriate content. For example, data from AdaptiveMobile highlights that peak mobile usage for children late evening - peaking between 9:00pm and 11:00pm, just after bedtime. Unlike a PC however, which may be in a shared room of the house, it’s much more difficult to monitor what a child is accessing when they’re doing it from a mobile handset in their own rooms.

“The challenges that exist are primarily parental education and the availability of appropriate and effective controls - with parent being unaware of when their child is at risk – for example by responding to fraudulent messages, visiting web content inappropriate to their age or receiving undesirable incoming contact.

“The parental controls largely in use today provide protection to the parents’ wallets against unwanted charges by setting spend limits - not deciding who can contact their child. Where content controls are available it is primarily a coarse decision of adult content - equivalent to only having an 18 or old cinema rating, versus the grading of content to U, PG and 15 or older that we have today for film, TV and game content.

“In a bid to protect the most vulnerable subscribers, some mobile network operators have seized the initiative in protecting their mobile users most at risk –by putting in place flexible controls for parents to select what content their children are able access & when, and with whom they can communicate. Parents can be alerted when their child had been protected from risk, enabling them to properly discuss the risks of the digital world.

“This means that, for example, social networking sites can be categorised together and with one click, parents can block a child’s access to all sites within that category and also against phishing, fraud and malware sites - rather than parents needing to configure each site individually, and to keep their child’s handset constantly updated with the latest social or phishing sites.

“With operators becoming increasingly savvy when it comes to using their data intelligently, flexible controls can enable parents to regain autonomy for pro-actively protecting their children when online. This guards them against harassment and inappropriate content but still gives children the freedom to use their phone safely.” http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/byron_calls_for_better_mobile_phone_internet_controls.html

Interoute Extends Fibre Optic Network into Istanbul

2010-03-30T09:45:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Interoute has announced that it has extended its pan-European fibre optic network into Istanbul, connecting Turkey to the heart of the EU. Despite the large numbers of European companies operating in Turkey, only a small number of providers cross the border into the EU, making options extremely limited for carriers and businesses. With Interoute’s fibre investment in Turkey, the provider becomes the only European operator to be able to provide high capacity connectivity direct from 26 European countries into Turkey’s dynamic business centre.

Uniquely positioned between Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Turkey is a strategic global hub for multinational businesses. The country attracted more than $11 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2009 from multinational companies despite the global recession[1]. Last year 54.7 per cent of companies operating in Turkey were from European Union (EU) countries[2].

Interoute’s network has the highest capacity of any European network and is designed to carry video, multimedia internet traffic and bandwidth intensive digital applications. The company has followed a strategy of extending its high capacity network East and South East into emerging business markets and continually seeks to meet the demand for fibre across Europe and beyond. Interoute’s pan-European network now covers 98 cities in 28 countries. All traffic through the Istanbul PoP will be monitored by Interoute’s NOC (network operations centre) in Prague and businesses can benefit from advanced managed services including connectivity, VPN services, managed hosting, Unified Communications and VoIP solutions.

Renzo Ravaglia EVP Wholesale at Interoute, said: “Turkey is known for its heritage and history and 2010 rightly sees Istanbul take its turn as the European Capital of Culture. But equally impressive is Istanbul’s development into a key business and media hub for national and international business. As increasing numbers of European companies look to Turkey for new business opportunities the requirement for the type of high capacity, highly resilient data connectivity that Interoute specialises in, is growing.” http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/interoute_extends_fibre_optic_network_into_istanbul.html

SoftLayer and Cloudkick Partner Providing Cloud Hosting Tools

2010-03-30T09:44:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) SoftLayer Technologies has partnered with Cloudkick to help customers manage and monitor their CloudLayer Computing Instances and resources.

Cloudkick allows customers to manage cloud-hosted resources through a variety of unified tools. Cloudkick’s unique management offering will allow SoftLayer customers to easily mange and monitor numerous resources, regardless of setup, through one easy-to-use dashboard. Key benefits include:

? Monitoring and fault detection
? Trend analysis with interactive graphs
? Support for multiple clouds
? Flexible alert options, including SMS

“One of SoftLayer’s core advantages is that we give customers unparalleled control over their computing environment,” said George Karidis, SoftLayer Chief Strategy Officer. “Cloudkick helps us extend that advantage, providing even more power for tracking and monitoring resources within diverse infrastructure
environments.”

“Cloudkick will bring value to SoftLayer’s CloudLayer infrastructure services by giving SoftLayer customers access to our robust set of tools to help manage their infrastructure,” said Dan Di Spaltro, Cloudkick Co-Founder. “Through this partnership with SoftLayer, we are continuing to work towards our goal of opening the cloud and giving our users a choice between numerous hosting providers.”

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

LogicMonitor to Exhibit Automated Monitoring Software

2010-03-30T09:43:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) LogicMonitor recently announced they will be exhibiting their automated database monitoring solution at the upcoming O’Reilly MySQL Conference & ExpoIT. Professionals looking to simplify data center management will find value in LogicMonitor. The web-based service delivers in-depth monitoring right out of the box without any configuration required. Administrators and managers get real-time views into the health and performance of their infrastructure (including MySQL databases) from anywhere.

SaaS-based automated MySQL monitoring from LogicMonitor can be up and running in 20 minutes

“We ran data centers for 15 years. During that time, we searched for a single monitoring product that automatically monitored every device in our infrastructure. We never found it, so we built it ourselves,” noted veteran data center manager and LogicMonitor founder, Steve Francis.

LogicMonitor allows data center operators to skip the hours, or even days of tedious work manually building and maintaining their own monitoring system, and get right to the important work, which is addressing issues before they escalate into outages.

MySQL database administrators will appreciate how easy LogicMonitor makes it to know the health of their databases. It monitors all database performance metrics, storage engine type, detects whether a database is a slave, and ensures that everything is up to date, automatically.

Those unable to attend the MySQL Conference can view LogicMonitor's World's Shortest Webinar Series episode on MySQL monitoring. or request a fully supported 14-day free trial and be up and running in approximately 20 minutes. The free trial sign-up form is at LogicMonitor.com.

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

Xara Releases Web Designer 6

2010-03-30T09:42:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Launched today is Xara Web Designer 6 which goes beyond the realms of other website builders. Unlike other website builders, Xara Web Designer is the only truly free-form WYSIWYG web design tool, that allows complete freedom of web page design including the the ability to draw shapes. You can position text, graphics and photos anywhere on the page, at any size or angle, overlaid or with transparency and Web Designer will produce a pixel accurate, perfect web page.

Xara Web Designer 6 can do things that are regarded as near impossible with other web-authoring software, such as repel text around irregular shapes and photos and the ability to draw anything from simple shapes to complex company logos and graphics using its advanced vector graphic tools. Xara Web Designer 6 includes automatic optimization of graphics that not only produce optimized resolution images, but automatically detects repeating elements across the website thus producing faster, more optimized websites.

Aimed at graphic designers who do not want to learn HTML or scripting languages, it's also the perfect 'rapid website prototyping' tool for graphic designers and webmasters. The simplicity of Xara Web Designer means that even the beginner can create professional looking websites with ease.

"Xara Web Designer 6 provides no programming tools, no script editing and doesn't even provide an 'HTML view'", says Managing Director, Charles Moir, "Our design philosophy is this: You don't need to know the PDF programming language in order to produce PDF files, so neither should you have to know anything about HTML or Javascript in order to create great websites."

Xara Web Designer 6 supports CSS layers with advanced features such as full or graduated transparency, mouse-over effects, animated photo pop-ups and more. It creates cross-browser, cross-platform XHTML compatible websites. With its new, modern re-designed appearance, Xara Web Designer 6 introduces a number of new innovative web authoring software features some of which are:

- New NavBars with DHTML sub-menus, intelligent, automatic stretching as you enter text and automatic linking to all the pages of your website.

- New photo slideshows and improved, more slick, photo thumbnail pop-ups.

- Drag 'n' drop multiple photos in one go to populate a gallery page.

- Enhanced text tool to include bullets, numbered lists, indents and fully justified text wrap around images and graphics.

- Anchored graphics so photos and graphics can flow with the text.

- Gallery changes include auto-updating designs gallery, drag 'n' drop Widgets from the Designs gallery, a new Widget library, lots more designs in the Template Gallery, enhanced 'Page & Layer' gallery providing a quick way to view and re-arrange pages by simple drag & drop and pre-built color schemes.

- Easy MP4 video upload and built-in video player.

- Ability to support rounded corner pages, and with drop shadows.

- Paste HTML snippets in directly with an automatic preview/placeholder created.

- Easy way to add links to (and upload) external files such as PDF and Word files etc.

- Better page color and background support so you can color the pasteboard separately from the page.

- Automatic backups and save of open documents on application closedown.

- Incremental Publishing for faster upload so only the changed files are uploaded.

- FTP details can be stored with the document including password.

As if that isn't enough, Xara Web Designer 6 also comes with a free web hosting offer.

Xara Web Designer 6 costs just $49 for US customers, £39 for UK (inc VAT) and €39 (inc VAT) for the EU.

It operates on Windows XP/Vista/7.

For more information see - www.xara.com
Example website tutorial - www.webdesigner.xara.com
Demo Movies - www.xara.com/webdesigner/demos

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/xara_releases_web_designer_6.html

Hostway Raises $110 Million from Investors to Support Continued Growth Plan

2010-03-29T08:46:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Hostway Corporation recently announced they have raised $110 million from a consortium of investors to close on their debt and equity financing. The funds raised will help to support Hostways continued growth plan. The transaction was led by Veronis Suhler Stevenson along with Fortress Capital, Regiment Capital and Phoenix Life. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Hostway’s service offerings range from small business Web hosting solutions to managed dedicated server hosting for medium to large enterprises. Additionally, in 2009, the company launched cloud hosting offerings.

Hostway has garnered industry-wide recognition and praise for SerivcePlex, an online service delivery portal developed internally to enable a seamless customer experience. Hostway has also partnered with telecom companies, cable operators and large retailers to deliver fully private-labeled online services to their customers.

“Since our founding in 1998, we have continuously sought ways to deliver more value to our customers by investing in our people, technology and infrastructure. As a result, we have built a solid platform for growth. In the next stage of our history, in partnership with our new investors, we aim to accelerate the pace of becoming the leading provider in the fast-growing online services market,” said Lucas Roh, CEO and co-founder of Hostway Corporation.

“We are excited by the opportunity to partner with Hostway and invest in this vibrant and growing industry,” said George Cole, partner, Structured Capital Funds at Veronis Suhler Stevenson. “With a sound infrastructure in place and forecasted growth far exceeding projected GDP growth annually in the managed hosting, collocation and cloud computing segments over the next three years, Hostway is well positioned to capture further market share.”

Houlihan Lokey served as exclusive financial advisor to Hostway. “We are excited that our financing process yielded a sophisticated group of financial partners that will add value during the next growth phase for Hostway,” said Chris Wilson, managing director and head of the Houlihan Lokey Media & Telecom Group.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/hostway_raises_110_million_from_investors_to_support_continued_g.html

SEO Consultant, Larry Lim & Locus-T Partner to Offer SEO Services

2010-03-29T08:15:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Larry Lim, a veteran SEO Consultant in Singapore has rcently partnered with Locus-T to deliver affordable Search Engine Optimization services companies in Singapore.

The collaboration will see Larry Lim helming the new Online Marketing department as Chief SEO Consultant, while the manual on-page and off-page optimization work will be handled by over 20 highly-qualified Locus-T staff at their Malaysian office.

Pricing for the 3 SEO packages were revealed today, with fees starting from S$3,500 for the Starter Plan to S$5,900 for the Business Plan and S$16,500 for the Premium Plan. Both the Business and Premium plans come with money-back rankings guarantee. Locus-T is also giving free Adwords credit of up to S$200 to celebrate the launch.

In addition to SEO, the company also provides Google Adwords campaign management services, with fees starting from S$250 a month.

“We are pretty excited about the partnership. By combining our resources and streamlining the workflow, we will be able to cope better with the increasing demand”, said Larry Lim.

“Our SEO system has been tested and refined since 2005, and unlike other SEO consultants in Singapore, who are mostly a one-man setup, our full-fledged team enables us to do everything in-house. Combined with our cost advantage, I’m confident that we will be the natural choice over other industry players”, he continued.

Locus-T is also no stranger to the Internet industry. Established since 1999, the web development company is ISO-certified and has served more than 1,000 clients to date.

According to comScore, Singaporeans make more than 250 million searches a month – 80% of these searches are conducted on Google. SEMPO, a non-profit organization representing SEM professionals worldwide, has projected the SEO industry to grow 14% in 2010.

For more information about Locus-T’s SEO services, please visit the Singapore SEO minisite.

http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/seo_consultant_larry_lim_locus-t_partner_to_offer_seo_services.html

Domain Invest Expands Domains Portfolio with collegesdegree.com

2010-03-29T08:20:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Domain Invest recently acquired www.collegesdegree.com in a move to position itself at the forefront of education domain names

More and more people and especially parents are looking up online for anything related to education, whether it’s to help children with their schoolwork, to find information on schools in the area or even to register to online education content.

The current trend on online education has spawned many websites providing personalized or group based education alongside the official school curriculum, and online education seems likely to last. It is therefore important for companies in that area to position themselves on the Internet while they still can.
It’s a well known fact that learning a foreign language, improving Mathematics or simply trying to find a college with the appropriate education offer in the desired area, can be quite time consuming. Having the required information all in one place could help people and especially parents make a thoughtful choice in terms of education. A website such as collegesdegree.com could provide easy access to information, while allowing public or private education bodies to present their teaching offer to a worldwide audience.

An already extensive “education” database

The high profile domain names will join the already extensive database of education domains owned by Domain Invest, including names generating high levels of traffic such as ineedadegree.com, degreeexpress.com, teachingandlearning.com, universitydegree.co.uk, linktolearn.com or even http://www.mycollegeguide.com and www.onlineschool.com. It’s interesting to note that the company owns education domain names in all major languages, enabling it to easily reach potential high growth markets. This includes highly performing names like ecolesprivees.fr, coursdusoir.fr, cours.be and also escuelaingles.es, aprenderingles.es, cursoingles.es, or even gimnazjum.pl and liceum.pl

This move will surely enable Domain Invest to act as a major player in the current trend over education websites, which has seen a growing interest in all major countries worldwide within the last couple of years.

Domain Invest is a company that acquires existing internet domain names that already generate revenues and offer value increase potential. Domain Invest monetize their traffic by dynamically generating websites presenting advertisements contextually related to their domain name. These country specific websites collectively attract large audiences, enabling Domain Invest to sell targeted advertising.

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

SEO Consult Utilises Cre8space for Hooton Office Move

2010-03-29T08:23:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) SEO Consult have utilised experienced interior fitters, cre8Space to help them plan and fit the interior of their new office based in Hooton, Cheshire.

SEO Consult are moving to a new, larger premises in the Hooton area to make room for recent growth within their company and with a view to further expansion. The search engine optimisation specialists had a brand new office space unit to mould and construct as they saw fit, and they contacted local design company and experienced office fitters cre8space to help design an attractive and professional working space to accommodate their existing workforce but also create a modern working environment for their employees to enjoy now and for years to come.

The result is a bright, spacious office which will be able to comfortably house current members of staff yet affords room for future company additions. Included is a dynamic, modern conference room with comfortable furniture and an attractive, sociable kitchen space for the staff to use during lunch hours. Desks are spacious, giving staff affordable personal space to work in, yet close enough for efficient teamwork.

“We can’t wait to move into the new office – it already feels like home thanks to the incredible job cre8space have done for us,” commented Matt Bullas, Managing Director of SEO Consult. “We feel that our new premises in Hooton will give us a much broader access to nationwide clients as an SEO company and we’ve already had a great reception from our staff who toured the office recently. I’d personally like to extend my thanks to Rob Sutton and the excellent job he and his team have performed for us here at SEO Consult.”

“It was a pleasure to help out SEO Consult and assist them with fitting out their new office space. We’re delighted with how the finished article looks and know that SEO Consult will utilise it to its maximum potential,” adds Rob Sutton of cre8space. “Our team of experienced interior fitters have done an excellent job that powerfully utilises every inch of the space provided to us by SEO Consult and we wish them every success for the future when they move in to their new home.”

To find out more about SEO Consult please visit our website at http://www.seoconsult.co.uk/ or call 0845 205 0292 during office hours.

For more information about interior fitters cre8space, you can visit their website at http://www.cre8space.co.uk/ or telephone 0151 513 6703 during office hours.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/seo_consult_utilises_cre8space_for_hooton_office_move.html

4PSA Hires Industry Veteran to Expand into US market

2010-03-25T18:13:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) 4PSA has reached an agreement with telecommunications and Internet Telephony industry veteran, Mike Ross to head up their operation in the Americas

"Mike will have an important role in the development of our brand and products. He will also be in charge of building the channel and network as well as the infrastructure to support our expanding customer base in North and South America.", said Bogdan Carstoiu, 4PSA’s CEO.

4PSA develops communication software built to power new service delivery infrastructure. "Cloud Computing is creating a lot of attention globally and our 4Grid technology is the perfect way to deploy the highest performance hosted applications with resiliency, scalability, and security unmatched by any existing offering. Our VoipNow® Platform suite of products feature the most complete set of soft-switch (VoIP) and Unified Communications capabilities along with FoIP, conferencing, groupware and collaboration services. It is the right time to increase our presence in America." stated Mr. Carstoiu.

"I am looking forward to becoming part of the 4PSA team and introducing their cloud technology to the American markets", said Mike Ross, 4PSA’s COO and Director of the Americas. "4PSA’s strength lies in their vision, execution capabilities, and commitment to excellence. VoipNow will be very disruptive to legacy telecom solutions with a carrier grade, NGN, hosted solution that is infinitely scalable at a cost per user at under $1 per month." added Mr. Ross.

VoipNow is a software suite designed to simplify the deployment of Unified Communications services in the cloud. It includes Professional, Automation and Core, three different components that allow service providers to automate the delivery of a wide range of IP communications services.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/4psa_hires_industry_veteran_to_expand_into_us_market.html

Open-Xchange and Softline Partner to Offer On-Premises and Hosted Groupware

2010-03-26T06:13:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Open-Xchange recently announced at CloudConf 2010 Moscow a partnership with Softline to resell on-premises and hosted Open-Xchange.

Softline expands its portfolio with Open-Xchange and now can sell it to enterprises, educational institutions and government authorities of all sizes. Softline now can offer customers either: Open-Xchange hosted by Softline; or on-premises installed and run on the customer’s own computers – and the ability to switch between the types of operation at any time.

“Both on-premises and hosted Open-Xchange use exactly the same software code. This is unique in the entire software industry as it provides our customers with unmatched freedom to choose their favorite deployment model any time they like – with no migration effort,” said Anton Salov, head of Softcloud. “While small- and medium-size enterprises tend to benefit from groupware technology deployed as SaaS (Software as a Service) without an initial investment, or on-going administration, larger organizations mostly prefer to integrate their communication solutions into an existing IT infrastructure and run it in-house.”

Softline will offer Open-Xchange through Softline’s new SaaS marketplace called “Softcloud,” which provides maximum data security for white label partners and end users. Softline hosts the server hardware in secure, professional data centers and takes care of performance, scalability, system maintenance, security updates and support. In the SaaS model, customers subscribe to applications, typically on a monthly basis, versus purchasing them. The end user does not need to invest in hardware and software, nor does it require its own staff for the installation and administration of Open-Xchange.

Also Softline provides on-premises collaboration solutions using Open-Xchange´s Server Editions as lower cost alternatives to Microsoft Windows Server, Microsoft Active Directory, Exchange and SharePoint. Open-Xchange´s on-premises products – available as an out-of-the-box software appliance for SMBs or Open-Xchange Server Edition for larger enterprises - can be easily integrated into existing Microsoft-based environments, thereby ensuring that Microsoft Active Directory can be kept with no changes.

“We are looking forward to extending our sales into growing markets in Eastern Europe, Middle East and Asia, partnering with Softline, the leading software reseller in Russia and CIS,” said Rafael Laguna, CEO of Open-Xchange. “Softline is another great example of how innovative reseller partners extend their existing software licensing business.”

Open-Xchange groupware provides the basis for efficient teamwork. It combines e-mail, appointment, contact and task management with intelligent document management. Open-Xchange recently introduced an innovative groupware concept called “Social OX,” which can aggregate e-mail from Google, Yahoo and many others into a folder in Open-Xchange, plus automatically add and incorporate contact details from social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn or Xing to the Open-Xchange address book. To simplify teamwork and project work with external business partners, Open-Xchange can share contacts, calendar information and documents securely outside the enterprise and those users do not require an Open-Xchange account. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/open-xchange_and_softline_partner_to_offer_on-premises_and_hoste.html

CloudLinux Solves critical Performance Issues for Hosting Providers

2010-03-26T06:11:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) CloudLinux has released a technical white paper, “How to Squeeze More Efficiency Out of Your Infrastructure.” The paper details current inadequacies in the hosting arena and how the CloudLinux Operating System (OS) effectively addresses these issues. In particular, with CloudLinux technology, the study proceeds to explain how web hosts can double the density of their shared hosting servers while simultaneously improving server stability.

The proprietary research conducted by CloudLinux was meant to provide evidence of the inadequacies of existing server management techniques. Included is a detailed analysis of the two research methodologies used: a statistical analysis of server log activity and a survey of the experiences of real world hosting providers.

The study details the impact on hosting providers who, today, lack the ability to optimize the number of clients on a server due to risk of increased instability. Key findings include:

46.6% of web hosts reported they experienced downtime due to a lone site at least a few times a month
Frequently a single site or a very small number of sites utilize a disproportionate amount of resources:

- Top 1% of sites are responsible for 39% of the static requests (on average) to the server

- Top 5% of sites are responsible for 65% of static requests (on average) to the server

- On 25% of the servers analyzed, top 1% of the sites are responsible for 50% or more of dynamic requests to the server

Reasons for server spikes which can bring down an entire server can include:
- One badly executed script on one site
- New software introduced to a site

To mitigate some of these risks, many hosting providers keep server capacity at 60% or below in order to maintain stability, but they sacrifice optimizing their infrastructure in the process. This is the problem that CloudLinux solves with its new Lightweight Virtual Environment™ (LVE) technology. It has the capability to vastly improve the density of shared hosting servers, often enabling hosting providers to double server density without sacrificing stability. The benefits of this approach include:

- Properly manage hundreds or thousands of websites simultaneously on one server without risking server stability

- Prevent one site from affecting the performance of other sites on a server

- Gain control and manage server resources down to an individual site level, versus a server level

- More quickly identify sites which are not functioning properly without running the risk of a single site slowing or taking down a whole server

The release of this white paper comes at a critical time. With the growing demand by websites to run a new array of rich applications and cloud services in a stable server environment, data centers and hosting providers are challenged to provide the quality service these customers require, cost effectively. With the CloudLinux LVE technology, hosting providers can introduce a new level of flexibility that optimizes their infrastructure. “Based on my many years of experience in the hosting arena, I am thrilled to show how CloudLinux LVE technology closes the market gap that exists in the web hosting environment by outperforming the standard OS,” states Igor Seletskiy, CEO and Founder of CloudLinux. “As our white paper outlines, it is now possible to achieve a balanced, stable server environment along with improving density of shared hosting servers through a well-supported Linux version specifically optimized for web hosters.”

CloudLinux OS is an innovative cost-effective solution designed to improve control in the shared hosting and data center arena, while simultaneously increasing control and stability, as well as improving overall performance. For a free copy of the white paper, go to www.cloudlinux.com/whitepaper. For more information, please visit www.cloudlinux.com. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/cloudlinux_solves_critical_performance_issues_for_hosting_provid.html

1&1 and Zoho Partner to Deliver Cloud Solutions to Businesses

2010-03-26T06:10:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) 1&1 Internet and Zoho recently announced a partnership to make standard cloud solutions available to small and medium sized companies as well as private users. After years of experience developing high quality, online products for private and commercial users, both companies are familiar with the specific conditions and requirements in different national markets. This expertise will now flow into joint projects connecting the worlds of hosting and cloud applications.

The first result of the partnership will be the new 1&1 Online Office, scheduled to launch in Germany and the UK in the first half of 2010, with more countries to follow soon. 1&1 Online Office will offer users a comprehensive office suite consisting of word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications that run entirely in a user's web browser.
There will be no software - other than a browser - to install locally.
All data will be stored centrally and securely on servers in 1&1's high performance data centres, thus enabling access at any time and even while on the road.

Oliver Mauss, CEO of 1&1 Internet said, "Market experts and analysts expect rapidly increasing demand for cloud applications in the coming years. As an internationally operating hosting provider, we see an extensive and lasting growth potential in this field. And we'd like to position ourselves in this segment at an early stage. With Zoho, we have found a strong partner and product developer who addresses the broad global market from private users to medium-sized companies. Besides 1&1 Online Office, we can imagine adding other Zoho applications to our portfolio in the future".

Sridhar Vembu, CEO of Zoho Corporation said, "Roughly 30 per cent of our users are based in Europe, and we're eager to serve even more users there. As the largest web hosting company worldwide, 1&1 has a tremendous presence in Europe. They're an ideal partner to help bring a comprehensive online application suite to a broader European audience looking for high performance that doesn't break the bank. We are eager to see this alliance grow".

For more information on 1&1 visit the website at www.1and1.co.uk

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/1_1_and_zoho_partner_to_deliver_cloud_solutions_to_businesses.html

Voxeo Launches Tropo cloud communications API

2010-03-26T06:05:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Voxeo recently unveiled its Tropo cloud communications API. The new API extends web applications to easily drive communications via Twitter, telephone, text messaging (SMS) and instant messaging (IM). For example, service providers can write a web application enabling customers to check account balances, and use Tropo to extend the application to let customers check the same balance by phone, Twitter, SMS or IM.

Tropo is the first real-time API with Twitter support and the only such platform available worldwide. Using Tropo's single, simple API, developers can add Twitter, telephone, and IM communications features to any new or existing web application. Tropo supports any web programming language including Groovy, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, and .Net. Before Tropo, such services included only voice and SMS communications, were limited to North America, and required XML bloat not favored by modern web developers. Tropo features both direct-API and JSON-based development interfaces and is always free for development. Users pay only when applications are deployed in a production capacity.

New Tropo features include:

- Twitter support - Assign a Twitter name to an application and users can interact with the application by simply sending a Twitter message to that name. The app will see all messages to the Twitter account and can take action on messages that are received. Applications can be set up to do customer support over Twitter and web applications can be enabled to service Twitter users. It's simple to do and secured by OAuth.

- SMS support - The exact same phone number developers use to call their application can also be used to receive inbound SMS messages. Plus, the application can generate outbound SMS messages, connecting the application to millions of mobile users.

- IM/Chat - Add IM accounts to an application and communicate via AOL's AIM, Yahoo!Messenger, Microsoft's Live Messenger, GoogleTalk or any XMPP or Jabber IM service.

- International Phone Access - No longer are developers limited to phone numbers in North America. Tropo now supports calls from and to anywhere in the world. Local Phone numbers are now available in over 30 different countries.

- International Speech Output - Tropo now supports extremely natural voice synthesis (text-to-speech) in eight languages, including US English, UK English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Mexican Spanish or Castilian Spanish.

- International Speech Input - Tropo now supports highly accurate voice recognition (speech-to-text) in the same eight languages, so callers can use either their voice or touchtone keys to interact with Tropo applications.

- One click deployment - After developing an application it is literally one click to move it into production. No contracts, no calls into a salesperson. Simply go into the web management interface and flip the switch. Tropo is always completely free for developer use with no time limits or credits to track. You choose when you're ready for production.

- New REST/JSON Web API - Beyond the hosted scripting Tropo has always offered, now host the application on your own web server, write it in whatever language you choose and communicate through our RESTful web API using JSON.

Tropo is run by Voxeo Labs, the innovation and incubation arm of Voxeo Corporation. Voxeo is the most widely used platform of its kind in the world, with over 100,000 registered developers and applications deployed to over half of the Fortune 500. For more information please visit Tropo at http://www.tropo.com.

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

AT&T Touch Tablet Computer Coming Soon?

2010-03-25T07:24:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) AT&T Inc. recently announced that it plans to start testing interactive marketing soon on the posibility of creating the companies first tablet computer.

First, the service provider is working with OpenPeak Inc., a maker of touch-screens and device-management platforms, to develop a tablet computer. The device – presumably a competitor to the Apple Inc. iPad – will run on AT&T’s wireless broadband network. Common applications include social networking, e-book downloading, e-mail and instant messaging, and video- and photo-sharing. Users also will be able to monitor home security systems, for example, as well as home energy consumption.

The tablet operates with the Intel Atom processor, includes HDMI output, USB interface, a high-resolution screen and measures 9 inches by 5 inches. It weighs 1.15 pounds. The tablet will be sold at as-yet undisclosed retail stores throughout the country later this year.

AT&T also has struck a key deal with Zeebo, a company that makes wireless video game consoles. Zeebo now will provision its services over AT&T’s mobile broadband network. Right now, though, Zeebo is available in just Brazil and Mexico. But Zeebo is looking at launching in the United States next year.

The companies did not disclose the terms of their deal.

AT&T further said on Wednesday it will conduct location-based tracking for American Security Logistics (ASL), a company that monitors cargo shipments. AT&T’s wireless tracking devices will tell ASL where shipments are at any time. ASL also is developing devices for tracking pets, children and Alzheimer’s patients.

As with the Zeebo agreement, AT&T and ASL did not divulge the value of their contract.

Finally, AT&T said it’s introducing a program to test 2D barcode scanners. The experiment will track consumer response to interactive, targeted marketing on devices including the BlackBerry. AT&T is looking for 12 enterprise customers to take part in the trial run.

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

TELEHOUSE AMERICA Offers Solutions for Online Gaming Companies

2010-03-25T07:17:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) TELEHOUSE America now offers a new suite of solutions specifically packaged for online gaming companies and operators.

The global online gaming industry is set to grow by 11% year-over-year through 2013, according to the Global Online Gaming Report 2009 published by Aarkstore Enterprise Market Research. “In the US, the amount of online play is growing 10 times as fast as the overall US Internet population, with nearly one of every two users getting in the game.” This growth is driving gaming companies to reassess their technical requirements and seek access to Internet backbone providers, traditionally housed in carrier-grade data center and colocation facilities.

As a pioneer in the global data center and colocation market, TELEHOUSE provides Total Solutions to a wide variety of industries. TELEHOUSE America houses the mission-critical equipment and manages the day-to-day IT operations of several of the world’s top Tier 1 and Tier 2 global Internet backbone providers. In addition, their facilities offer access to two of the most heavily trafficked IP peering exchanges operational today, the New York International Internet Exchange (NYIIX) and the Los Angeles International Internet Exchange (LAIIX).

Through TELEHOUSE’s Global Interlink service, (dedicated VLAN Ethernet), the company offers connectivity between all of its 37 global data center facilities and access to other data center or colocation facility providers. These services enable gaming companies and other media providers the resources required to implement their ubiquitous growth needs while achieving true diversity for their mission-critical IT environments. Furthermore, TELEHOUSE facilities ensure a high-level of business continuity and disaster prevention. In addition, TELEHOUSE’s suite of managed IT services, Manage-E, offers gaming companies a complete layer of 24/7 infrastructure management and IT systems support, both remotely and onsite at its data centers. “With the growth of the online gaming marketplace, we recognize the sector’s growing need for secure, high capacity data center facilities with scalable managed services and access to a multitude of different Internet service providers,” comments Fred Cannone, Director of Sales and Marketing for TELEHOUSE America. “In the past year we have seen a steady increase in the number of opportunities from gaming companies from all over the world. Our experience with and expertise in implementing and managing global data centers solutions for gaming providers and others, will serve to benefit this unique industry, in ways other providers cannot.

As a further testament to TELEHOUSE’s commitment to the gaming industry, the company will be attending the upcoming Streaming Media East conference and exhibition in New York from May 11-12, 2010. For more information on TELEHOUSE America's total solutions for data centers, colocation, infrastructure management and global communications services, and to schedule a meeting, please visit www.telehouse.com or email sales@telehouse.com.

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

Autodesk Certifies Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac as its Preferred virtualization Solution

2010-03-25T07:14:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Recently Parallels announced that Autodesk, Inc. has certified Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac as its preferred virtualization solution for customers who want to run Autodesk’s 2011 applications on the Mac and receive product support from Autodesk.

Parallels Desktop 5, the best way to run Windows software applications on a Mac, gives Mac customers fully supported use of their 2011 versions of Autodesk's AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Inventor LT, Autodesk 3ds Max Design software and the Autodesk Revit software platform for building information modeling (BIM). Parallels Desktop 5 is also the only certified solution that brings AutoCAD 2010 to the Mac.

"Autodesk’s 2011 product lineup delivers powerful new features that will help customers take their designs further,” said Andrew Mackles, Director of AutoCAD Product Management. “Parallels is Autodesk’s preferred Mac virtualization software because it provides the fastest and most powerful Windows-on-Mac experience, which is why we provide full support to our customers who need to use 2010 and 2011 versions of our key design, engineering and entertainment software on the Mac.”

“We are delighted that Parallels Desktop 5 empowers Mac customers to fully enjoy Autodesk’s innovative and new design and engineering software on the Mac. Parallels Desktop 5’s superior performance in running graphical visualization and 3D Windows applications on the Mac has been documented with independent tests, reviews, awards and certifications. It is the best way to seamlessly run any Windows application on the Mac,” said Parallels’ Vice President of Consumer Marketing Kim Johnston.

Autodesk’s continued partnership with Parallels enables both professional and student Mac users to benefit from the following:

AutoCAD 2011: Increased productivity, advanced conceptual design tools and more flexibility and control when designing in 3D

AutoCAD LT: Dramatically increase productivity with the professional choice in 2D drafting and detailing software

Autodesk Inventor 2011: New direct manipulation capabilities to improve the mechanical design process, delivering better results quickly and cost-effectively

Autodesk Inventor LT: Practical and affordable 3D mechanical CAD software that offers a cost-effective and easy way to introduce 3D part modeling into 2D drafting workflows

2011 Autodesk Revit software platform for BIM: The ability to easily create and profit from digital design data and enhanced communication across extended project teams

Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2011: New features and techniques for design visualization and creative story telling

For students, Autodesk provides free educational versions of its software and Parallels offers a special student price for Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac of $39.99 (compared to MSRP of $79.99).

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/autodesk_certifies_parallels_desktop_5_for_mac_as_its_preferred_.html

Rooster Ink Ranked in Top Ten Web Design Firms by topseos.com

2010-03-25T07:11:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) topseos.com recently announced the top ten web design firms for for March 2010. Rooster Ink was ranked in the top ten based upon an extensive evaluation performed by an experienced research team. The team filtered through thousands of applicants to ensure that only the best companies were ranked.

Founded in 2008, Rooster Ink offers their clients small country charm with big city results. The Indiana-based web design company provides individual attention to each every client. As a full-service graphics design shop, Rooster Ink's goal is provide their clients with the tools needed for growth. From websites to business cards, the firm works to ensure consistency of the brand across all mediums. Their team is equipped with vast experience and the best tools in the industry to ensure that their clients are getting the top results in return.

The independent authority on search vendors, topseos.com, recognized a need within the internet marketing industry to separate the best vendors from the rest. As such, in 2002 the site was launched with the first rankings including the best SEO company. Since then, over 50,000 monthly visitors connect with topseos.com in search of the best internet marketing services and products. In addition to the independent rankings, you can find the knowledgebase with new and other information regarding the internet marketing industry.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/rooster_ink_ranked_in_top_ten_web_design_firms_by_topseos_com.html

The Planet Announces Availability of the Dell PowerEdge R710 server

2010-03-25T07:06:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) The Planet announced the availability of the Dell PowerEdge R710 server, equipped with the Intel® Xeon® X5600 series processor. The new server is now the most powerful server in the company’s fleet. The next-generation processor, built on the new Westmere microarchitecture, offers significantly enriched performance and security. Built with six cores, the new 32 nanometer processor operates at speeds up to 2.80GHz, with 12MB of cache, a 1333MHz memory bus, and enabled with turbo- and hyper-threading.

The new processor also delivers two new security features – Intel Advanced Encryption Standard New Instructions (Intel AES-NI) and Intel Trusted Execution Technology (Intel TXT). These new technologies enable faster encryption and decryption performance for more secure transactions and virtualized environments.

The new server is available today exclusively on The Planet’s Virtual Rack platform, which allows customers to effortlessly scale computing capacity within their hosting environment without long-term commitments.

“Our customers require performance, security and server density, and the new Intel processor delivers across the board,” said Todd Mitchell, general manager for Dedicated Hosting and Global Services. “This high-performance server offers hardware acceleration for virtualization and cloud instances, and improved security through Intel’s AES-NI and TXT technologies. It also improves the economics of multi-tenant environments such as cloud and virtualization, as well as Web hosting services.”

Every server from The Plant comes bundled with Symantec Endpoint Protection -- business-class antivirus software -- along with 10GB of Storage Cloud, the company’s robust cloud storage solution. Customers also receive the Parallels Small Business Panel for their hosting environments.
For more information, visit the Web site at http://www.theplanet.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/the_planet_announces_availability_of_the_dell_poweredge_r710_ser.html

Eutelsat Supports the Launch of Satellite Broadband by the UK Space Agency

2010-03-25T07:08:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Eutelsat Communications welcomes the launch of the UK Space Agency and the Government’s recognition of the role satellite broadband could play in bridging the digital divide for UK rural areas.

Michel de Rosen, Eutelsat’s Chief Executive Officer commented on the new agency: “The UK has played a significant role in the international space industry, and we welcome this new impetus, which continues a longstanding British tradition of fostering an environment of innovation and pushing back the boundaries of technical possibilities. The UK was an early adopter of satellite-based communications and it was the British space industry that drove the construction of Europe’s first telecommunications satellites, operated by Eutelsat from the 1980s. Today, satellites have transformed the television experience and are poised to make an essential and we believe still underestimated contribution towards achieving a digitally-inclusive broadband society across the UK.”

Publishing the Government Response to the UK Space Innovation and Growth Strategy, Lord Drayson recommended developing Space-enabled services as a complementary infrastructure to fibre-optic and wireless superfast broadband. The Government has recommended funding a study, jointly resourced with industry, to set out how Space-enabled services could help deliver Next Generation Broadband to rural communities.

“Eutelsat’s satellite broadband service Tooway™ has been providing a 3.6 Mbps Internet connection to UK rural customers for almost a year and we would be delighted to share our experiences as part of the study,” said Michel de Rosen “The UK has also been integral in the development of our revolutionary broadband satellite, which will be launched in the coming months and offer up to 10 Mbps services to the UK.”

Eutelsat last week announced the successful completion of the UK-built communications module for its ground-breaking high-speed broadband communications satellite, KA-SAT. The communications module – the heart of the satellite, designed to receive and transmit broadband services to and from Internet users – has now been transferred from Astrium’s high-tech manufacturing facilities in Portsmouth to Toulouse, France, and integrated with the satellite’s service module for testing before its scheduled launch at the end of 2010. The completion of this module brings the prospect of high-speed 10Mbps broadband access one step closer for the UK’s rural communities.

Today, Tooway™ is already serving customers in more than 25 European countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland and Greece, with other countries across Europe rolling out over the coming months. Eutelsat is a leading European satellite operator with 26 satellites providing a footprint of more than 150 countries, and reaching 90% of the global population. http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/eutelsat_supports_the_launch_of_satellite_broadband_by_the_uk_sp.html

The Planet Launches Customer Portal iPhone Application

2010-03-24T11:27:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) The Planet, the global leader in IT hosting, today launched a new mobile iPhone application expressly designed to make it easy for customers to connect to the company’s Orbit customer portal. In its first iteration, the application enables customers to view and manage support tickets; monitor server ping status; reboot servers; power servers on and off; and initiate operating system (OS) reloads. Customers are also able to review bandwidth utilization graphs, and track recent invoice data.

Through its own surveys, The Planet learned that more than 55 percent of its customers use iPhone applications to conduct business. Another 30 percent indicated Blackberry and Android as a preference, and applications for both will be available later this year.

“Our customers operate mission-critical applications and data, and they must be able to monitor their server environments, wherever they may be,” said Kyle Smith, director of Customer Portal Experience with The Planet. “With this new iPhone app, we’re enabling them to manage their boxes from any location with broadband or Wi-Fi access, whether it’s at the airport, while they’re at dinner or on the golf course. We have a portfolio of new portal capabilities and access methods planned for the coming months that will provide value and make it even easier for our customers to stay in touch with their servers and with us.”

For more information or to learn about the new mobile application, visit the Web site at http://www.theplanet.com/orbit-for-iphone. Existing customers who use iPhones can link directly to the application through the Orbit customer portal at https://iphone.orbit.theplanet.com.

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

Zurich Introduces Free Enterprise Risk Management HealthCheck Tool for Tech Firms

2010-03-24T11:25:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Zurich, a leading property & casualty insurance provider to technology companies in North America , announced today the launch of Zurich Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) HealthCheck Tool. This new, easy-to-use tool helps provide mid-size to large technology companies with a realistic check of their current ERM preparedness. ERM promotes a holistic, 360-degree approach to risk and opportunity management. It can help to uncover and manage a company’s business challenges, including operations and procedures, management styles and business strategies, industry issues, emerging risks and more.

“Technology firms, by their nature, are particularly susceptible to a variety of emerging, ever-changing risks that can, if not anticipated and managed, jeopardize their profitability, or even their very existence,” said David Allred, technology practice leader for Zurich North America Commercial. “For example, many firms have complex global supply chains that are susceptible to a variety of interruptions. ERM can also look at things like labor relations or the ability to keep research and development (R & D) efforts functioning in the event of a physical loss at their facilities. With an effective ERM program in place, technology firms will be better prepared to manage the risks and challenges to profitability to enable improved strategic decision making.”

Not only does the Zurich ERM HealthCheck Tool offer a high-level assessment of a technology firm’s current ERM strategy and processes, it also provides the user with some recommendations on how to improve his/her businesses’ current ERM preparedness. This tool takes a broad look at ERM, the commitments involved in implementing it effectively, and the benefits that businesses can achieve as a result.

According to Linda Conrad, director of Strategic Business Risk for Zurich Services Corporation, a well-developed ERM infrastructure can be a real competitive advantage. Conrad said, "The objective of ERM is to manage business resilience by 'putting your money where your risk is' so companies can better leverage strategic business growth opportunities." ERM can help businesses,
• Protect tangible and intangible assets;
• Minimize total cost of risk and barriers to achieving business objectives;
• Maintain creditworthiness;
• Maximize strategic growth opportunities;
• Provide management assurance to regulators and stakeholders, and
• Limit damage to their reputation.

To take the free assessment, go to https://www.zurichnac.com/technology-ERM.

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

Tedopres International Announces its Official partnership with SCHEMA GmbH

2010-03-24T07:03:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Tedopres International and SCHEMA GmbH today announced that Tedopres will become official partner for SCHEMA ST4.

Although SaaS has already been on the hype cycle peak under the name of ASP and is currently being inflated through ‘the cloud’, Tedopres has been practicing this model with great success for years now. Potential customers who have flinched from the effort of buying a state-of-the-art Content Component Management System like SCHEMA ST4 have now proven possibility to jump on the bandwagon. For Tedopres this is the ‘absolute model’ for the future and many potential customers of SCHEMA are asking for that but want to be sure that they will have an experienced and reliable SaaS partner. Therefore Tedopres and SCHEMA GmbH decided to enter into a partnership.

“We are very pleased to start our cooperation with SCHEMA, because we see excellent opportunities with SCHEMA ST4. Our detailed evaluation has shown that SCHEMA ST4 is the best system for us on the market. Tedopres expects a fruitful cooperation in 2010.” says André Verduijn, Managing Director of Tedopres.

The partnership with Tedopres enables SCHEMA GmbH to deploy the SCHEMA ST4 technology to a larger customer base and to better understand the needs of the international market. Tedopres offers full implementation of the SCHEMA ST4 software or of a complete SaaS model.

“We are very pleased, that our partnership with Tedopres brings together two very dynamic and energetic companies. Tedopres woris used by Philips Medical, which is also one of SCHEMA’s largest customers, with SCHEMA ST4 installations in Best, Hamburg and 3 further locations in the US. Therefore, bringing both companies together in a partnership almost suggested itself. The possible integration with the Hypervision suite of Tedopres offers really exciting new possibilities.” says Stefan Freisler, Managing Director of SCHEMA GmbH.

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

DomainDB Launches the Largest Domain Information Database On the Internet

2010-03-24T07:01:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Domain Database recently launched the largest domain information database on the Internet – DomainDB.com. With over 87 million domains worldwide, this service is now available for Internet domain databases all around the world, and is now offering unique domain information such as the domain relations.

DomainDB.comOne of the great new features about DomainDB is that end users can now comment about any domain. Once detailed information on a particular domain is found, users can post comments regarding that domain on DomainDB.com.

DomainDB.com has a simple web structure which is very user friendly. In order to process a query for a particular domain, users can type in the domain name or URL and DomainDB.com will provide results. Additional detailed information available includes the number of incoming links and the number of pages listed at Google, Alexa popularity and Alexa backlink for a specific domain. Domain information provided is accompanied by a screenshot of a webpage associated with the domain.

DomainDB.com users can also see the physical location of any web server, their IP address, obtain information about any domain from Twitter, as well as view the visitor statistics for a specific domain in graphical format. DomainDB.com is currently running on its Beta version, but Domain Database hopes to launch the full version website onto the market very soon.

About Domain Database
DomainDB.com is the largest information database online, which is run by Triop AB, a leading web service provider on the Internet.

For more information on DomainDB.com visit: DomainDB.com.

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

Colocation America Provides Flexible Hosting Plans for Expanding Businesses

2010-03-24T07:00:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Colocation America announced today its advantages to small and mid-size businesses that need flexible data centers to accommodate business growth. Colocation America offers the physical infrastructure, certified employees, and easily upgradable systems for colocation hosting, dedicated server hosting, and managed hosting.

“When businesses grow rapidly, their data centers can eat up the space allotted to them and outreach the expertise of the engineers who maintain them,” said Michael Trunkett, President at Colocation America. “Every business Colocation America serves, gets the assurance of knowing their essential data is in the hands of certified engineers, and that we have unlimited capacity to accommodate their growth.”

Businesses overwhelmed with determining the optimal bandwidth and system configuration to support their business now and into the future rely on Colocation America to advise, monitor, and maintain their servers. Additionally, the substantial savings in cost of backup generators, firewalls, security, and cooling for in-house data centers versus Colocation America colocation and dedicated server hosting gives growing businesses the largest return on their IT investment.

“At Colocation America we help you reduce the upfront costs associated with in-house data centers while providing state-of the art hardware, software, and security,” said Trunkett. “You get the flexibility and control necessary for your business while we take care of maintaining superb efficiency.”

Expansion and growth come with increased technology and data center needs which can strain a company’s internal resources. Colocation America’s colocation, dedicated server, and managed hosting plans give businesses high-speed internet capability, continual access to data, and easily upgradeable systems. Support technicians are available at all times to answer questions.

“Transitioning to a more powerful hosting system is smooth when you have the right equipment and the right people for the job,” said Trunkett. “Our commitment to quality on every level means you can maximize in-house IT staff to improve your business, and our flexible hosting plans give your business just what it needs to succeed.”

Colocation America provides a scalable data center environment that ensures security, reliability, and flexibility to businesses of all sizes. Visit the Colocation America website, www.colocationamerica.com, for more information on web hosting for growing businesses.

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

Telehouse West Prepares to Open New Data Centre

2010-03-24T06:59:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Telehouse recently announced there is just one week to go until the launch of its new £80 million Telehouse West data centre, which will provide 19,000 square metres of secure data centre services. The facility will bring the total amount of power at its Docklands site to 40MVA, providing organisations with access to a massive 6KW per rack to ensure all customer power requirements are met both now and in the future.

Spread over nine floors, five with a ‘localised data centre environment’, the facility will also provide 424 racks per floor. Telehouse West has been designed to overcome the power shortage in the capital, offering customers four redundant HV power systems on separate grids for maximum redundancy and reliability levels of 99.999%. In addition, the facility will offer:

• 2(N+1) redundant UPS floor by floor
• Standby generators with a minimum of 24 hours autonomy at full capacity.
• 8 x 2.5MVA 11kV Generators
• Redundant A & B power feeds to customer equipment
• 6 x 2.7 MW chillers for air conditioning and cooling
• 2 redundant standby generators

Telehouse West will provide 19,000 square metres of secure data centre services for UK businesses and will act as a communications hub to over 400 carriers, ASPs and ISP, allowing customers to choose the service that best suits their needs. In addition, the Company is also offering managed services (including system integration, network services and ICT consultancy) for customers of the Telehouse West facility including systems observer, tape back-up, router support services and technical support.

“Telehouse West has been constructed to ease the UK’s capacity and power needs. We currently already receive an industry high 94% customer satisfaction rating; something we hope to improve further when the new facility opens in April 2010. It will also be the most advanced, feature-rich data centre the UK has ever seen. The flagship data centre will provide organisations with the energy and capacity they so desperately need,” said Bob Harris, Technical Services Director of Telehouse.

Furthermore, Telehouse West will be able to recover waste heat and transform it into energy for the local Docklands community, helping organisations to meet their green agenda, and mitigate their carbon footprint ready for the introduction of the government’s CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) in April 2010.

When operational, Telehouse West will be home to the London Internet Exchange (LINX) and will offer customers access to the UK’s widest choice of carriers, operators, ISPs and Internet Exchanges.

For more information regarding the new facility or to book a tour please contact: marketing@uk.telehouse.net or visit the Telehouse West online portal. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/telehouse_west_prepares_to_open_new_data_centre.html

5 Ways to Expand Your Business

2010-03-23T06:41:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) One of the main concerns any new business owner will run into is learning how to recruit industry contacts and expand the circle of new business prospects. There are a few ways to do this affordably, and as you are probably aware affordability is a major concern for most entrepreneurs.

1. Local Advertising

Did you know that many Starbucks, Panera Bread Company, Jamba Juice, and other local restaurant locations have bulletin boards and advertiser opportunities? Visit your local cafes and restaurants and ask them about leaving business cards, posting flyers, or even partnership opportunities depending on your specific business models. At the very least, this will increase your local brand recognition and potential customers will have an immediate way to contact you or view your online portfolio.

Local advertising opportunities can also come in the form of community sponsorships. Look for organizations that will fit your business’s needs or make a good fit for finding potential customers. Keep in mind that even if you are sponsoring a fundraiser, nonprofit group, or benefit drive, you are reaching hundreds if not thousands of local participants, all of whom may be interested in your services. Lunarpages takes part in many local charity events and assists businesses with online sponsorship, etc.

2. Online Business Networking

You’ve heard of social networking, right? Companies like FaceBook and MySpace introduced a new era of networking, but websites such as LinkedIn have taken this a step further for businesses and associates who need to build their networks.

LinkedIn is probably my number one choice for expanding your business contacts. With LinkedIn, you are not only able to connect with your employees and offer recommendations for expanding their networks, but you are also able to network as a company leader. The more friends, colleagues, and partners you connect with, the bigger your business network grows. Once you connect with one colleague, you can see who they work with and recommend and so on. Your new business opportunities are endless!

3. Local Search Advertising

About 25% of all web searches these days include local search parameters—and this number continues to grow every day. For example, if I am looking for a sushi restaurant in Las Vegas, I am not going to type “sushi” as my search. Instead, I would type “sushi restaurant Las Vegas” so I can see local search results that pertain to my area of search. When you search for something this specific, in a certain geographic area, you will see a handful of top-ranked results in search engines like Google or Yahoo.

Getting listed in these results does require advertising fees, but if you do a little research for local search result advertising, you are sure to find a great and affordable solution.

4. Free Local Online Advertising

Think free advertising is a myth? Think again! J For this tip, I recommend Craigslist as a local advertising opportunity. Though you will have to ensure you are abiding by Craigslist’s Terms of Service for advertisements, they always have a local category on their geographic location sites that allow you to post information about your services, special offers, and efforts. This can really help boost online opportunities and drive customers your way if they are seeing special deals posted daily or weekly in Craigslist.

5. Start a Business Blog

Do I ever write an article where I don’t mention the importance of blogging? Probably not, because it is incredibly important to your business’s success online!

By starting a business blog and posting 1-5 times every week, you will not only increase your relevancy for specific Search Engine Optimization (SEO) terms, but you will also be sending a message to your customers that you care what they think and are conscious of their needs. Even posting a simple message to welcome new customers or provide discounts, specials, or partner offers will assist in securing your message of customer satisfaction and retention.

Writer's Bio:
Tiara Rea works for Lunarpages Web Hosting, where she is the Affiliate Program Manager and writes for the Lunarpages Newsletter and Blog. A whiz with affiliate marketing and copywriting, Tiara is also obsessed with Harry Potter, good poetry, and Japanese manga.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/5_ways_to_expand_your_business.html

Telehouse Expands Data Centre Presence with Teraco in South Africa

2010-03-23T06:39:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Telehouse and Teraco Data Environments today announced that their strategic alliance has been extended to include dedicated data centre space in Teraco’s new carrier neutral facility in Johannesburg. As with Cape Town, which was opened in December last year, the space will be opened under the Telehouse brand and operated, supported and maintained by Teraco to Telehouse’s stringent global operating standards.

Lex van Wyk, managing director of Teraco comments: ‘We are delighted to formally welcome Telehouse in Johannesburg. Telehouse is one of the best names in the data centre and colocation market and we are able to bring them into our data centre at an important time for both our companies and also for the South African market in general’.

Andrew Fray, Business Development Director at Telehouse said: ‘We see South Africa’s telecommunication and ICT market developing rapidly, resulting in significant opportunities for companies to expand and place their infrastructure in locations which specialize in high levels of security, power management and cooling. The Teraco site in Johannesburg offers us some very significant advantages. The site benefits from guaranteed power supply, an elevated location to site satellite and microwave antennae and a location close to the O.R. Tambo International Airport. The majority of our prospective customers are international companies, so we needed to partner with a facility operated to international standards and situated in a location which is convenient. Teraco’s Isando site fully meets our selection criteria.’

The Telehouse Johannesburg facility has already secured XConnect as its first customer. XConnect provides more than 100 carriers and voice service providers in more than 20 countries worldwide with electronic number (ENUM) registry and peering solutions. Launching a neutral ENUM Registry and Federation service in South Africa, XConnect addresses a challenge faced by new VoIP entrants in South Africa and allows them to interconnect with carriers globally.

Teraco’s Johannesburg site was opened in January 2010 and offers superior levels of power, cooling, back-up and security. The Johannesburg site is planned to grow to 4000 square metres, in a phased expansion. In addition to its sites in Cape Town and Johannesburg, Teraco is also seeking to open a data centre in Durban later this year.

‘Already we are finding that demand for carrier neutral data centre space is building quickly. Senior ICT executives who are making decisions regarding the deployment of their critical infrastructure realize that they now have a wider choice of communication solutions in South Africa and that they can now house them more strategically and cost-effectively,’ says Van Wyk. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/telehouse_expands_data_centre_presence_with_teraco_in_south_afri.html

SEO Inc. and Attracta Partner to Deploy Search Engine Visibility Technology

2010-03-23T06:38:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) SEO Inc. and Attracta have recently partnered to implement search visibility technology to help increase search rankings and traffic for selected clients.

SEO Inc. is now using the Attracta™ search engine submission service to automatically create and submit XML Sitemaps directly to major search engines for its clients. The XML Sitemap submissions ensures search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing have the most comprehensive listing of web pages for SEO Inc. clients.

“By partnering with us to maximize search engine visibility for its clients, SEO Inc. recognizes that Sitemaps are a fundamental foundation of SEO,” said Troy McCasland, Attracta's Vice President of Business Development. “SEO Inc. is a highly respected agency, well known for using both technology and experienced search professionals to generate results. Our SEO technology is just part of the solution for increasing organic traffic. SEO, Inc.’s professional services complete the mix and are needed by many of our 45,000 customers.”

“Attracta has clearly figured out how to help SEO agencies automatically manage and monitor search engine submission and indexing for hundreds of large and small sites,” added Krish Coughran, VP of Business Development at SEO Inc. “Attracta's technology is especially effective for creating and submitting XML Sitemaps for our larger clients with hundreds of thousands of pages, increasing the likelihood that their most important pages will be found and indexed. This kind of automated service helps our premium custom search engine optimization methodologies deliver even better results.”

How Attracta's search engine visibility technology helps SEO Inc. Clients
Attracta's core service is new technology that helps web sites and blogs boost search engine visibility, targeted site traffic and sales. The service crawls sites for content, even discovering pages, such as dynamic content not normally found by search engine crawlers. All pages are then automatically formatted into an XML Sitemap and directly submitted to the XML interface of major search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing. The service is completely web-based, with no software to install. SEO Inc. manages the Attracta service on behalf its clients, using a feature-rich online dashboard that provides extensive reporting, search engine optimization data and recommendations.

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

Openwave Launches Smart User Repository to Manage Rising Network Traffic

2010-03-23T06:37:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Openwave Systems Inc. announced the launch of its Openwave Smart User Repository for operators, a highly scalable, highly reliable user data storage solution built on the proven foundation of Openwave’s directory technology. Smart User Repository offers high speed, low latency user profile and policy access that is specifically designed to assist operators in managing their increasing data traffic. Because of its highly scalable and reliable architecture, Openwave’s Smart User Repository is an excellent candidate for operators’ 3GPP user profile repository (UPR) and user data repository (UDR) requirements, particularly as operators move quickly to deploy policy infrastructure addressing the increasing traffic loads brought about by the data tsunami.

“As operators continue to witness unprecedented data traffic volumes, it is incumbent upon them to consider integrated policy management tools that will help them rapidly access user profile and policy information as is common in the web world,” said John Giere, senior vice president of products and marketing at Openwave. “One of our longstanding tier-one North American operators has already deployed our repository and is currently processing in excess of 2.5 billion queries a day.”

Openwave Smart User Repository
Smart User Repository’s intelligent and flexible architecture allows for configurable deployments based on the respective operator’s environment and traffic profile. Openwave’s previous version of the offering, Openwave® Directory, provides an easy transition for operators evaluating a replacement path for systems that are not scalable. Key benefits of Smart User Repository include:

• Intelligent Architecture – The decoupling of read and write operations can provide a lightweight Master/Replica architecture which allows for separate scaling of these characteristics as needs arise. Replicas can be diskless for better performance and lower cost.
• Scalability – Scalability based on the loose coupling between the Master(s) and Replica(s). The lightweight replication mechanism can ensure low replication load on the Master(s) to maintain a linear cost of growing the system.
• Availability/Reliability - Smart User Repository’s architecture allows the operator to define different levels of spare capacity depending on the criticality of the application. The repository’s predecessor, Openwave Directory, has demonstrated greater than 99.999% availability over the last five years at our largest deployment.
• Low Latency - The lightweight replication mechanism of the Smart User Repository enables implementation of geo-distribution working to ensure low latency across wide areas. Replicas can serve single entry requests in less than three milliseconds depending on the hardware platform.
• Continuous Service Operation During Upgrades - The loosely coupled architecture of the Smart User Repository is expected to provide the resilience and flexibility needed to manage the system on a day-to-day basis. Automatic distribution of schema updates can also facilitate daily management of the data model, even for widely distributed systems. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/openwave_launches_smart_user_repository_to_manage_rising_network.html

Onboard Retail Solutions Inks Deal with Attenda to Deliver New SaaS Cloud Platform

2010-03-23T06:36:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Attenda Limited and Onboard Retail Solutions has recently signed a three year contract for Attenda to manage the multi-tenanted infrastructure for its SaaS application delivery.

Onboard Retail Solution is part of the BOM Group, a specialist software developer and IT solutions provider for police forces, government departments, onboard retailers and other large enterprises. Onboard Retail Solutions provides onboard retail technology solutions for the airline, rail and ferry industries, with a mission to help airlines, train operators and ferry companies to dramatically increase ancillary revenue by combining technology solutions with retail knowhow, to streamline the onboard retailing process.

Attenda was selected by Onboard Retail Solutions as its SaaS hosting provider, in a competitive tendering process, to enable the business to provide both an on-premise and SaaS deployment option for its retail application. The company wanted to ensure that it not only remained focused on its core business activities, but also that it could benefit from the increased availability, scalability and enhanced security that Attenda would deliver.

As Dan Hayter, Sales Director, Onboard Retail Solutions comments, “We were being driven by our clients to offer a highly available, secure hosted SaaS deployment option for our retail application, but we did not have the required infrastructure skills and resources in-house to manage a multi-tenanted SaaS infrastructure environment.”

Attenda is providing Onboard Retail Solutions with a fully managed retail back office platform, for centralised management of onboard retail transactions made by handheld terminals on aircraft, trains and ferries. The solution utilises Attenda RTI Cloud computing platform, providing enhanced scalability and agility as Onboard Retail Solutions targets larger higher profile organisations, to continue to grow its client base. The Attenda RTI Cloud computing platform delivers rapid platform scalability, providing Onboard Retail Solutions with greater business agility and reducing the time to deploy new client implementations.

As Hayter concludes, “By partnering with Attenda we can extend our market reach, providing much higher levels of scalability and security than our in-house infrastructure solution could offer, and with the additional capability to provide a cost effective DR option when this is required by our clients.” http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/onboard_retail_solutions_inks_deal_with_attenda_to_deliver_new_s.html

F5 Implements Solutions to Support ‘Internet For Schools’ Initiative

2010-03-23T06:34:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) F5 Networks announced that Swisscom has implemented F5 solutions to support its nationwide ‘Internet for Schools’ initiative.

The ‘Internet for Schools’ program is aimed at getting every primary and secondary school in Switzerland connected to the internet. Swisscom leads the project, in conjunction with federal and local authorities. With over 5000 schools to support, and a potential user base of 900,000, key aspects of the project included stability, performance and reliability. Flexibility was also important given differing policies from canton (region) to canton on web content preferences.

The systems house eXecure recommended the F5® BIG-IP® Local Traffic Manager™, running on a mix of hardware platforms including F5’s carrier-grade VIPRION® chassis and blade system, as the best-in-class solution for these needs.

“This is something of a flagship project, given its extent,” said Martin Theiler, Project Management and Engineering, Swisscom, “Since the implementation was concluded, the system has been running smoothly and is extremely stable. It’s exactly right for our requirements, and we’re particularly impressed with VIPRION’s reliability and scalability, which enable us to increase processing power whenever we need to simply by adding an extra blade.”

“The system Swisscom, eXecure, and F5 developed is one of Switzerland’s largest centralized web access and security initiatives,” said Rolf Schauder, Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe at F5. “The ability of F5 devices to interoperate with other security providers to allow for different levels of URL filtering per canton was a particularly noteworthy achievement. The solution we put in place, unique at the time in Switzerland, is applicable to service providers, governing bodies and the like on a global basis.”

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/f5_implements_solutions_to_support_internet_for_schools_initiati.html

VISI Incorporated Aquired by Telephone and Data Systems, Inc.

2010-03-22T12:23:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. has acquired Minnesota data center services and managed hosting provider, VISI Incorporated. TDS, headquartered in Madison, Wis. will have oversight and management responsibility for the acquisition.

VISI, headquartered in the Twin Cities, provides a wide range of information technology solutions, including: managed hosting, co-location and cloud-computing services to businesses of all sizes, from technology start-ups to large enterprises. TDS markets communications services to business and residential customers in 30 states, including Minnesota.

Dave Wittwer, President and CEO for TDS Telecommunications Corp. remarked, "VISI brings a successful and talented team with a proven track record for providing high quality data center and managed hosting services. VISI’s broad capabilities and extensive service set, combined with its valuable facilities, including an expanding SAS 70 Type II certified data center in St. Paul and a state-of-the-art data center under construction in Eden Prairie, Minn., position us well for growth in a dynamic marketplace."

Mike Sowada, CEO of VISI commented on the transaction, "TDS shares a strong focus with us on service quality, is well regarded in the communications space and believes, at its core, that exceptional customer care and tailored services represent the best value to all their customers. With the financial strength of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a Fortune 500® company, VISI and TDS are poised to grow our combined businesses and invest in evolving services that customers are demanding in the Twin Cities and across the broader regional and national footprint of TDS."

TDS and VISI see the transformative power that effective information technology and communications infrastructure management can have on established and emerging businesses alike. As more companies strive to seamlessly manage massive amounts of mission critical data, network applications, security services and risk, partnering with experts in IT and communications infrastructure management such as VISI and TDS will allow companies to focus all of their energy on business operations.

Dave Wittwer of TDS concludes, "Leveraging the core competencies of both organizations to strengthen our value proposition to existing and future customers is our goal; a goal that we will attack with tenacity as we move forward."

Stifel, Nicholas & Company, Incorporated acted as financial advisor to TDS with respect to the acquisition.

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

Professional Web Design Recommendations

2010-03-22T06:22:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Let’s recall that a website is the marketing tool for an online business. It goes without saying good websites must be attractive and be able to attract and grab the attention of a large number of visitors.

In fact The truth is that good web designing is an art that needs requires knowledge of programming and how your visitor will interact with the website. So, it is very important for you to make the website user-friendly. What is even more valuable, you should create it in such a way that search engines can consider you to be original and unique and find you organically. After all, your aim is to compete against the first 10 competitors for your keyword and search engine optimization is how to do this.

Let’s come to the main part of the issue. You should keep in mind that the most vital critical important rule you need to follow for a website is the KISS formula – Keep It Simple Silly. Do not lose your visitor with a whole lot of fancy stuff if you want them to find your product or message.

First and foremost you need to ask yourself a question: What do I want my website to do for you? You need to answer this question since you need to design your website according to this question. If your case is that all you want is a simple squeeze page then design a simple squeeze page. If your case is that you want to convey some kind of information then keep it simple and convey that information, as fancy graphics and other distractions are not conveying what you want to present to your visitor.

The second point that should be taken into consideration is planning the web design. For this purpose you must take a piece of paper and plan what you want on the web page and mind bear in mind that this point can not be omitted as it is very important for your website success. It will be much easier for you if you are doing your own research on other websites on the material you want to convey to your visitor. You can be sure that it will give you awareness for how to design your site.

Thirdly, you should plan your theme and layout for each page. Actually you can look at your competitors and see whether you find their theme attractive. You can include interesting ideas from those sites that you know will attract your visitor and later design those ideas into your website.

The fourth point to take into consideration consider is that navigation around your site needs requires a site map. Keep in mind that it is rather important that your visitor can easily navigate around your site. It should be also added that there is a need to implement normal links for moving around and placement of those links together like an index for your website. You should understand that it is important that your visitor does not get frustrated while navigating around your site because if this is the case they will they will simply leave your site or click away.

The fifth valuable factor that should be pointed out is that download time is important. The truth is it gets frustrating to the majority of visitors if they have to wait for a page to download. That’s why overuse of graphics and images should be considered as they increase the download time. It will be helpful for you to know that, ideally, a complete page should not exceed 30KB since this ensures that most visitors will see your whole page in about 5 to 6 seconds at the most.

The last but not least thing to mention here is that you should not allow your visitor the opportunity to click away on a link on your web site that leaves your domain as it has been proven that you generally have lost that visitor and a potential customer.

In conclusion it should be mentioned that you need to remember that it is about presenting the information in an elegant, decorative, user friendly and timely manner. So, follow the tips that were mentioned above when dealing with the web design in the future.

For more tips on website design go to www.edynamo.com http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/professional_web_design_recommendations.html

Prominent Placement Named Winner in American Marketing Association Awards

2010-03-22T06:21:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) SEM company, Prominent Placement, Inc. announced it has been named winner and top three finalist in two categories for this year's Atlanta Marketer of the Year (AMY) Awards from the American Marketing Association (AMA).

Winners were announced Thursday, March 11, 2010 at the annual American Marketing Association Awards Gala in Atlanta. The AMY Awards recognize excellence and effectiveness in marketing programs created by Atlanta area agencies and businesses.

Prominent Placement has been repeatedly acknowledged for its excellence in the Search Engine Marketing category. This category recognizes strategic Internet marketing campaigns that increase traffic and effectiveness for websites by utilizing search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising or a combination of both. Prominent Placement is the only Atlanta SEO company to have received honors in this category every year they've entered since the early 2000's.

The Atlanta search engine marketing company won for the firm's strategic Internet marketing campaign for their entry for Abacus Solutions, "Building on Search Success in a Declining Economy" and was a finalist for Polaris Marketing Research, "Utilizing Content-Rich Microsites to Maximize Leads".

Abacus Solutions (abacusllc.com - client) is a global provider of IT infrastructure solutions, products and services. The client has maintained a web presence, marketing online since 2001. With a very limited budget, PPI met the challenge of invigorating already strong results with a strategic and profitable search marketing program that exceeded all pinnacles achieved to date resulting in a 30% increase in year-over-year search-referred web leads, reduced the cost per search-referred lead 45%, and generated a conservative ROI of 610%.

Polaris Marketing Research, Inc. (polarismr.com - client) is a national, full-service marketing research company specializing in customer satisfaction and loyalty measurement programs and quantitative and qualitative analysis. PPI's challenge was to increase the number of website conversions (leads) generated from their paid search campaign and convince the client that paid search was an effective lead generation tool for their business. To address this formidable task, PPI developed a bold strategy for the client's paid search campaign. Using established best practices for online lead generation, PPI developed a plan to launch multiple, free-standing, content-rich microsites themed around the service areas offered by the client.

Stacy Williams, PPI President, said, "We believe the AMY Awards are about rewarding innovative work that gets results and that's exactly what motivates our team every day. We've worked with Abacus Solutions for nine years, which in our space is a very long time and we're thankful to have such great clients that trust us to do what we do best."

A link to all the 2010 AMY Award Winners can be found at www.amyawardsatl.com.

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

Hivelocity Enables Intelligent Route Optimization Technology

2010-03-22T06:20:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Hivelocit has further enhanced their multi-homed network by enabling intelligent route optimization technology. Offered as a subscription service from Internap, the route optimization technology allows Hivelocity to take full advantage of the routing paths and peering of all four of its upstream providers, which include Level 3, Global Crossing, Time Warner Telecom and Cogent. Since early March when the technology was deployed, data has been flowing from the Hivelocity network faster than ever before.

Most hosting providers that can tout having a multi-homed network typically utilize only Border Gateway Protocol (BGP4) routing when choosing data paths. What makes Hivelocity’s optimized routing abilities superior from simple BGP4 is the route optimization technology’s consideration of historical traffic routing data, real time Internet congestion and real time provider outages when choosing a final route for the data to flow. If any problems are detected on the initial path, the route optimization technology will simply reroute the traffic to the upstream network that provides the best performance and availability at that point in time.

“In laymen’s terms, our routers will always utilize the quickest path available among our four carriers to pass traffic to its final destination,” says Hivelocity General Manager Steve Eschweiler. “Right now our customers should notice traffic from their servers and web sites moving faster than ever. Downloads from their sites and servers should be faster than ever. Most importantly, Hivelocity network end users should be more impressed than ever with our customers’ online presence.”

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

iWeb Reaches $3 Million financing agreement with Goldman Sachs

2010-03-22T06:19:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) iWeb Group Inc recently announced the conclusion of a $3 Million USD financing agreement with Goldman Sachs.

"This funding will be used to complete the infrastructure for the first phase of iWeb’s latest Montreal data center. Estimated at just over $ 2.5 Million, infrastructure construction work should be completed during the upcoming weeks” says Philip Tousignant, iWeb’s Chief Financial Officer. “iWeb’s fourth data center should be putting its first servers online this summer; these new servers will be provisioned using a new automated process."

The $3 Million USD financing agreement is in addition to the $10 Million USD agreement previously obtained from Goldman Sachs in August 2008. Totalling $13 Million USD, the loan will be subject to a 17% interest rate and matures in August 2013. The new portion of the loan also carries a premium based on the value of the Company’s shares, payable at maturity in 2013.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/iweb_reaches_3_million_financing_agreement_with_goldman_sachs.html

Marin Software’s Wister Walcott to Speak at SES New York 2010

2010-03-22T06:18:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Co-founder and vice president of products, Wister Walcott of Marin Software today announced he will be a panelist at SES New York 2010.

Walcott will join the panel entitled “Search and the Integrated Marketing Mix”. The group will discuss the relationship between search and other marketing channels and share insights and best practices for integration. The panel will be held Tuesday, March 23, 2010 from 4:45 pm – 5:45 pm.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/marin_software_s_wister_walcott_to_speak_at_ses_new_york_2010.html

To Spell it Out Correctly: Durham, NC Wants Google!

2010-03-19T06:32:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) A gathering at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park today was a message to Google…a message in a ballpark. The crowd gathered specifically to spell out on the field "Google" in an effort to demonstrate Durham's community engagement in the pursuit of the fiber optic network Google intends to build.

More than 700 people gathered at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, NC to spell out "Google"
Google, creator of the world's most-used internet search tool and dozens of other internet-based productivity tools, is looking for a community of between 50,000 and 500,000 citizens into which they can come and install a fiber optic network free of charge to every home. This network would be capable of delivering speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, or roughly 700 times faster than the typical home broadband connection.

Participants in this demonstration of community support stood on the baseball field to spell out the company name. The event itself was organized by the committee formed to create a coordinated response to Google's application. This event was underwritten by the Durham Bulls and Capitol Broadcasting Company.

"Today's event is a clear demonstration to Google that Durham is fully engaged, wants this project here, and is prepared to efficiently shepherd it through to completion,” said Sam Poley, media spokesperson for the event and Director of Marketing and Communications for the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau. "This community gathering, in conjunction with our application and our history of innovation in Durham, are all key points in the effort to make this place a top contender in Google's eyes.”

Many discoveries and inventions were made in Durham. Amongst others, the AIDS-therapy drug AZT, Astroturf, 3D ultrasound, the digital cellular telephone, on-board wind shear warnings for planes, the ctrl+alt+delete computer command, the bar code reader, and child safety medicine bottles are all from Durham. Click here for more information about Durham.

The City of Durham, the Durham Chamber of Commerce, Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, Duke University, Downtown Durham Inc., and other community businesses and citizens formed the organized response committee.

The aerial image of the event will be included in the application submitted to Google. More than 700 people attended this event.

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

Pre-Register Now for the New .CO Domains at 000Domains

2010-03-19T06:26:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) 000Domains, a provider of domains, hosting and other Internet services, is now offering pre-registration for the new .CO domain.

.CO is a new extension that offers businesses more options with an international and business-focused domain name. Recognized worldwide as the abbreviation for "company", .CO is an excellent choice for both trademark holders and those who are looking for an alternative to a .COM.

000Domains is one of the few companies that accepts .CO registrations during all stages of availability. Pre-registration is happening immediately at 000Domains. Stages include:

Stage 1, Local Sunrise - Colombian Trademark Holders: April 1st – 20th. Applicants must hold a trademark registered by the Colombian Trademark Office on or before July 30, 2008.

Stage 2, Global Sunrise - Other Trademark Holders: April 26th – June 10th. Applicants must hold a trademark registered with national effect on or before July 30, 2008.

Stage 3, LandRush: June 21st – July 13th. No restrictions, domains available ahead of those sold in General Availability.

Stage 4, General Availability: July 20th onward.

http://www.gawkwire.com/domains/pre-register_now_for_the_new_co_domains_at_000domains.html

Cyber Bullying Solutions Center Opened to Help Impacted Children

2010-03-19T06:25:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Cyber bullying is spreading like a pandemic across the World Wide Web. Millions of children are impacted daily. Kamaron Institute Management Consulting Educational Services is opening the electronic doors of a Cyber Bullying Solutions Center at http://Kamaron.org.

A global community outreach, Kamaron Cyber Bullying Solutions Center features lesson plans, activities, prevention strategies, instructional videos and parent/teacher guides. The cyber glossary arms parents with a working knowledge of Internet Terms. The family cyber behavior character contract provides a foundation for behavior change. Kamaron Center features free activities for parents, elementary and secondary school use. The cyber IP tracker tool can empower parents.

"Internet or Cyber Bullying is the use of Internet e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, pagers, cell phones, or other forms of information technology to deliberately and repeatedly hurt, taunt, ridicule, threaten or intimidate someone," states Margaret Ross Kamaron Institute CEO. "Cyber bullying is happening around the clock around the globe."

Kamaron Institute Research Center polls thousands of students and teachers. They have been tracking cyber behaviors, surveying students, speaking and training for nearly a decade. Millions of American tweens and teens, approximately 48 percent, are being impacted by cyber bullying. As children's computer skills begin at younger ages, so do their cyber bullying behaviors. One in three elementary students surveyed reported cyber bullying experiences.

Study Finds: Teens don't tell their parents. Seven in 10 choose to suffer online bullying in silence rather than face the prospect of parental supervision, monitoring or web access limits. Teens are aware that their online bullying was likely to hurt the other person. The two motivators most frequently sited for their bully actions were (1) I don’t like them (2) I thought it was funny.

"Teens likely to have poor impulse control are often emboldened by a perceived sense of anonymity," notes Ross. "Most students we survey are unaware they could be leaving a trail of electronic finger prints in their wake. When I speak with teen leadership organizations discovering they may not be as invisible as they had thought makes a big impact."

Prepared Parent Cyber Bullying Talking Points
1. Do not delete
2. Neither respond nor pass it on
3. Do tell you
4. Do save the evidence

Communication: Talk regularly with your child about on-line activities he or she is involved in. Ask if their friends have received mean emails, txt or IM.

Set Cyber Limits: Set firm guidelines for cell phone and computer use and monitor that behavior. Research shows teens spend more than 40 monthly hours' online.
Raise Family Awareness: Talk specifically about cyber-bullying. Explain that it is harmful and unacceptable behavior.

Have Specific Consequences: Outline your expectations for responsible online behavior and clearly explain the consequences for inappropriate behavior. Follow through on consequence.

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

Vonage Receives Virtual Phone Number Patent to Elimate Long Distance Charges

2010-03-19T06:21:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Vonage today announced the grant of a virtual phone number patent. The patent titled “Method and Apparatus for Placing a Long Distance Call Based on a Virtual Phone Number,” allows consumers to communicate to distant locations without incurring long distance or international calling charges. This is Vonage’s second patent related to the use of virtual phone numbers. Vonage’s first patent directed to the use of virtual phone numbers -- No. 7,386,111 -- was granted on June 10, 2008.

“We continue to drive innovation that translates into unique products and services for our customers,” said Nick Lazzaro, senior vice president of product development and information technology. “This breakthrough takes advantage of our Session Initiation Protocol-based network and enables our customers to save significantly when they communicate with their friends and families across the country or around the world.”

Virtual phone numbers allow people outside a Vonage customer’s local calling area to call for the price of a local call. Vonage customers can choose a virtual phone number in the calling area of a parent, relative or friend or wherever they want to establish a “virtual” presence. Vonage offers virtual phone numbers across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and in more than 14 other countries.

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

Search Mojo Expands into New Office in Charlottesville

2010-03-19T06:18:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Search engine marketing firm, Search Mojo has recently expanded into a new office in Charlottesville, Va. The expanded space was required to adequately house Search Mojo’s current employees and allow for continued growth and hiring in 2010 and beyond.

“Over the past three years, our workforce has tripled, and our current growth pattern is projected to double our company size in the next three years. This new space will allow us to handle that growth accordingly,” said Janet Driscoll Miller, president and CEO of Search Mojo. “This new space serves as a testament to the hard work that all of our staff contributes to make our company successful, even through a downturned economy. We look forward to expanding our talented team in our new home.” http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/search_mojo_expands_into_new_office_in_charlottesville.html

Eutelsat Completes Communications Module For Highspeed Broadband Satellite

2010-03-19T06:16:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Eutelsat Communications recently announced the completion of the UK-built communications module for its high-speed broadband communications satellite, KA-SAT. The communications module – the heart of the satellite, designed to receive and transmit broadband services to and from Internet users – has now been transferred from Astrium’s high-tech manufacturing facilities in Portsmouth to Toulouse, France, and integrated with the satellite’s service module for testing before its scheduled launch at the end of 2010.

The completion of this module brings the prospect of high-speed 10Mbps broadband access one step closer for the UK’s rural communities. Eutelsat’s existing Tooway™ satellite broadband service, launched in the UK in April 2009, already provides a 3.6Mbps broadband connection to UK consumers via a satellite dish and modem, from just £22.50 per month. Following the launch of Eutelsat’s KA-SAT spacecraft, a dedicated new satellite infrastructure specifically optimised to deliver broadband to homes beyond the range of terrestrial networks, broadband speeds will rise to 10Mbps with higher speeds possible to meet the future needs of consumers for increased internet bandwidth.

Steve Petrie, Northern European Sales Director for Tooway™, said: “The successful completion of this UK-built communications module is a milestone in the delivery of high-speed broadband access in the rural areas of the UK. Tooway’s™ existing satellite broadband service can already more than meet the Government’s Digital Britain target of a 2Mbps service for all UK residents but KA-SAT will ensure that the broadband needs of UK rural residents continues to be met far into the future.”

Today, Tooway™ is already serving customers in more than 25 European countries including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland and Greece with other countries across Europe rolling out over the coming months. Eutelsat is a leading European satellite operator with 26 satellites providing a footprint of more than 150 countries, and reaching 90% of the global population.

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

Close Your Affiliate Program

2010-03-18T09:00:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) I realize that almost anyone who's maintaining a successful affiliate program would decide that the author of this article has lost his mind or just don't know what he's talking about, when they read the main thesis of this article. But I'll take this risk. In brief, my suggestion to online merchants is to destroy their affiliate program or to fully revamp them. The main objective of such a destructive activity is to increase Search Engine rank, website PR and visibility a lot. And of course to reach higher conversion rate. Let me explain why do I make suggestion like this.

In general, we can say that the Search Engines (SE) use different relevance methods to determine if any website page has to be displayed in the search engine results pages, on particular search term. Most site owners know that the linking method was (and actually still is) one of the main factors for the SE algorithms to categorize any web page as relevant to certain keywords and phrases. When everyone, from a junior marketer to a representative of an entity that has a large marketing budget, decided that they should be buying ton's of links in order to spam the SE algorithms, the search machines changed the way they rank websites. Now those who buy links to get ranked high, have a questionable success, and the results they get do not afford the money they spend on this SEO method.

At the same time, any organic outbound link to a web page placed as a part of the content of a hight traffic website, appreciated by the users is practically priceless for the web address its points to. Now let's see how does any average affiliate URL looks like, and to find out why the affiliate URL's works worst than the organic ones.

Affiliate URL's harm your website's SEO

Affiliate links are artificial. As we know they are aimed to count the visit any affiliate sends to the provider's web pages. However this commercial relationship between two agents has nothing to do with any third parties. So, the affiliate URL is important only for the commercial relationship between seller and its partners. Anyone else, but seller and affiliate does not need to use affiliate URL's.

Affiliate URL's are unnatural and because of this they destroy consumer confidence. That's why the most prestigious forums and social networking sites (including the Web Hosting Talk, the largest community in web hosting industry) prohibit their members using or posting affiliate links in threads and posts.

There are different types of affiliate URL's such as "http://www.the-name-of-the-web-media.com/hosting.php?m=HOSTNAME", "http://www.the-name-of-the-web-media.com/go/to.cgi?
l=pa_01_HOSTNAME" or even "http://www.a-combination-of-letters-and
numbers.com/click-3264231-10356150". The last example is typical for the affiliate networks. As you can see that none of the above URLs is a web address that says to the user where they will go when they follow the link. Well, most internet users who click on a banner or text link know where they go because most sellers usually display their brand on their advertising creatives. But when any website uses affiliate URLs, those who click on them never go to the original, organic web page address. The users are always redirected to the original web address through a URL which is created to track the visit.

The average percentage of "Productive Visitors" of any website (those who buy services or products) is approximately from 1.5% to 2% higher for the group of visitors that come directly to the website, compared to the other, it's members come from an affiliate URL's. This data can be seen in the reports of the website visitors behavior. These above come from a DoubleClick survey conducted in 2007.

Let's imagine that 75% to 85% of the traffic that any website receives coms from such URLs. In such scenario a large amount of website visitors come from non-existing web addresses, ones that do not represent any information and content. These visitors might purchase or not anything on the host pages. But they don't work in favor of the websites Search engine ranking and its overall visibility on the web, the same way the organic URL's do.

I would suggest any web hosting company which can create an intelligent web statistics and analytics module, and to use it as a part of its affiliate program to kill the traditional affiliate URLs.
It is much better to give your affiliates the original addresses of the web pages you want to use to welcome website visitors. Of course you definitely need to build a confidence in your Affiliate program and to demonstrate to your partners that it counts correctly each unique visitors they send to you.

It is not that hard at all to create an intelligent statistical module and to add it to your partner programs. If you do this your affiliate program will increase its relevance and return of investment in web advertising. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/close_your_affiliate_program.html

M5 Hosting Begins Operations at Second Data Center in San Diego

2010-03-18T08:58:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) M5 Hosting, a worldwide leader in customized, high performance Linux and BSD dedicated server hosting solutions, announced today it has begun operations at its new data center at 9305 Lightwave Ave. in San Diego. It is the company’s second data facility.

By adding the second facility, M5 Hosting is able to introduce a variety of important new services, including off-site data backup and multi-location redundancy for dedicated server customers. The company also is nearing capacity at its existing facility, and needs significant additional rack space to continue its robust growth in 2010. M5 Hosting has grown by 100% or more each year since its founding in 2001.

"Many of our fast-growing customers are asking for services that require multiple facilities, such as off-site backups, multi-site redundancy, disaster recovery sites, and more. We also need additional space to keep growing at our current rate and to keep delivering the sort of customer-focused flexible services we have been delivering for 9 years now," said Michael J. McCafferty, principal of M5 Hosting.

The new facility is an 80,000 square-foot purpose-built data center located in the San Diego Spectrum area of San Diego, California. Originally built to support a large defense contractor and its government contracts, the facility has recently been updated with the latest in highly-efficient power and cooling systems. The data center is a SAS 70 Type II compliant facility that features an impressive 12+ Megawatts of power, N+1 or 2N redundancy on all data center systems and security protocols required by leading businesses in the most stringent verticals. The facility is owned by American Internet Services, the largest data center provider in San Diego.

M5 Hosting will maintain a dedicated high-speed data connection between its two facilities, which can be quickly scaled to 10Gbps or more to accommodate higher bandwidth needs if required. New customers will be able to select their preferred data center when ordering their dedicated servers. M5 Hosting’s existing data center is located approximately 10 miles from the new facility at 9725 Scranton Road, San Diego, in the San Diego Tech Center. The San Diego Tech Center location is also owned and operated by American Internet Services.

All services are available at both facilities, including KVM over IP, switched power outlets for Web-based reboots, private VLANs, Virtual Rack, dedicated firewalls, bandwidth a la carte, colocation, remote hands, and others. Load-balancing, which is currently available at the San Diego Tech Center location, will also be available at the new Lightwave location. Additionally, premium professional services and all server models are also available at both facilities.

To learn more about M5 Hosting’s data centers, please visit http://www.m5hosting.com/datacenters.php.

To learn more about M5 Hosting, please visit http://www.M5Hosting.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/m5_hosting_begins_operations_at_second_data_center_in_san_diego.html

Bayshore Solutions Wins Gold ADDY® for Their Design Work on Grow4Students.org

2010-03-18T08:59:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Tampa web design and development firm Bayshore Solutions has won a Gold ADDY® Award for their work on Grow4Students.org, a student banking website for Grow Financial Credit Union.

This is the sixth year the Tampa web design firm has been recognized with winning an ADDY ®Award. Winning this Gold ADDY® qualifies the Grow4Students.org website for the Fourth District ADDY® Awards competition for an opportunity to advance to the national competition.

Grow4Students.org serves as a student solution to banking where students can apply for student loans, checking and/or savings accounts and manage their finances. The web development features social networking tools and Flash animation and creates an immersive environment that generates a viral interest across college-aged demographics with clickable objects, interactive responses and tailored information.

President and CEO of Bayshore Solutions Kevin Hourigan said, "Winning an ADDY® Award for the Grow4Students website is an honor. We're proud to assist Grow Financial in expanding their target demographic with this intriguing and valuable resource for college students. This banking website provides the tools to successfully manage their finances in a fun and engaging way."

Sponsored by the AAF, the ADDY® Awards honors excellence in advertising and cultivates the highest creative standards in the industry. With 60,000 entries, the ADDY® Awards are the nation's largest advertising competition.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/bayshore_solutions_wins_gold_addy_for_their_design_work_on_grow4.html

Arsys Launches Parallels Small Business Panel to Expand Service Offerings

2010-03-18T08:55:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Cloud-enablement leader, Parallels, announced today at WebhostingDay that Arsys has launched Parallels Small Business Panel to simplify and diversify its Cloud services offering for small businesses and grow its share of the European market. Spain’s leading provider of domain name registration, web hosting and advanced Internet services is offering its 250,000+ customers Parallels Small Business Panel free on all virtual private servers.

“Like Parallels, we feel that the SME market is where the big growth potential in the cloud is. Offering an ‘IT in a Box’ solution like Parallels Small Business Panel helps us differentiate our offerings by increasing the range of services we deliver to our small business customers,” said Faustino Jiménez, CEO of Arsys.

Parallels Small Business Panel is a game-changing control panel designed specifically for small businesses. As such, the panel offers simple wizards and productivity tools for collaboration, file sharing and business management. Users have access to over 200 applications making self-service possible for all employees using the solution.

“The self-managed, wizard-based Small Business Panel means non-technical people can install the right application with a single click, so they can focus on their core business without relying on heavy IT investment, making it very attractive for any small business,” said Faustino Jiménez, CEO of Arsys.

Parallels Small Business Panel gives users an intuitive interface designed to connect employees to the right applications, which can be installed with a single click and no need for special training or technical knowledge. In addition, Parallels Small Business Panel incorporates the functionality of additional Parallels solutions for free, such as Parallels Sitebuilder and Parallels Power Pack and other free applications, including Wordpress, SugarCRM, Droopal and Mambo.

“This has been one of our most successful product releases and delivers profitable services to small businesses. Parallels Small Business Panel fills the growing IT needs of small businesses,” explains Jack Zubarev, President, Service Provider Division at Parallels. “Parallels really values partnering with innovative Cloud services providers such as Arsys, and we’re committed to delivering products that enable them to move beyond basic hosting services and offer more value-added applications and services.” http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/arsys_launches_parallels_small_business_panel_to_expand_service_.html

Atlantic.Net to Be the Official Server Host of the Disaster Recovery Journal

2010-03-18T08:54:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Atlantic.Net (www.atlantic.net), a privately held leading global Managed IT Service Provider, is pleased to announce, a highly anticipated, partnership with the world's largest Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity publication, the Disaster Recovery Journal. Under the terms of the agreement Atlantic.Net will provide the critical technology platform and Fully Managed IT infrastructure to the Disaster Recovery Journal, backed by Atlantic.Net’s 100% uptime guarantee.

With the combined efforts of Atlantic.Net and the Disaster Recovery Journal entities such as Government, Non-profit and Enterprise Businesses can be better prepared for business continuity and disaster protection. “It is vital for our operation to stay up and running 100% of the time to ensure absolute availability of our information in the event of unforeseen circumstances like a natural disaster or simply a hardware or network performance issue” said Bob Arnold, President of the Disaster Recovery Journal, “with our own disaster protection strategies in place, backed by Atlantic. Net’s world class Fully Managed IT infrastructure, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery experts can now rest assured that they can depend on DRJ more than ever!”

“We are committed to delivering the most current information to help organizations prepare for disaster protection. In partnering with Atlantic.Net, we are certain that DRJ will continue to deliver comprehensive business continuity resources to our users” he added.“The Disaster Recovery Journal has put its trust and confidence in our abilities and we are privileged to power the Disaster Recovery Journal,” says Marty Puranik, Founder, President, and CEO of Atlantic.Net. “Atlantic.Net considers this relationship with DRJ invaluable as there is much to learn about business continuity plans beyond the realm of data. Atlantic.Net embraces this opportunity to promote this knowledge with other businesses.”

“Even companies with the most thorough contingency plans are at risk, in the event a disaster occurs, if that plan isn’t accessible,” Puranik added. “Atlantic.Net works hard to see that companies, large or small, have the resources available to them to ensure their contingency plans are readily accessible."

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

Facebook’s Launches its First Soap Opera ‘Spirit of Adventure'

2010-03-18T08:52:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) nDreams today announces the launch of ‘Spirit of Adventure', the first ever soap opera on Facebook. Spirit of Adventure features a rich, twisting story that will be revealed week-by-week, written by Christian Wheeler (writer of Bramwell, a period drama for ITV, and PlayStation Home's cult cross-media game, Xi). It combines a compelling tale and strong characters with a variety of puzzles to create a unique narrative-driven Facebook experience.

"This is the first time social storytelling in this form has been delivered on Facebook," said Patrick O'Luanaigh, CEO of nDreams. "It allows people to actively follow and interact with a fascinating story as a community, as opposed to passively watching on television. I'm extremely excited about the launch of Spirit of Adventure, which is one of the first Facebook games/apps that's narrative-lead."

Spirit of Adventure follows the extraordinary tale of Helen Hobbes, a housewife who lives a happy life until she makes a discovery that leads her to abandon everything; her family, her home and her loving husband to go on a quest for a mysterious man who she doesn't even know yet.

"One of the things I love about Spirit of Adventure is that we've taken the traditional concept of story-telling and said, ‘Let's see what we can do if...' So it's not just text - there are drawings, photos, letters that you can open and read; you can follow and help Helen via Twitter..." said Christian Wheeler, writer. "What we are talking about is interactive and participatory storytelling, even the puzzles are a part of the story, Helen might meet a waitress in a café and we'll suddenly have a puzzle based on the waitress's life, a tiny vignette into somebody else's life. This is storytelling for the Facebook generation."

Spirit of Adventure also opens up a host of other content such as puzzles, with new challenges linked into the story every week and a fan page with an active discussion forum where players can chat about what is going on and interact with the development team. There are also 70 unique keepsakes that players collect by completing puzzles, interacting with the game, and sharing with each other on Facebook. Users can join at any time and there are lots of surprises that will be revealed.

A new episode will be released every Thursday. Spirit of Adventure is free to experience, and you can play it now by searching for ‘Spirit of Adventure' on Facebook or going to apps.facebook.com/spiritofadventure.

To see writer Christian Wheeler talk about the project in more depth, visit ‘Unlimited' now (search for ‘Unlimited' on Facebook) or go to the nDreamers YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ndreamers.

More information on the game can be found at http://www.ndreams.com/, and you can follow the development of this and other unique projects on Twitter by following @patrickol. http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/facebook_s_launches_its_first_soap_opera_spirit_of_adventure.html

The Perfect Domain Name For A Hosting Website

2010-03-16T18:21:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) People usually try to find a magic word and register it as a web address. When it comes to web hosting, this means registering domain names that include “webhosting” as part of the web address. Some say that adding this phrase to their domain name is very important in order to reach a high rank in the search engines. Is it true? Of course not.

I don’t ever remember seeing Webhosting.com or Hosting.com rank top by using the search terms, “web hosting” or “hosting”. Hosting.com has always been top ranked using the keyword “hosting”. It would be strange if a popular web hosting service provider did not register Hosting.com to be ranked among top sites on the same keyword. At the same time, this website has not been on the first page of Google's “web hosting” search phrase for years; which means that the website is not well optimized or it is not relevant enough. (However I will not doubt the relevance of Hosting.com’s rank using the search phrase, “web hosting”.) Getting back to the original topic of domain names and web addresses: What tools are needed to make the big decision?

It is very important to keep in mind which type of web hosting related website you are preparing to launch. There are always different approaches to use depending on your goals. When choosing a name for a web hosting service provider, you could call it “The Crazy Chicken”, “Web Nest”, “Webware”, etc., as long as you choose a name that consumers will remember. GoDaddy and FatCow are some of the best examples of dot-com business names that I know I have yet to forget.

Another option is to register a web address that includes the words “hosting”, “host”, and/or “web hosting”. This is certainly an option to consider, but it will not help you very much with your brand name recognition. Hostway, HostMySite, HostGator, Host Color, Hostican, Bluehost, are only a few examples of sites which have included the word “host” as the main part of their domain name. There are many more domains existing with the word “hosting” as a main part of their name.

In all honesty, I do believe that it is a good idea to include the word “host” as a part of the domain name of any web hosting service provider, however, the keywords “hosting” and “web hosting” are much more useful when it comes to reference, media websites, or web hosting categories and indexes. Anyone who has been involved in web hosting as a consumer, as a provider, or even as a journalist knows about WebHostingTalk.com, Webhostinggeeks, Webhostdir, Webhosting.info, FindMyHosting.com, and etc.

When your plan is to use your web address for a service provider my suggestion to you to stands: Choose a unique and hard to forget domain name. You may include numbers such as 123reg.co.uk (a popular domain registrar) or 1and1 (one of the world’s biggest web hosting companies). The perfect name for your site will always be the one that answers the question: What does this company do? A good example of this is WeDoHosting.com, one of the most popular Canadian web hosting service providers.

The best web address for you will be the one that sends your message to the targeted audience. But remember even if you have it in your pocket, the web address will usually be registered by someone else. Today’s web hosting market is saturated and there aren’t many free-to-register web addresses. Those preparing to enter into the market are required to use their imaginations.

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

Impact Media Achieves ISO 9001 Accreditation

2010-03-17T06:20:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Impact Media have successfully gained ISO 9001 accreditation. The awarding of this official certification highlights the high standards achieved by the company in the creation and maintenance of their quality management systems.

The Hampshire SEO Company has worked hard to maintain the correct processes and associated documentation. Whilst the award of the ISO 9001 accreditation won't directly affect the services Impact Media provide, it does highlight that they have the systems in place to effectively manage all processes and data.

This official accreditation comes after years of ensuring best practices are continued throughout the company. With documents properly maintained and archived as well as having clear instructions relating to the systems within the business, employees and management have a complete understanding of the very latest processes.

As a busy Search Engine Marketing Company offering SEO services to a wide variety of clients, it is vital to their business that documents are properly stored, so as to ensure that all current and archived versions are accessible. This helps to make sure that work can continue in a seamless fashion without the loss of any data. The ISO 9001 accreditation should give clients and prospects further confidence in the company's ability to manage all of their data and have a clear system blueprint to follow, even if it does remain in the background.

Ben Norman, the Managing Director of Impact Media, spoke about what the award means to the Company; "Gaining an ISO 9001 accreditation is extremely important for us. It shows that the systems that we have been putting in place over the years meet with professional standards. Whilst this won't have a major impact on the SEO work that we do, it is further recognition of the processes we have in place and the professionalism with which the company is run."

Mr. Norman continued "this award is for the whole company. We all work hard to make sure that documents are properly maintained and that the systems we have in place are observed. In doing so, the ease with which we can train new members of the team and integrate the latest clients is made all the easier. The ISO 9001 accreditation therefore suggests that we are doing this in the right way."

http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/impact_media_achieves_iso_9001_accreditation.html

Wikia Offers New Tools to Create Wiki Q&A Sites

2010-03-17T06:18:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Building on Wikia's success in helping people create communities for more than 100,000 wiki sites, Wikia is now doing the same for question and answer sites by offering tools for people to build their own. Wikia's new service allows people to instantly create a Q&A site on any topic of interest in an easy question and answer format. Q&A site founders receive free promotion and support from Wikia to establish and grow new communities.

"Now you can create your own Q&A site and be recognized as an expert on any topic you're passionate about in a way that is fast and easier than starting a new website," said Gil Penchina, CEO of Wikia. "Many passionate contributors to Yahoo! Answers, WikiAnswers and Answerbag are now finding the sites are too big and cluttered. At Wikia's answer sites, they can work with a smaller community that is focused only on the topics they love. Our research shows that Q&A sites succeed when a strong sense of community and passion are focused on a single topic. When you have this combination, Q&A sites become a "brand" in their niche community in a way that a portal never can."

People can learn how to start a Q&A site by visiting http://www.wikia.com/Answers_from_Wikia It takes just two minutes, and no technical experience or wiki knowledge is required to start a Q&A site. All of Wikia's Q&A sites are open for anyone to contribute. New questions posted on the sites are promoted throughout Wikia's existing communities to help recruit enthusiastic volunteers and make the site and its founder successful. Unlike other Q&A sites, Wikia does not require any registration and people retain the copyright to the content they post.

"My Q&A site http://inquiringmoms.answers.wikia.com is a great opportunity for moms everywhere to connect, ask questions and distribute their own wisdom and experience to one another," said Halley McPolin, founder of the Inquiring Moms site. "Inquiring Moms is an easy, one-stop location for working mothers, stay-at-home moms, those who are expecting and anyone else who feels they can benefit or help others with parenthood."

In Wikia's first year after re-launching Wikianswers in 2009, thriving Q&A sites in a dozen languages are attracting over one million visitors a month. Today Wikianswers offers over 600,000 questions with more than 150,000 answered. Wikia recently launched the first do-it-yourself niche Q&A sites created by individuals which include http://everythingauto.answers.wikia.com http://Justin-Bieber.answers.Wikia.com http://clubpenguin.answers.Wikia.com Within three months each site has generated a rich collection of questions and answers, and is attracting thousands of interested visitors.

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

Interxion Completes ISO 27001 Accreditation for All European Operations

2010-03-17T06:16:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Interxion today announced that the company has completed pan-European accreditation for the internationally recognised ISO 27001 (Information Security and Business Continuity) standard for all 11 of its European country operations. In addition, the company’s European Customer Service Centre (ECSC) team has now been trained in ITIL v3, the latest Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) standard.

In addition to ensuring consistent best-in-class service and physical and data security for all customers, the combination of pan-European ISO and ITIL accreditation reinforces Interxion’s unique capacity to provide a uniform, integrated solution for multi-country customers in 26 data centres in 13 of Europe’s leading business and consumer hubs.

The ISO 27001 audit and certification process focuses on every aspect of the business, including physical infrastructure, site security and access management, personnel capabilities, communications and operations, legal compliance criteria, and back-up and disaster recovery systems. The certification underlines Interxion’s commitment to preserving the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all the physical and electronic information assets managed by the business.

ITIL is the only consistent and comprehensive documentation of best practice for IT service management. ITIL v3 is the latest of the ITIL standards and consists of five key volumes: Service Strategy, Service Design, Service Transition, Service Operation and Continual Service Improvement. The new v3 qualification ensures that all staff in Interxion’s multi-lingual European Customer Service Centre are aware of the latest compliance and regulatory issues associated with world-class IT service management.

“Multi-country customers account for a significant proportion of our business because we offer a uniform, best-in-class blueprint in design, build, operations and service; and our successful accreditation in ISO 27001 and ITILv3 is evidence that we are continually improving this offer,” said Phil Collerton, Interxion EVP Operations. “Customers who want a multi-country relationship have access to independently assessed standards of security, availability, and service, no matter where they locate their equipment.” http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/interxion_completes_iso_27001_accreditation_for_all_european_ope.html

PEER 1 Becomes Sponsor of the UK’s Next Space Programme

2010-03-17T06:14:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) International managed hosting provider, PEER 1 Hosting, today announces its sponsorship of the UK’s Next Space programme which will witness the exciting launch of a high-tech paper plane, named Vulture 1, into space. The mission is set for take-off in Summer 2010.

Paper Aircraft Released Into Space (PARIS) programme, inspired by Robert Harrison's Icarus and the Cambridge University Spaceflight, aims to restore national pride in space exploration by setting the longest paper plane flight ever recorded. The PEER 1 Hosting sponsored aircraft will be lifted into the stratosphere where it will be released and history made.

The aircraft’s design still remains a top secret but what is certain is that it will carry a miniature camera, the Flycam, which will provide spectacular shots during its flight. It will also be equipped with a GPS system to track its progress and ensure its safe recovery and return.

Dominic Monkhouse, Managing Director, PEER 1 Hosting commented; "It is a huge privilege to be involved in such a ground-breaking programme. PEER 1 Hosting is all about innovation, doing things better and delivering outstanding performance, so we see significant parallels with the quality, engineering and excitement surrounding the Vulture 1 Mission.”

Phillip Mitchell, Operations Director, The Register said: “This is a truly exciting mission and is all about pushing the boundaries of space exploration. We are delighted that PEER 1 Hosting has come on board and with their support and enthusiasm we are sure to make this mission a success.”

For those wanting to follow the Vulture 1 mission, updates including design details of the aircraft will be regularly published on PEER 1’s blog, http://www.peer1hosting.co.uk/blog. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/peer_1_becomes_sponsor.html

Dahlia Web Designs Expands Business Services

2010-03-17T06:12:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Dahlia Web Designs LLC is expanding its website and digital marketing and business services. As it does so, it is also developing its strategic alliances with organizations that complement the services.

"We have worked with Aggie Perilli, President of Aggie Perilli Communications International, on many corporate and website design initiatives," states Dahlia Benaroya, President, Dahlia Web Designs LLC. "Our collaboration created corporate newsletters that received awards from the NY Society for Technical Communication," states Dahlia. "When one works with Aggie, great ideas are sparked. One can easily see that she understands you and your business." For more than two decades, Aggie Perilli has consistently earned recognition from leaders within the marketing and advertising industries. After gaining valuable experience in newspaper, magazine, trade, and organizational communications, Aggie Perilli went on to write and produce communications for profit and nonprofit clients with local, national, and international audiences. Newsmagazines developed into awareness campaigns. Management communications led to marketing and advertising projects. And print projects evolved into Web sites and other eCommunications. Aggie has received awards from numerous organizations including the NJ Press Association, NY/NJ Association of Graphic Communication, NY Society for Technical Communication, Neographics, The Arc of NJ, and The Communicator.

"It is also a pleasure to be working with Amy Sanders, President of Virtual Admin Concepts, on many of our initiatives," states Dahlia. Virtual Admin Concepts provides necessary administrative services so that business owners can concentrate on their core competencies to be successful within their business. Virtual Admin Concepts partners with business owners and entrepreneurs to increase their productivity which in turn increases their profits. Amy has over 16 years of experience providing administrative support to high level executives and sales teams. "We appreciate how Amy is very detail-oriented with exceptional organizational and communication skills," states Dahlia. Her background includes event planning, research, executive support, marketing, sales support and general office management. Her education includes Web Design and Business Management.

"When clients see the artwork of freelance illustrator Ana Benaroya , they are in awe of her talent and wide range of artwork," states Dahlia. Ana is a graduate of Maryland Institute College of Art. She produced mass amounts of artwork and has received awards from American Illustration, Creative Quarterly, Print Magazine, and the Society of Illustrators. Clients include DC/Vertigo Comics, ABC World News Tonight, and The Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, The New Yorker, The Stranger, Time Out NY, Computer Arts Projects, Plansponsor, Nickelodeon Magazine, LA Weekly, Planadvisor, SEED, Pretty Empire, Gama-Go, Poetry Magazine, Princeton University Radio, WFMU, and ABC News.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/dahlia_web_designs_expands_business_services.html

Latest Open-Xchange Groupware Offers Integrated VoIP

2010-03-16T11:31:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Open-Xchange, a provider of business-class open source collaboration software, today announced enhancements that give users telephone and fax integrated with e-mail, contacts, calendar and task information.

By combining Open-Xchange (hosted and on-premise editions) with Unified Communications and Virtual PBX solutions, businesses can replace their traditional phone lines -- saving on phone bills. Presence and instant messaging services will be added in the coming software releases enabling users to communicate in real-time anytime, anywhere.

Open-Xchange 4PSA VoipNow Bundle -- available for both Open-Xchange Server and Open-Xchange Hosting Edition -- is the result of a partnership between Open-Xchange and 4PSA, an innovative software supplier specialized in Unified Communications, VoIP delivery solutions, business and operations automation. The companies plan to add instant messaging services and “presence” -- the capability for users to see the current status of other phone extensions (much like a multi-line phone) – in the next release of the Open-Xchange user interface.

In addition, the new release of Open-Xchange enhances the user interface with design and usability improvements, and provides new features including:

• Calendar subscription for the Google calendar
• Optimized calendar invitation and confirmation
• Usability improvements of calendar, tasks and permissions

"The combination of our business-class e-mail and collaboration with IP-based telephony, fax and other services provides users unmatched ease of use for their day-to-day communications," said Rafael Laguna, CEO, Open-Xchange. "Enhancements to the user interface and the addition of Google Calendar integration provide users with a very competitive open-source alternative."

“Open-Xchange and 4PSA deliver innovative technologies to SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) providers and on-premise customers,” said Bogdan Carstoiu, CEO of 4PSA. “We started the integration by addressing the most common business tasks like starting and receiving phone calls or sending and receiving faxes through the Open-Xchange user interface. And we have an ambitious roadmap to further simplify the customer experience."

More information on the latest Open-Xchange update is available at www.open-xchange.com/en/ox_6_16_news.

Open-Xchange and 4PSA will be at WebhostingDay, March 17-18, 2010, in Cologne, Germany.

Open-Xchange is used by more than 15 million users worldwide as hosted and on-premise business-class e-mail and groupware. On-premise customers can update their installations immediately after the release. SaaS customers will receive the new features as soon as their provider updates their accounts.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/latest_open-xchange_groupware_offers_integrated_voip.html

CloudLinux To Present at WebhostingDay 2010

2010-03-16T11:28:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) CloudLinux Inc., an innovative software company dedicated to serving the needs of hosting service providers, will present at the WebhostingDay Conference in Brühl, Germany on March 17-19. CloudLinux will share the benefits of its CloudLinux OS, a new Linux distribution designed for a multi-tenant hosting environment.

CloudLinux Founder and CEO, Igor Seletskiy will participate in a panel discussion titled “Command Your Data” on Thursday, March 18 addressing how hosting service providers can squeeze more efficiency from their infrastructure, while simultaneously increase profit margins and new revenue opportunities. The discussion will also explore the rise of Open Source software within the Software as a Service (SaaS) and Cloud Computing markets, and ways for hosters, telcos, carriers and ISPs to integrate high- value SaaS offerings. In addition to the panel discussion, CloudLinux will participate in the hosting.FAIR held at the main exhibit hall.

In its 6th year of being hosted in Germany, WebhostingDay is the largest web-hosting event worldwide. The event offers participants the chance to experience concentrated industry knowledge and first-hand news from web hosting industry experts.

CloudLinux was founded by Igor Seletskiy who has a 13-year, successful track record of delivering innovative new products to the hosting industry, including: H-Sphere, the first multi-server, commercially available control panel; FreeVPS, a container-based virtualization product; CP+, a simple, single server control panel; WebShell, a web-based file manager and SiteStudio, a browser-based website building tool. CloudLinux OS builds on Mr. Seletskiy’s extensive understanding of the unique needs of hosting service providers and is now available for download at http://www.cloudlinux.com/download.html.

To schedule a meeting with Mr. Seletskiy at the WebhostingDay event please contact pr@jaymiescotto.com.

For more information, please visit www.cloudlinux.com. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/cloudlinux_to_present_at_webhostingday_2010.html

MachPanel Unveils SharePoint 2010 Support

2010-03-16T10:00:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) MachSol Inc. (www.machsol.com) developer of MachPanel an emerging leader of SaaS enabled Hosted Services Delivery Platform, believes in outperforming our customer’s expectations by continuously adding new and advanced features and further improving control panel’s performance by developing new builds and releases. We are glad to announce the release of our New Build “MachPanel v.4.1.15” unveiling complete support for SharePoint 2010 (Beta). Latest release also addresses bug fixes alongside performance improvements. Please consult Release Notes for details.

MachPanel fully automates the service planning, billing, provisioning and management of several traditional hosted services (shared data & web hosting) as well as Enterprise Hosting such as Microsoft Exchange 2010, Hosted Messaging & Collaboration 4.0/4.5, SharePoint 2010 Services, BlackBerry Enterprise Server, Microsoft Dynamics CRM etc.

“MachPanel SharePoint module is a complete automation solution and provisioning system for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 (Beta). It is tightly integrated with SharePoint Server to deliver all the features service providers are required to deploy and manage SharePoint Hosting. MachPanel provides a user-friendly interface that allows hosts to create and manage SharePoint Servers, Server Groups, Server Group members, SharePoint accounts, Subscriptions & Service plans in an organized manner.

Keeping MachPanel abreast with the latest trends and technology updates sets us apart from rest of the Control Panels and with the latest build we take another leap ahead from other control panels in the market. We will continue this endeavour to explore new grounds, therefore, Office Communication Server is the next milestone in our sight and will be made available soon.” says Aziz Paracha, CTO of MachSol Inc.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/machpanel_unveils_sharepoint_2010_support.html

Bill Hunt of Back Azimuth Consulting to Keynote at SES Amsterdam 2010

2010-03-16T06:37:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Incisive Media and BBP today announced that Bill Hunt, President of Back Azimuth Consulting, will be the opening keynote speaker at the Search Engine Strategies (SES) Amsterdam 2010 Conference and Expo.

Bill will open proceedings at this year’s event by reviewing the current state of search marketing and giving his view of the future. As part of his keynote presentation Bill will focus on the economy and the things search marketers, advertisers and agencies should be doing to leverage the eventual upturn to increase their business and client opportunities.

In setting the scene for search marketers, Bill will also take a closer look at the synergies with other forms of marketing and how to maximize the real opportunities of search marketing to drive global expansion and increase revenues.

SES Amsterdam takes place on 17-18 March 2010 at The Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky. See www.SearchEngineStrategies.nl

SES is the leading global conference and training series focused on search engine optimization and search engine marketing with specific emphasis on Search Engine Marketing (SEM), PPC and SEO. SES Amsterdam will teach delegates everything they need to know to maximize their advertising reach online whilst providing a forum for delegates to network with their peers and learn the SEM tips, tactics, and strategies that will grow your business online. Expert practitioners and representatives from the search engines themselves will also be at the event.

Mike Grehan, VP and Global Content Director said:

“Bill is, without doubt, one of the real visionaries in search marketing. He has been instrumental in shaping the way the industry works today and we are thrilled to have Bill open the event for us this year. His presentations are always highly charged and very engaging so I expect, as always, there will be standing room only at his keynote speech.”

SES Amsterdam is actively supported by Taskforce Search the Dutch branch of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)

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

HostV Deploys Ksplice Rebootless Solution to Boost Server Uptime

2010-03-16T06:36:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) HostV, a leader in managed Virtual Private Servers and Dedicated servers, announced today it has completed deployment of Ksplice Uptrack, a subscription service that enables server administrators to apply important Linux kernel security updates without rebooting the server.

Previously, HostV was required to reboot servers after applying Kernel updates, which are necessary for maintaining server security and stability. Although this downtime was minimal and most customers were not impacted by it, it nevertheless provided brief windows during which the server was unavailable.

With Ksplice Uptrack, new Linux kernel updates are automatically converted into rebootless update packages. HostV can simply apply the update remotely without causing a disruption or significant performance hit on the server.

“As a company, we continue to strive to boost the reliability and capability of our services. Although we cannot control every possible variable, we constantly look for new ways to minimize downtime and prevent potential disruptions. Ksplice Uptrack has a proven record of reliability and provides an instantaneous boost in uptime. It’s a big win for our company and our clients,” said John Xie, president of Cirtex Corp., HostV parent company.

"We're delighted to work with HostV," said Waseem Daher, chief operating officer, Ksplice Inc. "By adopting Ksplice Uptrack, HostV is in a better position to raise the bar and deliver even greater reliability to its customers.”

VPS Hosting from HostV starts at $39.99/monthly for 50GB of disk space and 1000GB of top-tier data transfer. All accounts include full support for video hosting, free data backups, and HostV’s premium customer support.

Starting at just $149.99 per month for 300GB of RAID-10 protected disk space and 5000GB of monthly data transfer, HostV’s Hybrid Servers include 24/7 premium technical support and access to data backup space that offers a full mirror of each plan’s disk space allotment. All Hybrid Servers are based on Linux and offer pre-installed server management software, including Parallels Virtuozzo Power Panel, cPanel and Fantastico. Clients also receive SSH root access to their servers.

To learn more about VPS Hosting from HostV, please visit http://www. hostv.com/vps-hosting.shtml.

To learn more about HostV features, including Ksplice Uptrack, please visit http://www.hostv.com/features.shtml.

To learn more about HostV, please visit http://www.hostv.com.

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

Trend Micro Announces the Release of Hosted Email Security 2.0

2010-03-16T06:34:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Trend Micro is today introducing Trend Micro™ Hosted Email Security, a new platform which offers mission-critical service standards.
Powered by Trend Micro’s Smart Protection Network, businesses will now benefit from real-time protection against e-mail borne threats without having to invest in additional IT resources.

“Email security is mission critical for our customers,” said James Walker, SMB product marketing manager, Trend Micro, EMEA. “Trend Micro’s new Hosted Email Security ensures customers receive 100 percent service uptime, effective spam blocking and zero email-based viruses. In addition, we’re including our leading anti-malware technology stopping malicious URLs embedded in emails.”

Trend Micro scans, filters and correlates more than 20 billion emails, Web sites and files every single day, and then leverages that data to rapidly identify and respond to emerging threats, and improve the existing response to known threats. The engine processing all this traffic across millions of customers, multiple products, and hosted and on-premise environments is the Smart Protection Network infrastructure.

“According to our email best practices benchmarking, adding-in hosted email security will typically reduce the time that IT staff must spend on email security maintenance by up to 75 percent (or more in some cases) versus continuing with on-premise email security only,” says messaging industry expert, Michael Osterman of Osterman Research.

Trend Micro Hosted Email Security 2.0 has been purpose built to be the number one choice in anti-spam and anti-malware. Trend Micro has included all the core engines that enabled Trend Micro’s previous version of its hosted email security solution – InterScan™ Messaging Hosted Security (IMHS) – to be voted the #1 top-rated email security solution when compared to products from other leading vendors, according to independent benchmarking company West Coast Labs.

Grant Pearson, Director at de Le Cuona, said: “Email security is a critical concern for all businesses. Small businesses, in particular, often cannot invest in dedicated IT resources to manage security and managing email spam for example can be both difficult and costly. With Trend Micro’s new hosted email security small businesses can now benefit from a top-rated enterprise level email security solution.” He added: “We used to receive vast amounts of unsolicited emails and spam. Managing this spam placed a burden on both our time and resources and significantly slowed down business processes. Trend Micro's new hosted email security now detects and blocks unwanted messages, making it an invaluable email security solution for our business.” http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/trend_micro_announces_the_release_of_hosted_email_security_2_0.html

UNIFIED and Relativity Partner to Deliver E-Discovery/Disclosure Platform

2010-03-16T06:33:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) UNIFIED, an emerging specialist in legal technology and outsourced support services, today announced that it has become a Premium Hosting Partner for kCura’s Relativity, a web-based application servicing the analysis, review and production stages of the EDRM.

Recognising the increasing demand from law firms for an ‘outcome based’ approach to the outsourcing of legal support systems and processes, the team at UNIFIED identified Relativity from kCura as an industrial strength review platform. The combination of UNIFIED’s robust project management and technical expertise and kCura’s proven technology ensures the delivery of an extremely powerful and effective capability for e-disclosure/discovery processing, review and production.

For UNIFIED’s clients, this mitigates the risk of outsourcing the e-discovery and disclosure process as they can access the highest quality of skills, technology and expertise from a single provider.

“In these challenging economic times we recognise that efficiency and financial sustainability are currently at the centre of the legal industry,” comments Paul Mankoo, CEO of UNIFIED. “In addition, the e-discovery/disclosure market is very noisy, and as such, law firms are faced with a myriad of options when assessing the most effective outsourcing model for their business; our mission at UNIFIED is to cut through that noise and focus on flexibility without sacrificing on quality.”

Noel Kilby, COO of UNIFIED continues, “When assessing the technology platforms available to UNIFIED, quality and scalability was critical. kCura’s approach and proven technology stood out for us as it clearly drives efficiency into the fundamentals of review, search and production whilst maintaining adaptability.

“We work closely with our clients to provide a bespoke e-discovery/disclosure model that directly meets their needs, underpinned by an ethos of cost management. Relativity’s flexibility helps us meet that objective with the option of extending our analytics capabilities as and when needed.”

“We are excited to welcome UNIFIED to the Relativity family,” said Andrew Sieja, president and CEO of kCura. “I look forward to seeing how they bring their project management and technical expertise to Relativity to provide exceptional solutions for their clients.” http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/unified_and_relativity_partner_to_deliver_e-discovery_disclosure.html

IT360 Conference & Expo to Host Cloud Computing and Asterisk Conferences

2010-03-16T06:31:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) Knowledge is critical and IT360 Conference & Expo (www.it360.ca) keeps IT and business professionals ahead of the curve in key technology areas for 2010. On April 7th in Toronto, co-located at IT360 Conference & Expo are two informative conferences: the Cloud Computing Conference and the Asterisk and Open Telephony Conference.

IT360 Conference & Expo - Register Today!The second annual Cloud Computing Conference focuses on the IT Paradigm Shift happening throughout the IT landscape, educating attendees with such sessions as, “Separation Anxiety: Ensuring Security in Cloud Computing”, “Cloud Based Telephony” and “Service Provider Best Practices: How to Select the Best Provider.” This in-depth interactive conference address tier one issues, while giving attendees the tools and means of survival to thrive in the current economy.

The fourth annual Asterisk and Open Telephony Conference, sponsored by Digium, aims at maximizing business success by providing attendees with sessions such as, “Open Telephony Takes Enterprise by Storm!”, “Asterisk in Elections: Presidential Primaries and Beyond Case Study”, and “Mission Critical Asterisk on the New York Trading Floor.” This conference teaches how to maximize the value of a telephony system and slash expenses, while using multiple case studies to learn what worked and how to avoid pitfalls.

“The live conference format continues to accelerate lead generation and sales by the power of face-to-face networking,” said Bruce Cole, Show Manager, IT360 Conference & Expo. “IT360, along with its hosted conferences, continues to be the key Canadian venue using this proven formula.”

Both of these conferences occur within IT360 Conference & Expo 2010 and the sessions for all three conferences are available to attendees with a Conference Super Pass. This allows attendees to cross-select sessions from all three conferences to build the curriculum that meets their exact needs. It also includes the proceedings from all three conferences, unlimited trade show admission, feature presentations on SR&ED and the keynote address by Gary Warner on Universal Threat Awareness.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/it360_conference_expo_to_host_cloud_computing_and_asterisk_confe.html

KEMP Technologies Introduces New Load Balancer

2010-03-15T08:46:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) KEMP Technologies today announced the newest member of its family of affordable load balancers. The LoadMaster 2200 ensures that each user receives the best application experience possible by intelligently and efficiently distributing user traffic among web and application servers. Like all KEMP load balancers and application delivery controllers, the LoadMaster 2200 is a low-cost device delivering higher performance, optimal throughput and increased SSL acceleration.

Priced at $1,990 and including first-year support, KEMP Technologies continues to deliver the best-value load balancers in the industry. The need for load balancers is increasing because businesses cannot risk losing customers and revenue as a result of network downtime. E-commerce and virtualization demand high performance from network applications and organizations must maintain continuous uptime despite traffic spikes, network overload and external attacks. A load balancer enables reduced risk of failure, simplified management of network resources and optimized performance all while streamlining IT costs.

The LoadMaster 2200 features four GbE Ports, 950Mbps throughput and delivers up to 200 SSL TPS. With support for redundant, stateful configuration, it provides “five nines” high availability of application servers and removes the load balancer as a single point of failure. The LoadMaster 2200 includes advanced application acceleration features such as caching and compression, which optimize performance of existing ISP links and reduces latency associated with the internal network. It also offers protection against application-level threats, even with SSL-encrypted traffic. Moreover, the LoadMaster 2200 offers IT administrators greater control and enables them to adapt to network changes easily by providing a resource optimization layer in front of applications and servers.

“Today, businesses need to expand their server and application network architecture to handle rising bandwidth requirements and explore new revenue opportunities,” notes Peter Melerud, co-founder and VP of product management of KEMP Technologies. “At the same time, there is increased pressure on costs and the stress of handling issues associated with unforeseen traffic loads. KEMP Technologies provides what businesses need—the ability to load balance web and data server traffic without expensive equipment investment. Available today, the LoadMaster 2200 offers the functionality associated with much higher priced load balancers at a fraction of the cost.”

Like all appliances of the KEMP’s LoadMaster product family, the LoadMaster 2200 offers advanced Layer 7 content switching, application health checking, L7 persistence, caching, compression, L7 intrusion prevention and SSL offloading. A comprehensive first-year hardware maintenance and support agreement is included at no extra cost, which includes telephone and email support, software updates and advance hardware replacement.

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

SEO Consult Stresses Importance of Quality Copywriting In SEO

2010-03-15T06:24:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) SEO Consult have commented upon the importance of having quality content prioritised over quantity in order to promote businesses and organisations on the Internet as part of a successful website optimization campaign.

SEO Consult believe that even with the more technical aspects of SEO such as linking, traffic and ranking aside, quality content is still a necessity to undergo successful search engine optimisation. In terms of content, SEO Consult urges that quality undoubtedly carries more importance than quantity, as poor quality content can at best put potential customers off and at worst cause lasting damage to your online reputation.

For those embarking upon search engine optimisation, SEO Consult believe it is important to remember that the content on a website is mainly for the perusal of visitors, as these are the potential clients that will be investing time and money into any organisation’s services. Writing content solely for good search engine results causes a dilution of quality, thus making web copy, blogs and other website content solely quantity-based; particularly considering factors such as having a specific amount of keywords, and a desirable Google PageRank.

SEO Consult believe that this dangerous territory makes content become unreadable. Grammar and spelling no longer take priority, and content will become impossible for human readers to engage with. This kind of copywriting can even cause black-hat techniques to unwittingly emerge, such as keyword stuffing. For this reason, SEO Consult suggest that DIY search engine optimization copywriting is avoided.

“The purpose of content on a website is to engage readers, conveying a professional image of your company whilst passing on valuable information to existing customers and potential clients. We feel that this shouldn’t change just because you want to attract search engines too,” comments Matt Bullas, Managing Director of SEO Consult. “We recommend professional SEO Copywriting Services because it takes someone with specialist knowledge to find the right balance when creating compelling web copy which needs to appeal to internet users and search engines. Here at SEO Consult, our copywriting team are dedicated to providing content which can assist with gaining our clients wider online visibility whilst remaining grounded to the essentials needed for quality writing.”

For more information about SEO Consult’s advice regarding Copywriting or any of their other website optimisation services, visit http://www.seoconsult.co.uk.

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

M5 Hosting Now Offering Hourly Linux and Network Professional Services

2010-03-15T06:22:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) M5 Hosting, a worldwide leader in customized, high performance Linux and BSD dedicated server hosting solutions, today introduced professional systems administration and server management services, allowing businesses to quickly access top system administrators for sophisticated management tasks and periodic specialized technical assistance.

Although all M5 Hosting dedicated servers are customer-managed (with no built-in management services), many customers need periodic assistance in performing difficult or specialized management tasks, such as major upgrades or complicated platform configuration. Since these needs are infrequent, it can be inefficient for a small company or project to hire system administrators willing and capable to complete these specialized tasks.

M5 Hosting has for several years maintained, upgraded, secured and tuned its own systems, and has occasionally helped customers with particularly challenging issues. With today’s announcement, however, these services are now broader in scope and are available on an hourly basis to all M5 Hosting customers, regardless of their size.

Although services can be extensively customized, key services now offered include server performance tuning, security hardening, and installation and configuration of 3rd party software.

“We recognize that access to highly-capable and experienced systems administrators is an important business need for our customers. We don’t hire entry-level systems administrators—we only hire the best. We believe it is far more efficient to have fewer, highly capable people than to have a building full of ‘newbies.’ Experienced professionals get right to the heart of the issue and get things done. Our customers appreciate it,” said Michael McCafferty, principal of M5 Hosting.

M5 Hosting Professional Services are provided by Linux systems administrators with between 5 years and 15 years of professional experience. Network engineers boast Cisco's CCNP or CCIE certifications and have a minimum of 5 years professional experience.

To learn more about professional services from M5 Hosting, please visit http://www.m5hosting.com/professionalservices.php.

To learn more about M5 Hosting, please visit http://www.M5Hosting.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/m5_hosting_now_offering_hourly_linux_and_network_professional_se.html

4PSA Opens a New Sales and Technical Support Office in the Netherlands

2010-03-15T06:20:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) 4PSA, a global leader in "cloud computing" software infrastructures, announces the opening of an official representative staffed office in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The new office will coordinate sales and technical support for the Benelux region (Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg).

The responsibilities of the 4PSA Netherlands office will include sales and support activities as well as managing business development opportunities in one of Europe's most dynamic markets. Coert Coomans was selected to head up the company’s operations. Mr. Coomans, a manager with over 10 years of industry experience will begin his role as the 4PSA representative immediately.

"I look forward to my role in promoting 4PSA software solutions for Unified Communications and the company’s technologies that allow service providers to deliver voice communications over IP (VoIP) in cloud infrastructures.
Countries in the Benelux region are experiencing a significant growth rate in the IP telecommunications area and "cloud computing" is one of the main drivers. The purpose of our local presence is to better identify the client’s needs and to respond to them more quickly and efficiently. I am confident that this will lead to better penetration of the market, faster deployments and the highest level of service to our customers.", said Coert Coomans, manager of the 4PSA Netherlands office.

"The opening of a representative office in the Netherlands was an easy decision to make, based on the company's revenue growth in the region."
stated Bogdan Carstoiu, CEO and founder of 4PSA. "In the first months, the activity of the local team will focus on educating the market on the advantages that "cloud computing" offers, and the potential that 4PSA software can deliver. We are targeting a 200% business growth in 2010 for the Benelux region.", added Mr. Carstoiu.

The Netherlands office began operation on March 1, 2010. For contact details please visit http://www.4psa.com/contactus/.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/4psa_opens_a_new_sales_and_technical_support_office_in_the_nethe.html

VPS.NET to Offer CloudLinux OS in Its Suite of Cloud Offerings

2010-03-15T06:18:00-04:00

(Gawkwire.com) CloudLinux Inc., an innovative software company dedicated to serving the needs of hosting service providers, announces today that VPS.NET, a leader in the cloud hosting arena will begin to offer CloudLinux as one of its standard Linux Operating Systems (OS) on all of its VPS cloud offerings. VPS.NET is an elastic cloud hosting provider offering instant scalable Virtual Private Server (VPS) solutions. VPS.NET selected CloudLinux because of the increased flexibility and control that the CloudLinux OS provides VPS.NET across its cloud computing architecture. By leveraging its Lightweight Virtual Environment™ (LVE) technology, the CloudLinux OS allows VPS.NET to deliver increased performance and flexibility to its suite of secure cloud service offerings.

With offices in the U.K. and the U.S., VPS.NET is a Virtual Private Server Cloud solution provider offering a flexible, innovative alternative to traditional hosting. VPS works by allocating a partitioned portion of a physical server, then breaks its infrastructure into “nodes,” or blocks of resources (376MB of RAM, 10GB storage, 250GB transfer, and 600Mhz CPU share) that can be pooled together in various ways to create custom virtual machines.

“VPS.NET customers want full control and flexibility from their cloud solutions,” states Ditlev Bredahl, CEO of UK2 Group, parent company to VPS.NET. “CloudLinux provides our clients another way to have full control over their hosted environments, adding new levels of server stability and performance which is so critical to our growing client base.”

The core technology behind CloudLinux OS is its Lightweight Virtual Environment™ a kernel-level technology that limits the amount of resources (CPU, I/O, memory) available to a group of processes. With LVE, administrators now have the tools to control the CPU and IO demands of individual tenants, so that a single site cannot slow or take down a whole server. While similar in approach to container virtualization, LVE is lightweight and transparent. The LVE level fair-share CPU scheduler makes sure that each account gets enough CPU resources to run efficiently. This innovative CloudLinux OS technology offers service providers increased control as never realized before with traditional OS.

CloudLinux OS will provide additional benefits to VPS.NET customers including:
• Innovative LVE technology that increases server stability and performance with less downtime
• Complete, 24/7 support
• Compatibility with the major control panel for easy management and deployment

“VPS.NET's offering is based on providing reliable and resilient services. The CloudLinux OS provides even greater control and efficiency to deliver the high quality services demanded by VPS.NET clients,” states Igor Seletskiy, CEO and Founder of CloudLinux.

With a full range of benefits for both shared hosting and cloud providers such as VPS.NET, as well as data center partners, the CloudLinux OS offers innovative technology to streamline server management; increase control and stability; and improve overall performance. For more information, please visit www.cloudlinux.com.

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

Cisco Introduces the CRS-3 Carrier Routing System

2010-03-10T06:44:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Cisco today announced a major advancement in Internet networking - the Cisco® CRS-3 Carrier Routing System (CRS) - designed to serve as the foundation of the next-generation Internet and set the pace for the astonishing growth of video transmission, mobile devices and new online services through this decade and beyond.

With more than 12 times the traffic capacity of the nearest competing system, the Cisco CRS-3 is designed to transform the broadband communication and entertainment industry by accelerating the delivery of compelling new experiences for consumers, new revenue opportunities for service providers, and new ways to collaborate in the workplace.

Overview:
•The Cisco CRS-3 triples the capacity of its predecessor, the Cisco CRS-1 Carrier Routing System, with up to 322 Terabits per second, which enables the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress to be downloaded in just over one second; every man, woman and child in China to make a video call, simultaneously; and every motion picture ever created to be streamed in less than four minutes.

•The Cisco CRS-3 enables unified service delivery of Internet and cloud services with service intelligence spanning service provider Internet Protocol Next-Generation Networks (IP NGNs) and data center. The Cisco CRS-3 also provides unprecedented savings with investment protection for the nearly 5,000 Cisco CRS-1 deployed worldwide. Cisco's cumulative investment in the Cisco CRS family is $1.6 billion, further underscoring the company's commitment.

•AT&T, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, recently tested the Cisco CRS-3 in a successful completion of the world's first field trial of 100-Gigabit backbone network technology, which took place in AT&T's live network between New Orleans and Miami. The trial advances AT&T's development of the next generation of backbone network technology that will support the network requirements for the growing number of advanced services offered by AT&T to consumer and business customers, both fixed and mobile.

•The Cisco CRS-3 is currently in field trials, and its pricing starts at $90,000 U.S.
Highlights and Capabilities for the Next-Generation Internet:

•Unmatched Scale: With a proven multi-chassis architecture, the Cisco CRS-3 can deliver up to 322 tbps of capacity, more than tripling the 92 tbps capacity of the Cisco CRS-1 and representing more than 12 times the capacity of any other core router in the industry.

•Unique Core and Data Center/Cloud Services Intelligence: In addition to capacity requirements, the growths of mobile and video applications are creating new multidirectional traffic patterns with the increasing emergence of the data center cloud. The new Cisco Data Center Services System provides tight linkages between the Cisco CRS-3, Cisco Nexus family and Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) to enable unified service delivery of cloud services. This intelligence also includes carrier-grade IPv6 (CGv6) and core IP/MPLS technologies that permit new IP NGN architectural efficiencies required to keep pace with the rapidly growing cloud services market. Unique capabilities include:

•Network Positioning System (NPS) -- provides Layers 3 to 7 application information for best path to content, improving consumer and business experiences while reducing costs.
•Cloud virtual private network (VPN) for Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)-enables 'pay-as-you-go' for compute, storage and network resources by automating Cisco CRS-3 and Cisco Nexus Inter-Data center connections for Cisco UCS.

•Unprecedented Savings: The Cisco CRS-3 offers dramatic operational expense savings and up to 60 percent savings on power consumption compared to competitive platforms. The Cisco CRS-3 also delivers significant capital expenditures savings and investment protection for existing Cisco CRS-1 customers. The new capabilities in the platform can be achieved by reusing the existing chassis, route processors, fans and power systems with the addition of new line cards and fabric. These upgrades can be performed in-service and be provided by Cisco Services to ensure a smooth transition.

•Silicon Innovation: The Cisco CRS-3 is powered by the new Cisco QuantumFlow Array Processor, which unifies the combined power of six chips to work as one, enabling unprecedented levels of service capabilities and processing power. Making this implementation even more unique is its ability to deliver capabilities with a fraction of the power required by lesser performing chipsets. The Cisco QuantumFlow Array chipset was designed to provide the new system the ability to scale with the ever increasing demands being placed on the IP NGN by the many different applications and billions of devices being used by both businesses and consumers in the Zettabyte era.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/cisco_introduces_the_crs-3_carrier_routing_system.html

HostGator Wins Best in Web Hosting Award From About.com

2010-03-10T06:16:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) HostGator.com, a leading web hosting provider, was declared winner in three separate categories for the About.com, a New York Times Company, 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards for web hosting.

HostGator Houston, TX OfficeBetween January 1st and January 24th, About.com’s writer, Jennifer Krynin, polled their readers to determine the best web hosting provider. Their readers were required to respond with their company of choice and a 50 word description of why their choice was the best.

The results were tallied and HostGator was the overall winner in “Best Cheap or Free Web Hosting”, “Best Linux/UNIX Web Hosting Provider” and “Best Reseller Web Hosting Provider”. HostGator is proud to have taken such prestigious awards from a well known community of web developers and resellers.

“With such tremendous growth over the last two years we are very pleased to have such a loyal and happy customer base to reach out and nominate us for these awards. Our main goal is still to do our absolute best to keep each and every web hosting client satisfied.” said HostGator CEO Brent Oxley.

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

Hostingmetro.com Announces New Marketing Manager

2010-03-10T06:15:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Tony Chu, CEO of Hostingmetro.com, has announced the appointment of Matthew McKinney as the company's new marketing manager.

"Matt brings nearly 8 years of brand identity development including management of national marketing campaigns and reseller programs," said Chu. "As we make changes in how we bring products to the market and broaden our focus and channels of distribution, Matt will oversee all marketing efforts for our hostingmetro.com brand."

McKinney will be responsible for the administration and execution of sales and marketing strategies for new products and will assist in the development of a revamped affiliate program and overall brand strategy. In addition, McKinney will extend the reach of our strategic alliances focusing on integration of strategic business partners that can deliver additional scalability and value to our customers.

McKinney is has extensive experience with online business properties having successfully worked at a leading online investment company, where he successfully led marketing efforts as a Partner Channel Manager and Marketing Analyst. In addition, McKinney most recently worked in a communications role aiding in the development of brand identity and sales efforts by leading the creation and production of advertising, business and promotional materials, as well as internal development of new sales divisions and business initiatives.

For additional information on the release, please contact hostingmetro.com, or visit http://www.hostingmetro.com.

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

Fasthosts Introduces New Range of Virtual Servers

2010-03-10T06:13:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Fasthosts Internet Ltd, (www.fasthosts.co.uk), a leading web hosting provider, today introduced a new range of virtual servers that combine high-speed performance, scalability and resource monitoring. Designed to scale with the changing needs of businesses and their customers, RAM, CPU, disk space, and IP addresses can all be determined by the user and dynamically adjusted. With prices starting from £29.32/month+VAT, the Virtual Servers deliver dedicated resources, the latest Windows 2008 R2 operating system and full remote access and resource monitoring. The launch comes as a study of 500 UK firms finds that over one third expect to be using a virtual server solution in the coming year. For businesses, virtualised solutions can provide greater agility and efficiency, and when combined with Fasthosts’ connectivity and unlimited bandwidth, offer an impressive business case.

Fasthosts Virtual Servers are based on Microsoft Dynamic Data Center architecture, meaning that resources are dedicated but also adaptable dynamically and can be upgraded or reconfigured easily without losing data or functionality. Fasthosts customers can select from a range of suggested configurations or design a server by choosing capacity, processor power and control settings at order, and are free to modify these at any point in time. By re-adjusting their server, the user only pays for the resources they need and so saves money and helps the environment.

All servers receive the power of Intel Xeon Quad-Core processors and dedicated RAM. Fasthosts has used Hyper-V (hypervisor based) technology, the latest in Microsoft server virtualization, to harness the full power of the hardware. All users can benefit from the most advanced Microsoft Server operating system yet – Windows Server 2008 R2. Furthermore, Fasthosts provides free Resource Monitoring via the user Control Panel. Customers can measure CPU, RAM, disk space and network usage in real-time, and so keep an accurate check on their requirements. For business users and IT professionals alike, the ability to adapt to peaks and troughs in demand with speed and at low cost, makes the task of managing a server far simpler and improves ROI.

The Virtual Server range allows a choice of up to 4 Virtual CPUs, RAM ranging from 1GB to 16GB and a hard-disk space of up to 1TB. An entry-level server package with 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM and 80GB hard-disk is priced at only £29.32/month+VAT. All packages benefit from 100Mbps connectivity, unlimited bandwidth and are available on a variety of contract options.

Steve Holford, CMO Fasthosts Internet Ltd., said, "As a long-standing expert for Microsoft web hosting, we have taken our time to invest in and develop a range of virtual servers that deliver the performance and strength traditionally only seen with dedicated server hardware. Microsoft Hyper-V virtualisation is well suited to our robust network and connectivity. For even the most demanding pro users, we expect virtual servers to be a popular choice”.

Fasthosts Virtual Servers benefit from greatly increased redundancy, built-in. Clustered servers provide automatic fail-over and combine with RAID disk arrays to enhance reliability. Users have full access to their server via remote desktop connection, and can apply the powerful Parallels PLESK 9 Control Panel, for effective deployment and server management. Packages also include Windows Platform Installer 2.0 which provides effortless implementation of the latest Windows compatible applications. Full details of the new Virtual Server range can be found at http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/virtual-servers/

Today, Fasthosts releases data from a study of 500 UK firms using a server(1) that finds 19 per cent have already chosen a virtual server solution. A further 20 per cent expect to implement a virtual server solution in the coming year. Half of firms wish to utilise only one server, suggesting that a flexible virtual server could be ideal. At over half of firms (55 per cent), the owner/CEO makes the decision on which server technology to implement. The data also identifies server monitoring and file back-up services are becoming increasingly important for businesses, these topping their wish-list for additional services.

Holford added, "The study suggests that companies are becoming increasingly aware of virtualised solutions as an option. A virtual server is an accessible and compelling means for a business to begin exploring ‘cloud’ type services without compromising on performance or security. The economies delivered by virtualisation are ideal for rapidly growing businesses”.

As a leading 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 see the website at http://www.fasthosts.co.uk http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/fasthosts_introduces_new_range_of_virtual_servers.html

Rackspace Ranked Highest In IT Service Companies

2010-03-10T06:12:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Rackspace (www.rackspace.co.uk), the world’s leader in the hosting and cloud computing industry today announces that it has been voted as the 30th best place to work and once again the highest ranking IT Services company, in the prestigious Sunday Times 100 Best Companies Awards. Commended for its continued focus on employee engagement, Rackspace has ranked as one of the top ten companies for people, who love what they do, believe in the company and its future and deliver a great service.

Rackspace has, for the third year running, been featured in the top tier of the Sunday Times Best Employer Awards. The Awards, which are based on employee interviews, indicate that Rackspace has created a fun and caring environment that helps nurture and grow individual talent.

The Sunday Times notes that 89 percent of Rackspace employees that responded to the survey are excited about where the company is going, with 79 percent saying their work is great for their personal growth and 95 per cent stating that they are proud to work for the organisation.

Brian Thomson, EMEA Managing Director at Rackspace, comments: “We are very proud of all the progress we have made in our business over the last year and what is truly pleasing is that as the company has grown our ‘Rackers’ continue to feel valued in their roles.

“We are thrilled to see that our employees love what they do and are excited at where the business is going. Our continued success is without doubt because of our Racker’s tireless dedication to Fanatical Support and the passion they show every single day.”

Rackspace is one of the UK’s most successful and fastest growing providers of IT hosting services. It has consistently been recognised for its excellence as an IT employer, with a number of accolades, most recently being one of only14 companies to receive a Laureate award from the Financial Times for being one of the best places to work in the UK and Europe 2009. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/rackspace_ranked_highest_as_a_it_service_company.html

EuroCloud Brings Together the UK’s leading SaaS and Cloud Providers

2010-03-10T06:07:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) EuroCloud UK, the fast growing industry body for SaaS and Cloud vendors is holding its third meeting on Thursday, March 18th at SAP UK headquarters near Heathrow Airport. Through its regular monthly meetings, EuroCloud UK brings together leading players to network and exchange best practice advice.

The theme of this half day meeting is “How ISVs Make the Transition to SaaS” and it will feature expert speakers and open panel discussions.

The keynote speaker will be Chrysoula Christopoulou, Senior Director from the SAP Business ByDesign team, which is the vendor's flagship SaaS product for SMEs.

The meeting will look at SaaS partner strategy, pricing and packaging insights, as-a-service infrastructure choices and maintaining and improving customer relationships. The speakers will talk openly about their experiences in transitioning to the SaaS platform and there will be an open panel session and plenty of opportunity to network with industry peers and influencers.

The other speakers will be Ian Smith, Xceliant; John Cheney, Workbooks.com; James Elkington, Esker UK; Matt Deacon, Microsoft developer & platform group; Aidan Finn, C Infinity; Chris Purrington, CohesiveFT; Phil Wainewright, Procullux Ventures and Ian McDonald, Symbian Foundation.

This event, which runs from 12.00 noon until 6.00pm, is free to EuroCloud members and a warm welcome will be extended to potential new members, who will be able to offset the non- member meeting registration fee if they decide to join. You can register for the event at the EuroCloud events webpage. http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/eurocloud_brings_together_the_uk_s_leading_saas_and_cloud_provid.html

Businesses Appreciate Cost-Saving Measures Taken by Codero

2010-03-09T12:12:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) The feedback from Codero’s recently launched Price Match Challenge has been very positive from small- to medium-sized businesses desiring a less expensive solution for dedicated and managed hosting services. The limited-time promotion allows customers to receive a price match for any publicly advertised price from a competitor for identical products and services.

“In these recessionary times, we are committed to the success of our customers which is why we have gone to great lengths to competitively price the products and services we offer,” stated Shelby Garlock, Director, Marketing. “In fact, we are so dedicated to offering the best possible value that if a customer discovers a better price for like services, we’ll honor it. We have found when we can meet our customers’ demand for responsive, quality services at low-cost prices, it’s a win-win for everybody. Response has been overwhelmingly favorable.”

In order to receive a price match, customers must submit a copy of a dated price and specification quote that is no more than thirty days old, or a live link to a website advertising the price and specifications to be matched. The Price Match Challenge is valid on newly activated dedicated and managed hosting services, and will be honored for as long as the customer maintains that service with Codero.

For full details about the Price Match Challenge and other current promotions, please visit www.codero.com/specials/ or email any questions to pricematch@codero.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/businesses_appreciate_cost-saving_measures_taken_by_codero.html

Fusepoint Names New Vice President of Data Centre Facilities

2010-03-09T12:11:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Fusepoint Managed Services, a national provider of outsourced IT and infrastructure services, today announced the appointment of Sam Ikomi to the position of Vice President, Data Centre Facilities. In this role Mr. Ikomi is responsible for the design, maintenance, staffing and reliability of the company’s critical data centre facilities’ infrastructure across Canada.

Fusepoint Managed ServicesMr. Ikomi brings over 28 years of experience in international data centre engineering expertise, overseeing significant critical assets with prominent Fortune 500 companies. Most recently he was accountable for Microsoft’s 256,000 sq. ft. data centre facility in Virginia, where he was responsible for delivering data centre operational excellence in support of Microsoft’s online businesses.

Prior to Microsoft, Mr. Ikomi was employed by Fannie Mae where he was responsible for their facilities in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC and Maryland, a total of two million sq. ft. of space, including Data Centres and Market Trading rooms. Prior to Fannie Mae, Mr. Ikomi was employed by IBM as a Program Manager/Advisory Engineer in their Data Centre Engineering and Critical Facilities Support organization for the North Eastern United States.

Mr. Ikomi received his Bachelor of Engineering degree with Honours from the University of Benin. In addition, he holds numerous industry certifications including CFM, Professional Engineering license, FMA, SMA and SMT. Mr. Ikomi’s technical expertise is complemented with leadership and management development from IBM, Fannie Mae and Microsoft.

“Meeting the growth demands of a rapidly expanding services firm takes industry talent second to none, which we have found in Mr. Ikomi,” said George Kerns, President and CEO of Fusepoint. “Welcoming Sam to our executive team builds on our strategic vision of being the most innovative managed hosting provider in Canada.

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

Boomerang.com Launches BlastWizard 7.1 Email Hosting Tool

2010-03-09T12:09:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Palo Alto, Calif.–based Boomerang.com, email marketing services provider, has announced the availability of a new version of BlastWizard, its email hosting tool. Among the new features for BlastWizard 7.1 are enhancements for SFDC integration that make email job scheduling faster than ever by eliminating the timing out that typically accompanies the wait for larger recipient lists to load. Users of salesforce.com voted BlastWizard the "Best Mass Email Tool" in 2008. Presented by Boomerang, the next Live BlastWizard Demos take place on March 9 and March 11.

"BlastWizard provides users with the kind of functionality that earns it accolades," said email marketing expert David Kearney, CEO of Boomerang, founded in 1991. Kearney began his career at Digital Equipment Corporation and later served as product line marketing manager for MIPS Computer Systems. His articles on email marketing have appeared in publications such as DM News. AllBusiness and others have quoted him on his email marketing expertise. Kearney earned an MBA from Cornell University's S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management.

"Boomerang continually strives to develop the very best possible email hosting tool, one that works well not only for the enterprise, but also for small and medium sized businesses alike," Kearney continued. "Additionally, the team at Boomerang, knowledgeable in how email marketing differs across organizations of different sizes, can provide customized, actionable advice for clients of all types."

Anyone may follow Boomerang on Twitter @boomerang_com, and members of LinkedIn are welcome to join Email Marketing Tips, the company's group there. Additionally, Boomerang regularly posts valuable email marketing advice to its blog of the same name, Email Marketing Tips.

BlastWizard integrates with Microsoft Outlook® and clients' various existing databases, and users can create custom email applications using Boomerang's Application Programming Interface (API). Furthermore, Boomerang helps marketers learn how to use email effectively: Boomerang's email marketing video training is available for free, and unlike other email marketing campaign service providers, Boomerang draws on a wealth of ongoing experience in serving enterprise customers to help small businesses best utilize email marketing tools, as well.

Several companies offer small business email campaign tools, but Boomerang is alone in approaching email marketing for small business in a customized, tailored way to create individualized email campaigns for clients. Boomerang's consultants are able to draw on a legacy of experience that the company has with enterprise clients, whose needs for email marketing campaigns have imbued Boomerang with the kind of institutional knowledge that yields best practices.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/boomerang_com_launches_blastwizard_7_1_email_hosting_tool.html

Web Editors Inc. Offers Big Deals on Web Design

2010-03-09T12:08:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Web Editors, Inc. is currently offering discounted web design services for new clients that sign up for its Advanced Local, Advanced National or Power Search SEO Plans. With an experienced team of web designers, developers, marketing experts and professional content writers ready to provide cutting edge Search Engine Optimization services and award winning web designs, the 25 percent discount on web design only sweetens the deal. Web Editors, Inc. can create and maintain any kind of site, from e commerce website development to interactive entertainment site design, and provide the SEO service to get it noticed online.

As a full service SEO and web design company, Web Editors, Inc. offers multiple levels of Search Engine Optimization to suit the needs of each individual client. The company’s local search marketing packages help businesses connect with potential customers in their specific region. The national search marketing packages help businesses surpass competitors in the search engines from coast to coast with a niche market or aggressive keywords. And the Power Search plan helps businesses reach the top of the search engines for the competitive keywords, their most aggressive online marketing campaign.

Web Editors, Inc. works with businesses of all sizes and from all industries, providing the same service and dedication to each client. Right now any new client that signs up for the Advanced level of the Local or National plans or the Power Search plan will get 25 percent off any web design services. They can create a brand new website completely from scratch based on the customer’s specifications or redesign an existing website, and provide the maintenance to keep it fresh and search engine ready.

For more information about Web Editors’ Search Engine Optimization and web design services, visit www.webeditors.com.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/web_editors_inc_offers_big_deals_on_web_design.html

Softlayer Slects Telx as Connectivity Partner

2010-03-09T06:25:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Telx, the leading interconnection and colocation provider in strategic North American markets, today announced that it has been selected as a connectivity partner by SoftLayer®, a global provider of on-demand data center, hosting, and cloud services. SoftLayer has established a Point-of-Presence (POP) within Telx’s secure, connection-rich colocation facilities in Atlanta and New York City, enabling secure, reliable delivery of services across several key U.S. cities at an accelerated market entry schedule.

“In any given market, there are probably 10 or more providers that we could have gone to, especially in a place like New York or Atlanta,” said George Karidis, chief strategy officer at SoftLayer. “We looked for the best provider that had the right cost structure, the right flexibility, and the right amount of connectivity. Telx was that provider. Today, our customers can directly tap into our infrastructure on a guaranteed, high-speed connection without going over the public Internet. The Telx solution provides high redundancy, security, and limitless scalability.”

As a connectivity partner, Telx delivers a secure, connection-rich environment from which SoftLayer can offer low-latency access to its applications and network infrastructure. A customer in Atlanta, for example, can connect to a SoftLayer data center in Dallas, Seattle, or Washington DC, through either a VPN or Metro-LAN connection. The Telx interconnection replaces the need for a public Internet connection, ensuring that the network is more secure, latency is reduced, quality of service is enhanced, and the number of hops is minimized. This empowers SoftLayer’s customers to optimize application performance, while keeping SoftLayer’s market entry speed high and operational costs low.

“We are pleased to become a connectivity partner to SoftLayer,” said Rose Klimovich, VP of Product Development at Telx. “Telx colocation and interconnection solutions have helped SoftLayer improve the reliability, security, and latency of their on-demand infrastructure, while enabling them to focus on core competencies such as developing competitive cloud offerings and delivering them to customers on a faster time table.”

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

Steadfast Networks Implements Carbon Neutral Hosting Services

2010-03-08T17:24:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Steadfast Networks announced today its environmental green initiative by implementing a 100% carbon offset for staff commuting, office usage, core infrastructure, networking equipment, shared web hosting, VPS hosting, and backup services. Steadfast Networks is certified "carbon neutral" by Carbonfund.org, an environmentally-friendly organization that helps businesses reduce and offset their climate impact.

"Moving steadily forward in the 21st century does not mean trampling all over our natural resources, so we have teamed up with Carbonfund.org and implemented a variety of green initiative programs to help preserve our natural resources," says Karl Zimmerman, CEO of Steadfast Networks. "The same high quality and exceptional service Steadfast Networks stands for in our managed servers, colocation hosting services, and web hosting services is the standard we aspire to for maintaining a healthy environment."

In addition to becoming carbon neutral and purchasing carbon offsets, Steadfast Networks encourages employees to commute by foot, bike, or public transportation, and in some cases, work from home. To increase efficiency and help the environment, local vendors such as Amadi Systems provide more than 90% of Steadfast Networks' equipment, cutting down on the emissions caused while transporting. Steadfast Networks orders the equipment with no packing materials in order to reduce the trash produced. All paper and cardboard products, equipment, hardware, and servers building-wide are recycled.

"Not having to unpack equipment has increased the speed of operations and made our Chicago hosting services and data centers run more efficiently," says Zimmerman. "Highly efficient network systems and dedicated server hosting also reduce carbon outputs, and those are options we also offer to customers who want to reduce their carbon imprint."

Steadfast Network's base operations, shared web hosting, VPS hosting, and backup services are carbon neutral. Customers who wish to receive carbon neutral colocation services and dedicated server hosting indicate that choice by contacting a Steadfast Networks representative or when placing an order. Additionally, Steadfast Networks' low power Atom servers, Xeon processors and Intel solid state drives lower operational costs while reducing the carbon footprint associated with hosting services. Providing dedicated server, colocation, and hosting services without up-selling a more energy-intensive IT solution a customer does not need further reduces
environmental impact.

"People who are passionate about caring for our world are loyal to companies who share that same sense of responsibility," says Zimmerman. "Customers appreciate transparency and businesses with carbon neutral hosting services can let their clients know they are standing up and doing their part for our world."

For more information on Steadfast Networks' green initiative, or to suggest more ways to reduce the carbon footprint, visit http://steadfast.net/corporate/green.php.

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

SQL Server Profiling Now Offered at DiscountASP.NET

2010-03-09T06:22:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) DiscountASP.NET, a global leader in Windows hosting, announces enhancing their SQL Server hosting with the launch of SQL Server Profiling as a service.

SQL Profiler is a powerful tool that allows the application and database developer to troubleshoot general SQL locking problems, performance issues, and perform database tuning. The SQL Profiler captures all of the SQL queries and the CPU/IO usage associated with a statement that is issued to the database.

"While many SQL development issues can be diagnosed on the customer's development environment, there are issues that only crop up in a production environment and perhaps only at a specific time of the day. These issues can be very difficult to troubleshoot," said Takeshi Eto, VP Marketing and Business Development at DiscountASP.NET. "With our new SQL Profiling as a Service, customers can schedule a database trace at a specific time of their choosing, offering a new way to help our customers troubleshoot."

DiscountASP.NET customers can request a standard trace to be run at a specific time and the trace file will be made available for download. The customer can then analyze the trace file using SQL Profiler or Database Tuning Adviser on their local computer.

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

Gossimer Offers $5.99 Dot Com Names to Resellers

2010-03-09T06:20:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Gossimer, the fastest growing domain name registration and web hosting company, has reduced the price of its dot com (.com) domain names by almost half for the dot com promotion that begins from March 08, 2010. The price of dot com domain names during the promotion period will be $5.99. All the existing as well as new Gossimer’s web hosting resellers can participate in this promotion which will run all through the march, and will end on March 31, 2010.

Resellers or their customers can register as many domains as they want in the promotion period, as the company has not set any maximum registration cap. The promotion will only be available through Gossimer promotion engine. To avail the special price, resellers will have to comply by the domain pricing rule set for the promotion, which states that the resellers can set the selling price of domain names to a maximum of $7.49 for their customers as well as resellers.

“Seeing the pending price rise due of domain registry in July 2010, this promotion provides an opportunity for people to save some bucks on domain registration,” Said Marvin Dreyer, CEO of Gossimer when questioned about how the promotion will affect his customers’ business. He further added, “This thing [drop in dot com registration prices does not happen frequently, as dot com is the most precious asset on the Internet. We all know that, don’t we?”

Gossimer is also running promotions on domain name registrations for end users. The company is offering domain names with .NZ and .IN extensions at a discounted rate. They are offering end customer .COM domain registrations for $6.99 and other extensions on which Gossimer is running sale are: .TV, .MOBI, .INFO, .ME, .ASIA, GB.COM, .EU.COM, KR.COM, QC.COM, AE.ORG, and US.COM. At present, the company is also offering a special price for transfer-in domain names for its customers, which is $7.99.

http://www.gawkwire.com/domains/gossimer_offers_5_99_dot_com_names_to_resellers.html

DerdackWins Wins Prestigious Award for Enterprise Notification

2010-03-09T06:16:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Derdack today announced that its customer implementation at Boehringer Ingelheim Netherlands had won a prestigious award from Network Computing. message master Enterprise Alert helped the pharmaceutical firm save $0.5m in lost staff productivity and this achievement was recognised in the Private Sector Project of the Year category.

The Network Computing Awards were launched to recognise the products and services that have most impressed the readers of the UK’s longest established networking publication.

Message master® Enterprise Alert has been embedded into Boehringer Ingelheim’s IT infrastructure where it interfaces with an internal system that monitors the status of servers and an uninterruptible power supply. If an event occurs, an alert is sent via SMS to a member of the on-call support team. Automated workflows ensure the alert is escalated to the next person in the chain if message delivery fails or an acknowledgement is not received.

The software has enabled the manufacturer to gain the ability to rectify any system faults such as problems with Windows Servers quickly and before they can impact on company-wide staff productivity. message master® Enterprise Alert has also been credited with helping Boehringer Ingelheim increase systems uptime by 1%.

Matthes Derdack, Managing Director of Derdack who was presented with the award said, “I am thrilled that the message master® Enterprise Alert project at Boehringer Ingelheim has won this distinguished award. This implementation highlights the financial impact that can be achieved by minimising systems downtime through automated and reliable alert notifications. It validates the business model behind our enterprise notification software, demonstrates clearly that a rapid return on investment can be achieved and is applicable to a wide range of industries.”

It was a dual night of success for Derdack with its customer implementation at HIS-IZZ Hospitals also named a finalist in the Public Sector Project of the Year category. message master® Enterprise Alert communicates critical events such as alarms from the fire monitoring systems to the relevant member of staff via SMS. Providing precise ownership assignment and details on the location of a critical event the resulting notification solution ensures the hospital can react quickly to any alerts and thus prevent interruption of critical patient services.

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

Bezeq International Expands Colocation with Interxion

2010-03-08T07:21:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Interxion recently announced that Bezeq International, Israel’s leading Internet and international telecommunications provider, has expanded its colocation requirements, taking space in Interxion’s FRA 5 data centre. The new agreement, which significantly expands the long-standing relationship between the companies, has been made in response to growing demand from Bezeq International’s customers for its growing range of international hosting and data services.

Bezeq International took space in Interxion’s FRA 3 facility in 2006 for termination of their European traffic and as a base for provision and expansion of their international services. Since then a strong working relationship has developed, and Bezeq has successfully developed a broad portfolio of telecom solutions as well as high-end network and security services for multinationals.

“We have developed an excellent working partnership with Interxion, and it was a natural next step to expand our European capacity with them as the Interxion facility became a core part of our backbone,” said Benny Pinhas, Operations Director, Professional Services, Bezeq International. “Our relationship with Interxion creates value for our customers and generates revenue for us. We have other providers in Europe, but Interxion is far and away the most important to our business model.”

Interxion’s five interconnected Frankfurt data centres provide highly reliable infrastructure and direct access to over 70 carriers and 80 ISPs – one of the highest carrier and network provider densities in Europe. In addition to secure, high-availability and connected infrastructure with up to 2N power backup and redundant cooling, Interxion provides customers with a wide range of optional monitoring and maintenance services and turnkey managed services.

“Our productive and growing relationship with Bezeq International underlines the added value we can bring to ambitious global service providers,” said Peter Knapp, Interxion Germany MD. “As Bezeq continues to grow, we look forward to continuing to work with them to provide an industry leading pan European connectivity solution to meet their needs.” http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/bezeq_international_expands_colocation_with_interxion.html

Future Hosting Upgrades VPS Hardware in All Its Datacenters

2010-03-08T06:35:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Future Hosting today announced it has completed a major upgrade on its entire fleet of Virtual Private Server nodes, responding to increases in utilization of system resources by customers.

The upgrades affect all Virtual Private Server nodes in the company’s five international data centers. Hardware in each node now includes Dual Intel® Xeon processors (upgraded in power by up to 50 percent for many clients), SAS hard drives in RAID-10 configuration, and 24-36GBs of RAM. All nodes are also connected to an internal private network through a dedicated Network Interface Card (NIC), which offers unlimited VPS-to-VPS data transfer and secure maintenance cap abilities.

“As our customers grow, so do the complexity of their hosting needs and the demands their Web applications place on our infrastructure. Maintaining a stable, high level of service in this industry can never mean meeting the needs the customer had when they signed up—it can only mean meeting the needs the customer has today, and as importantly, the needs the customer will have tomorrow,” said Future Hosting Chief Strategy Officer Stephen Kowalski.

Virtual Private Servers from Future Hosting are available in a wide variety of configurations, including on both managed and unmanaged plans. Customers are also able to locate their server in any of Future Hosting’s five international data centers, in Chicago, Dallas, London, Seattle, or Washington, D.C.

Future Hosting is the developer of Future Engineer™, a technical support automation system designed to automate time consuming server configuration and repair tasks on Virtual Private Servers (VPS), Future Engineer™ allows clients to receive a greater level of technical support than is available when technicians spend their time performing routine or basic maintenance tasks. With Future Engineer™, technicians are free to spend their time offering a level of technical support that is unrivaled and otherwise unaffordable.

For more information about Future Hosting, please visit http://www.futurehosting.com.

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

Data Centre Leaders to Set Agenda on Green Technologies

2010-03-08T06:23:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Major industry leaders in the European data centre sector will meet at the sixth annual conference taking place April 22-23 at Sophia Antipolis near Nice, France. The high level content and debate will set the agenda on exploiting Green technologies over the coming year (www.datacentres.com/dce).

A high calibre line up of top speakers and experts includes data centre gurus, Christian Belady, Director of Hardware Architecture – Partner Extreme Computing Group, Microsoft Research, Michael Manos, Vice President, Service Operations, Nokia, Roy Zeighami, UCS Power and Cooling TME, Cisco and Laurent Vernerey, President & CEO IT Business, Schneider Electric; Europe’s data centre leaders, Anthony Foy, Managing Director, Interxion, Michael Tobin, CEO, TelecityGroup, Eric Schwartz, President, Equinix Europe, and Bernard Geoghegan, Senior Vice President of International Operations, Digital Realty Trust and Guy Willner, Chairman, Data Gardens Russia.

Special presentations will be made by Paul-François Cattier, Vice President France, Benelux & French speaking Africa, APC by Schneider Electric, on the results of a new study by the Data Centre Group in France, and Marion Howard Healy, Associate Consultant, BroadGroup on a new study of Private Cloud.

In addition the expert speaker academy includes Dr. Paolo Bertoldi, Principal Administrator, European Commission Directorate General Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Ellen Brigham, Director of Product Marketing - Juniper Networks, Candi Carrera, Director Client Service Operations, eBRC, Pieter Duijves, Managing Director, Parthenon Data Centres BV, Charlie Forte, Vice President, Global Operations and Infrastructure, BP, J. Clifford Gauntlett, Managing Partner, Solent Media Group, Peter Hannaford, Vice President, Datacenters & Alliances EMEA/LAM, APC by Schneider Electric, Andrew Harrington, Partner, AHV Associates LLP, Andrew Jay, Senior Director, CB Richard Ellis, Apostolos Kakkos, CEO, Lamda Hellix Data Centers, Andreas König, Senior Vice President and General Manager EMEA, NetApp Deutschland GmbH, Chad Lamb PhD, Director of Engineering, XKL, Bernard Lecanu, President, BLIC Consultants, Catalina McGregor, United Nations Agency ITU-T Liaison Officer to OECD and EC/EU, Rocco Panetta, Partner Panetta & Associati, Rome and Member of the Italian Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Commission, Alex Rabbetts, Managing Director, Migration Solutions, and Steve Wallage, Managing Director, BroadGroup Consulting.

The 2-day international meeting includes the content-led conference, annual prestigious Awards dinner which this year includes the European Green Initiative Awards which has been endorsed and will be presented by the Green Grid, an industry exhibition, and special workshops.

Sponsors and Partners include APC by Schneider Electric, Interxion, TelecityGroup, XKL, H2O Networks, Euclyde, Digital Realty Trust, eBRC, Migration Solutions, BL International Consultants, Equinix, Cadwin FM, Lamda Hellix Data Centers, ARUP, Scottish Development International, APL, Surf Telecoms, Stulz, Conteg, Microsoft, CBRE, Noodlesoft Technologies, The Colocation Exchange, Gimélec, Data Centres News Search, IX Consulting, IT One, Econference and Global Security Magazine.

(Savings of more than £200 are on offer for bookings for 6th Data Centre Europe 2010 on or before 12 March. http://www.datacentres.com/dce/register/) http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/data_centre_leaders_to_set_agenda_on_green_technologies.html

SEO Consult Expands Resource Centre On Their Website

2010-03-08T06:20:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) SEO Consult announced that they have expanded their SEO resource centre as found on their website.

SEO Consult’s SEO resource centre is free to access and contains a wealth of information regarding the basics of search engine optimization. Topics range from breakdowns of the major search engines and how they work, including Google, Yahoo! and MSN, and key information regarding the SEO industry and how it works.

They also offer stringent analysis and tips on both on-page and off-page search engine optimisation techniques, including solutions to the most frequently asked SEO questions such as how to write effective SEO content and advice on directory submissions for the uninitiated. SEO Consult have recently added a new page onto the resource centre called ‘Real Time Search, Google, Twitter And Your Business’, which thoroughly explains the development of real time search marketing and how it can effect an SEO marketing campaign.

“We’re very proud of our resource centre on SEO Consult and hope it proves valuable to those who are looking for deeper, more thorough information about search engine optimisation and what the whole process entails,” commented Matt Bullas, Managing Director of SEO Consult. “We feel real time search is an exciting step forward, bringing changes to internet user’s search habits and there is no doubt that it will feature heavily in how search engines act in the future. We are always looking to expand our Resource Centre with topics researched and written by our experienced, professional in-house SEO team.”

To find out more about SEO Consult please visit our website at http://www.seoconsult.co.uk/ or call 0845 205 0292 during office hours.

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

Parature Founder Duke Chung to Speak at Montgomery Technology Conference

2010-03-08T06:18:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Parature recently announced that Parature Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Duke Chung will speak on the topic of customer service in the cloud during the 7th annual Montgomery Technology Conference. Recognized as one of the premier technology conferences in the country, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from 150 of the finest emerging growth private companies in the internet, wireless, information technology, communications and related media and technology sectors. The 2010 program will emphasize key technology trends impacting the industry including virtualization, cloud computing, security and social media. The conference will be held at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica, CA March 9 - 10, 2010. Mr. Chung’s presentation will take place on Tuesday, March 9th at 9:00 A.M.

Parature enables any organization to fundamentally change the way they support their customers through its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery and integrated, intuitive design that empowers organizations to better and more efficiently serve, support, engage with and retain customers in today’s Web world. The seamlessly integrated suite of Parature Customer Service™ software modules allows organizations to effectively manage all of their support needs without additional hardware, software and IT expenses. Parature integrates everything in one dynamic, unified system to increase efficiency across entire organizations, improving processes among customer support, operations, development and sales.

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

BigCommerce Named Finalist For 2010 CODiE Awards

2010-03-05T06:10:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) BigCommerce, the leading provider of ecommerce software for small business merchants, today announced that the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has selected BigCommerce as a finalist for the CODiE Awards in the Best Software as a Service Solution category.

"We're honored to have been named a CODiE Award Finalist alongside such a distinguished group of companies, and we're proud to have earned the recognition of this prestigious organization," said Mitchell Harper. co-Founder and co-CEO of BigCommerce. "We continue to focus relentlessly on product innovation and attention to our customers' needs, which we believe are the two key drivers behind our rapid growth."

"This is the twenty-fifth year we have recognized excellence in the software, education and information industries through the CODiE Awards program," noted Ken Wasch, president of SIIA. "In this economic climate, companies are doing even more to innovate. BigCommerce has demonstrated a commitment to innovation and quality that is reflected in their selection as a finalist for the CODiE Awards."

Originally called the "Excellence in Software Awards," the CODiEs were established in 1986 by the Software Publishers Association (SPA), which preceded the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA). The program was created so that pioneers of the then-nascent software industry could evaluate and honor each other's work. Since then, the CODiE Awards program has carried out the same purpose -- to showcase the software and information industry's finest products and services and to honor excellence in corporate achievement and philanthropic efforts.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/bigcommerce_named_finalist_for_2010_codie_awards.html

Windows Mobile Moves Ahead of Apple In Mobile Advertising Performance

2010-03-05T06:09:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Smaato Inc., a leading mobile ad optimizer and mobile advertising agency, has released its latest global mobile advertising metrics in an exclusive post at MSearchGroove, a top 50 influential source of analysis and commentary on mobile marketing, mobile search and social media. Smaato's Worldwide Index - which analyzes ad network fill rates and sheds important light on click-through rates (CTR) segmented by handset operating system, geography and response times – is based on data collected from 35 mobile ad networks and over 4 billion ad requests served in the Smaato network of more than 3,000 registered mobile publishers in February 2010.

Overall, Smaato's metrics show that the average worldwide ad network fill rates remain constant at 29% in February 2010. The fill rate is measured as the percentage of ads delivered per ad request and varies by different factors, like country, device, content type.

Smaato's Index also provides a breakdown of CTR data, segmented according to operating system, showing that Symbian continues to lead the pack, with Android a distant second. However, there are some significant shifts that indicate the gap between operating system CTRs could be closing fast. For example, BlackBerry comes in at 51, up from 30 in December 2009, while Symbian – still the dominant operating system – has dropped slightly. It comes in at 147, compared with 173 in December 2009.

However, the biggest surprise is the lead Windows Mobile has over Apple. Specifically, the iPhone and iPod Touch show a declining CTR, coming in with a rate of 89. This is the first time Apple devices have dipped below the average Index of 100, and the first time that Windows Mobile has edged ahead of its rival. In December 2009 the iPhone posted a CTR Index of 119, sliding to 104 in January 2010.

A more detailed analysis of the Smaato Worldwide Index, which covers the ad fill rates of the global top 10 ad networks and a special focus on the fill rates of mobile ad networks in the U.S. and South-East Asia, has been posted on MSearchGroove today (www.msearchgroove.com).

Overall, the best performing mobile ad network in the Smaato Worldwide Index had a fill rate of 72% in February 2010, down 17 from January. Despite this decrease, the average for worldwide ad network fill rate performance remained steady at 29%. What's more, Smaato found that six of the top ten ad networks performed above this average. This re-enforces the pivotal importance and advantages of the network aggregation business model. Smaato aggregates 35 ad networks across the globe to ensure partners get the highest possible fill rate.

"Publishers struggle to identify – in real-time – the right ad network to deliver the right results," notes Peggy Anne Salz, Chief Analyst at MSearchGroove (MSG). "Smaato's aggregation model, which has gained traction globally through its ability to dynamically identify the ad networks that monetize publishers' inventory best, is core to Smaato's competitive advantage."

Smaato is also focused on cultivating a robust mobile advertising business ecosystem in which in can play a leadership role. To this end Smaato also dedicates significant resources to identify and encourage mobile advertising pioneers and innovators.

A prime example of this is the Smaato Mobile Advertising Award, which recognizes excellence in the mobile advertising and developers harnessing mobile apps and the mobile Web that can also be tapped to deliver compelling messages and campaigns to consumers worldwide.

Among the winners – chosen by a world-class jury of leading influencers of the mobile community including MSearchGroove – were: Aloqa, a U.S.-based mobile service that proactively notifies people of interesting places, events, music, movies and other activities nearby; Waze, an Israeli startup that taps the wisdom of crowds to provide real-time maps, traffic information and turn-by-turn directions; and Yoose, a provider of mobile coupon and loyalty programs based in Germany.

To showcase these high-flyer companies and their views on industry hot topics including engagement, location services, mobile couponing and crowd-sourcing Smaato has collaborated with MSearchGroove to produce a special podcast series showcasing the three company CEOs. In the interviews, which originally aired in time for the Mobile World Congress in February, the executives also comment on the meetings with eight top-notch VCs – high-level introductions that are part of the Smaato Award. The complete podcast series can be found at www.msearchgroove.com.

Moving forward, Smaato will join MSearchGroove's growing roster of contributors and collaborators. MSearchGroove showcases thought leadership from a select group of partners and supporters including Tego Interactive, a company delivering delivers digital strategy and execution for startups, brands and mobile network operators worldwide; Bango, a mobile payments and mobile analytics provider; Taptu, a mobile search provider; and Netsize a mobile commerce and communications provider on topics ranging from usability and user experience to mobile industry mega-trends. In addition, MSearchGroove publishes exclusive columns from leading industry executives including Colm Healy, Vice President of EMEA Services for Qualcomm Internet Services (QIS) and General Manager of Xiam Technologies, and Antti Öhrling, Co-Founder of Blyk, the messaging media that works with mobile operators to link young people with brands and other stuff they like. http://www.gawkwire.com/business/windows_mobile_moves_ahead_of_apple_in_mobile_advertising_perfor.html

OneAccess Routers Provide Easynet Connect With High-Speed Internet

2010-03-05T06:07:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) OneAccess, the European leader in multi service access routers announced that ISP Easynet Connect’s high-speed 8Mb Surestream Service has been launched into the UK market using the One80M router from OneAccess. The launch follows the successful introduction of OneAccess routers to Easynet Connect’s ADSL and SDSL customers.

Surestream is an advanced symmetrical broadband service delivering resilient, uncontended, and scalable bandwidth up to 8Mb, at a fraction of the cost of a traditional leased line. Surestream is targeted at SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) who require high quality and performance from their broadband internet service. Resilience, combined with strong management and diagnostic tools in the OneAccess One80M router, assisted Easynet Connect in delivering on its brand values of quality and performance to the SME market. The high specification of OneAccess routers allows Easynet Connect to provide ADSL or SDSL backup as an option to the Surestream service.

“We selected OneAccess based on their proven reputation for providing high quality solutions for service providers to the enterprise data and voice market,” commented Chris Stening, managing director at Easynet Connect, adding; “We look forward to developing our partnership with OneAccess to build a range of exciting new services in the future.”

Alan Brazier, chief sales officer of OneAccess, says; “Our growing partnership with Easynet Connect has allowed the two companies to partner in developing new service concepts and bring them to market. The OneAccess innovative business class technology gives us the flexibility to respond quickly to fast moving market requirements. Easynet Connect is yet another example of the business benefits that OneAccess offers agile, market-leading operators.” http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/oneaccess_routers_provide_easynet_connect_with_high-speed_intern.html

Nintendo Launches New, Larger DSI

2010-03-04T06:20:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) The sizable screens of the Nintendo DSi XL enables easier viewing and will be especially appreciated by anyone with less-than-perfect eyesight.

The DSi XL which retails for £150 was launched last November in Japan where it sold over 100,000 units in its first two days of release.

“Despite all the pictures I’ve seen of it before, I was still surprised at its size,” said console reviewer Adam Ulivi. He went on to say, “The screens are certainly striking and made me say ‘wow’ when I first saw them. I was definitely impressed.”

Nintendo’s DS Lite and original DSi will continue to sell at £100 and £130 respectively. The DS is the best selling console in UK history, eclipsing the PlayStation 2 in December 2009 with its 10,000,000th sale.

While the DS line directly competes with Sony’s PSP, it also faces increasing competition from the Apple iPhone as it diversifies into a portable gaming device.

Nintendo is also branching out into new areas with software containing over 100 public domain books for the DS series. This type of application is more at home on larger screens and with the popularity of the console, it puts the DSi XL as a serious contender in the e-book market. Executive vice president of sales for North America, Cammie Dunaway told Bloomberg, “It’s just one more way to enjoy your device.”

The DSi XL is sold with a new pen-shaped stylus which is designed to be more comfortable to hold. The XL edition also comes pre-loaded with Dr. Kawashima’s Little Bit of Brain Training: Arts Edition and Dictionary 6 in 1 with Camera Function alongside the DSi Browser.

The Nintendo DSi XL goes on sale this Friday and sells for around £150. Compare DS models and prices at DSi XL.

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

Codero Achieves SAS 70 Type I Certification

2010-03-04T06:17:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Following a detailed, independent assessment of internal controls for company-wide policies and procedures, Codero has completed its first SAS 70 review. SAS 70 Type I certification evaluates the current state of a service provider’s control environment and effectiveness in meeting control objectives. This structured, multi-step process focused on the following areas:

Operations and control environment
Monitoring and risk assessment
Information systems and general computer controls
Control of access to computer programs and security of data
Control of new development and changes to existing programs and systems
User responsibilities

SAS 70 – Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 70, Service Organizations – is a widely recognized auditing standard developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), which has been in place since 1992. A Type I service auditor’s report provides a description of controls at a specific point in time; a Type II report includes the service organization's description of controls as well as detailed testing of its controls over a minimum six-month period.

“Completing SAS 70 Type I certification has been an important process for Codero to undertake,” stated Shawn Hashmi, Director, Operations at Codero. “In light of Sarbanes-Oxley and a growing number of state privacy laws and rulings, the audit allows us to be very transparent with customers in demonstrating that we utilize a sound system of internal controls.”

With this in-depth audit now concluded, Codero is pursuing SAS 70 Type II certification for its data center and corporate-wide operations, scheduled for completion by July 31, 2010.

Auditing services for the SAS 70 Type I report were provided by Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. (MHM) through a strategic association with CBIZ. MHM is an independent public accounting firm specializing in high quality attest and accounting services, including audits, reviews and compilations. CBIZ, with offices in major cities throughout the country, is one of the nation’s leading providers of outsourced business services, providing accounting and tax services; employee benefits and insurance; as well as a wide range of consulting services.

See SAS 70 at Codero for details on the company’s recent SAS 70 Type I audit of control objectives and activities within its Phoenix data center and Overland Park, Kansas corporate headquarters.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/codero_achieves_sas_70_type_i_certification.html

WebNet Hosting Offers Freebies to Clients

2010-03-04T06:16:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) WebNet Hosting, a Premier Partner with Miva Merchant since 2002, is launching an exclusive promotion for any client that signs up for a new Miva Hosting account. When a new e-commerce account is created, the client will be presented with a Miva skin of their choice at no cost. This is in addition to the multitude of other freebies new WebNet e-commerce clients already receive including a free Miva Merchant license (a $995 value!), free upgrades to Miva Merchant 5.5 from older versions and free store setup and site transfer from previous hosts.

Miva Merchant's innovative skin templates give e-commerce storeowners the ability to easily create a highly professional site with no costly outsourcing to web developers or purchasing of third-party modules. Miva skins are graphical interfaces that change the look and feel of a website without altering the way in which the site functions or operates. Skins are of a strictly visual nature and are easily installed to any Miva Merchant 5.5 store. There are skins available for vendors of a diverse assortment of products and services ranging from restaurants, travel agencies and jewelry stores to music retailers and scrap booking supply retailers.

To browse the many available skins for Miva Merchant stores, visit the Miva Merchant Skin Store. Exclusive buttons, backgrounds, banners and images are also included with your free skin. Miva skins are designed to take your online business to the next level without costing an arm and a leg.

Based in the Washington, DC metro area, WebNet Hosting has been a Premier Partner with Miva Merchant since 2004. With their unrivaled customer service, top-notch technical support and bulletproof network, the WebNet Hosting has reinforced their position as the leaders in managed e-commerce hosting solutions and have been touted as the top Miva Merchant Hosts on the net. WebNet Hosting's clients are guaranteed 100% uptime thanks to their secure, state-of-the-art data centers and lightning fast servers.

WebNet Hosting offers their customers fully customizable managed shared Miva Merchant Hosting plans starting as low as $24.95 per month and industry leading Dedicated Miva Hosting packages starting at $199 per month. Furthermore, the migration of existing stores onto the WebNet servers from previous hosts is a painless and seamless process with zero downtime. The WebNet team will walk storeowners through the transfer process and guarantees speedy setup for both new and preexisting storefronts.

All of WebNet Hosting's e-commerce packages include the following features:

·   PCI Compliant Hosting Platform (including the new PA-DSS)
·   Free Miva Merchant 5.5 License (a $995 Value)
·   Upgrades from older Miva sites to version 5.5
·   Free Migration from previous hosts with no downtime
·   Daily Full Backups
·   Spam and Virus Protection
·   24/7/365 Technical Phone Support with instant response
·   cPanel Automated Control Panel
·   MySQL, PHP 4/5, CGI, Perl
·   Webmail
·   …Plus over Fifty Additional Features!

To setup a new Miva account and receive your free store skin as well as a free Miva license, free site transfer and store setup, call 1-877-503-HOST (4678) today.

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

Colocation America Redeuces IT Costs for Its Clients

2010-03-04T06:15:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Colocation America recently announced its success in reducing IT expenses for clients by providing data center colocation hosting services, security protection, and continuous up time.

“Small and mid-size businesses often settle for a data center that doesn’t meet their needs because of the related costs of energy and cooling, and adequate security,” said Shawn Jacobs, Director of Marketing at Colocation America. “Bandwidth is another huge expense, and most companies only need all their bandwidth a fraction of the time.”

To alleviate an IT department’s prohibitive costs, Colocation America’s hosting services include multiple power and cooling paths, 24/7 biometric security, and virtually unlimited bandwidth transmission through upstream providers. Unexpected costs associated with in-house data centers such as losing data and experiencing downtime due to bad weather or transitioning to a new system are alleviated with Colocation America’s security, management and data storage services.

“Losing customer data is a tragedy no company should experience so we take every precaution necessary to ensure our customers’ servers are online and available,” said Jacobs. “Colocation America prides itself on delivering peace of mind for every business we host, especially during natural disasters, expansion, or network threats. Our emergency generators and firewall protection enable us to guarantee 99.99% up time, so our customers can rest easy and focus on their business.”

Colocation America’s expert team and employee training programs reduce costs for colocation hosting customers by eliminating the need for a company to hire its own specialized engineers. In-house data centers experience downtime when upgrading to allow for business growth. In addition, investing in technology for anticipated future growth significantly raises IT costs. Colocation America keeps those costs down with expansive data center space and custom server options.

“At Colocation America, creating a state of the art, secure and fast data transmission system is only part of the equation,” says Jacobs. “By understanding the needs of your business, we keep costs manageable for every company regardless of size.”

Colocation America continues its quest as one of the fastest growing colocation server hosting providers in the nation. Customers looking for a reliable colocation hosting provider are encouraged to visit colocationamerica.com for move-in specials, data center locations, POPs, security, reliability, and pricing information.

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

Biggest Search Geek Winner Announced at SMX West

2010-03-04T06:12:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Marin Software, provider of the leading paid search management application for large advertisers and agencies, and SMX West, today announced that Tim Ossmo, director of media for Leapfrog Online, has been named “Biggest Search Geek” in America, beating out more than 1200 contestants to take home the top prize. Ossmo was recognized on stage today at SMX West by conference chair and Search Engine Land editor-in-chief, Danny Sullivan.

With a top score of 80.83%, Ossmo handily beat out the competition, completing the contest in 12 minutes and 5 seconds. The SMX Biggest Search Geek Contest was open to anyone with the mettle to answer 20 tough questions about the ins-and-outs of search marketing.

Ossmo has been in the SEM industry since 2003 and has been with Leapfrog Online since 2005. As director of media, he leads a team of 13 media planning and buying professionals who primarily work to integrate programs across a variety of online and offline media formats, including SEM.

Quotes:
“It’s truly an honor to be recognized as the 2010 Biggest Search Geek,” said Tim Ossmo, director of media of Leapfrog Online. “As a search marketing veteran, it’s great to see how the industry has grown to a massive, multi-billion dollar market over the last few years. I look forward to attending the show and participating in discussions about the future of the industry.”

"It was fantastic to see more than 1200 search marketers competing in this year’s contest,” said Chris Lien, CEO of Marin Software. “The Biggest Search Geek contest was designed to recognize those industry professionals who work hard to create successful paid search programs for their companies and organizations. Congratulations to the new top search geek, Tim Ossmo, who proved his search prowess by tackling some of the most difficult search questions we could design.”

AdWords Advantage Online Summit Agenda Announced - Training For Pay Per Click Advertising Success

The AdWords Advantage Online Summit has announced the agenda for their Search Engine Marketing and Google AdWords Pay Per Click advertising online training classes held on March 9-30, 2010. The online summit kicked off with two free preview webinars - "Top 3 Mistakes AdWords Advertisers Make that Sabotage Their Profits" and "Top 7 Landing Page Tips to Win the Gold". These preview training webinars were a great success with nearly 2000 advertisers learning profitable AdWords strategies shared by the Pay Per Click experts. All AAOS participants will save 40% upon registration by the early bird date March 4th. More here AdWords Advantage Online Summit

(Gawkwire.com) The AdWords Advantage Online Summit (AAOS), a leader in providing online educational AdWords training, has announced their schedule of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising online training classes held on March 9-30, 2010. The summit kicked off two free preview webinars - "Top 3 Mistakes AdWords Advertisers Make that Sabotage Their Profits" and "Top 7 Landing Page Tips to Win the Gold". The free training sessions showed nearly 2000 advertisers a whirlwind of strategies for building profitable Google AdWords campaigns. All AAOS participants will save 40% upon registration prior to the early bird date ending on March 4th. More information at AdWords Advantage Online Summit.

"Next week we will unveil the first ever online educational AdWords training summit for marketers to learn unbiased Google AdWords techniques from experts who have run multi-million dollar Google AdWords campaigns," said Mary O'Brien, Adwords Advantage Online Summit and PPC Summit Founder. "These online classes, led by 14 top-notch AdWords practitioners, will teach Google best practices and offer proven strategies for turning average campaigns into real money-makers."

Companies benefit from these online classes because they learn Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies to increase Google AdWords ROI. The educational series of classes uncover the use and value of AdWords tools, resources and methodologies in detail, and gives students ample opportunity to learn how to improve their AdWords campaigns through hands-on guidance for results at the top of Google.

Each class consists of one hour instruction and teaches advertisers step by step how to leverage AdWords to their advantage and develop more profitable campaigns. Attendees will learn Google AdWords Pay Per Click advertising solutions for all business types -- Ecommerce, B2B, SMBs and more. The end of each class is devoted to a lively question and answer session, in which attendees are free to ask questions. Each attendee will be able to download the recorded version of the class for 90 days.

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

Digitaria Announces New Head of Enterprise Search Optimization Practice

2010-03-04T06:10:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Digitaria, a full-service digital marketing and technology firm, today announced the appointment of JM Marino as General Manager of Search Solutions. Marino will lead Digitaria's Natural Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Practices, developing high-impact search engine strategies that will increase both quality and quantity of Web traffic for Digitaria's clients.

Marino joins Digitaria with an extensive background in print, interactive, analytics and search marketing. A true industry veteran, he has led programs for Ziff Davis Media, NBC Universal, Comcast, Clear Channel Online Radio, Mazda and CBS. Marino's Fortune 500 experience is a natural compliment to Digitaria's core client base.

"Ultimately, we want to optimize everything we do. JM brings capabilities and experience to Digitaria that reinforce a burgeoning SEO and SEM practice," said Dan Khabie, CEO of Digitaria.

Under Marino's leadership, Digitaria's SEO and SEM practices add yet another key service offering geared toward maximizing return on investment (ROI) and the monetization of digital assets. Digitaria's Search Optimization Practice focuses on understanding the underlying business strategy of a client's marketing efforts, which enables the recognition of pivotal opportunities in the complex world of search marketing.

"Digitaria's SEO and SEM teams evaluate our customers challenges and find solutions that deliver the acquisition and retention goals that they are striving to achieve," said Marino. "We leverage existing assets and simplify them to maximize ROI."

Digitaria's world-class search experts leverage a highly focused approach of mapping business and marketing objectives to create high-impact campaigns for the world's largest global brands.

"This company is built upon exceptional people that create innovative solutions. 'Digitarians' are amazing, incredibly smart and create exceptional work everyday. They're the best in the business and I'm very proud to be a part of the team."Marino concluded.

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

4PSA Launches VoipNow Automation Cloud Service Providers

2010-03-03T08:17:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) 4PSA launched VoipNow Automation, a business and operations automation software designed for deploying, managing and billing services in cloud infrastructures. With VoipNow Automation, providers can define service plans, build their online store and customer portal, automatically provision services, and manage ordering, invoicing and payment processes using the latest cloud technologies.

VoipNow Automation allows service providers to streamline critical business tasks like billing and account management, reduces costs and provides a solid foundation for growth. The platform is able to scale to a virtually unlimited number of customers using 4Grid and it is flexible enough to integrate with any type of cloud service using Cloud Blocks. The solution comes with an Open Source front-end that includes the online store and the portal where customers can manage personal information, subscriptions, orders, invoices and payments.

"Our main objective with VoipNow Automation is to help service providers reduce costs and serve more customers with fewer resources. Although we are first targeting the automation of our own Unified Communications software, VoipNow Automation is extensible by design. Service providers can use the same platform and build Cloud Blocks for any type of cloud service. The solution’s flexibility means more time spent on business critical activities, rather than on the technical integration of the new services in the portfolio." said Bogdan Carstoiu, 4PSA’s CEO.

Automation is part of VoipNow Platform, integrating with the other components of the ecosystem and providing a complete solution for delivering Unified Communications, hosted PBX, VoIP wholesale and SIP trunking services.

VoipNow Professional is a software Unified Communications solution that allows service providers to deliver rich multimedia communications services like voice, video, presence, instant messaging, and faxing. VoipNow Professional customer base is growing at an accelerated rate; the software is currently deployed with service providers from more than 40 countries.

VoipNow Core is the first distributed cloud VoIP delivery solution in the world. The software is using 4PSA’s 4Grid technology and allows service providers to deliver high volume SIP trunking and wholesale VoIP services to end-users and resellers. VoipNow Core also includes distributed media gateway features, allowing service providers to interconnect SIP and PSTN at minimal costs.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/4psa_launches_voipnow_automation_cloud_service_providers.html

Eleven2 Announces Opening of New Houston, TX Corporate Headquarters

2010-03-03T08:14:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Eleven2, a global Web hosting company, announced today the opening of its new corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas. The move will support the company’s anticipated growth for 2010.

The new headquarters occupies half of the third floor of a six-story, 100,000 sq. ft. multi-tenant office building near downtown Houston. The current leased space will allow Eleven2 to double its onsite employees and strengthen its already renowned customer support staff. The new office building will serve as an ideal home for Eleven2, providing the company with the option to expand throughout the entire third floor when necessary.

“The main reason we moved was to give our company the ability to grow without having to move buildings each time we expand. It’s an important scalability factor,” said Rodney Giles, CEO and founder of Eleven2.

Since the company's launch in 2003, Eleven2 has experienced robust growth and expansion, solidifying its place as a leader in the Web hosting market. Along with its newly established headquarters, Eleven2 has datacenters located worldwide in Dallas, London and Singapore. The company hosts over 70,000 domains with clients on six continents.

"Our rapidly growing customer base is what transformed our coffee shop ideals into the company Eleven2 is today,” said Giles.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/eleven2_announces_opening_of_new_houston_tx_corporate_headquarte.html

SEO.com Slims Down in Company Fitness Contest

2010-03-03T06:15:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) It doesn't take much to get a team of tech-savvy geeks to trim down and shape up – just a few, sweet tech prizes.

SEO.com salesman, Dale Nguyen, sits in a Bod Pod to discover his total body fat percentage.

"Mention 'iPad,' or 'Dell Mini 5,' and then mix in a little friendly competition, and the employees here will do the rest," said Dave Bascom, CEO of SEO.com, a search marketing firm.

To improve the fitness and the overall health of his employees, Bascom is awarding the person who loses the highest percentage of body fat by June 1 a $500 prize of their choosing.

SEO.com as a whole may benefit in multiple ways with the competition. A study done in 2005 by the American College of Sports Medicine said workers who regularly exercise are more productive, managed time better, and worked better with their co-workers. Studies also show that employees who exercise regularly have fewer sick days, and less health-related expenses.

"If nothing else, we’ll all be a little healthier in 90 days after doing this for three months," Bascom said. "And the In-N-Out Burger that just opened up by our office may not get as much business for awhile."

Early on, the competition is already heating up.

"Nothing's keeping me away from that iPad," said David Malmborg, senior SEO specialist.

"I don't want to win just for the iPad," said Tyson Hymas, senior SEO specialist, "I want to win to beat Malmborg."

SEO.com employees are coming up with different strategies to lose body fat. Hymas will be following the P90X exercise program and the diet Brad Pitt used to get in shape for the movie, "Fight Club." Tiana Smith, a copywriter, will be following a routine set up by her personal trainer. Others have more creative tactics.

"You have to have a strategy for yourself; then you have to have another strategy to sabotage the competition," said Scott Cowley, SEO manager. "I've used my social networks to find recipes for innocent looking, but highly fatty treats, which I will be putting around the office."

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

Yusuf Mehdi of Bing to Deliver Keynote at SES New York 2010

2010-03-03T06:14:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Yusuf Mehdi, Senior Vice President of the Online Audience Business at Microsoft’s Bing, is a delivering keynote address at Search Engine Strategies (SES) New York 2010. Mehdi, a Microsoft employee since 1992, is currently responsible for global product management, strategic partnerships, and business development for Bing and MSN. Previously, Mehdi led a 1,800 person research team to develop Microsoft’s initial web search platform, Microsoft adCenter.

SES New York, the industry’s largest search engine marketing (SEM) conference, is being held at the New York Hilton, March 22- 26, 2010. It will attract more than 5,000 marketers who come to learn about the latest trends and issues and see the newest search products. The conference offers presentations, panels and networking events for marketing professionals working in mainstream marketing and the search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) arenas. Marketers can register for the conference at a discounted rate through March 22.

“The SES conferences have a unique mix of attendees – from the real industry elite to the search newcomers, it’s quite a spectrum of people,” explained Mehdi. “I’m really looking forward to bringing everyone up to date on what’s going on with Bing, describing where I think the search industry is now in 2010, and sharing our thoughts on where we think it’s headed in the future.”

“With Yusuf Mehdi SES attendees are going to hear a real pioneer in the industry,” said Matt McGowan, Publisher and Head of U.S. for Incisive Media. “Yusuf continues to be a trailblazer through all the positions he’s held at Microsoft. His audience is going to hear directly from someone with extensive experience on the cutting edge – anyone who has any interest in the direction the industry is taking is going to want to hear what he has to say.”

For more information about SES New York 2010, visit:
http://www.searchenginestrategies.com/newyork/

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/yusuf_mehdi_of_bing_to_deliver_keynote_at_ses_new_york_2010.html

MachPanel SaaS Hosting Control Panel Now Supports Exchange 2010

2010-03-03T06:12:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) MachSol Inc. developer of MachPanel an emerging leader of SaaS enabled Hosted Services Delivery Platform, appreciates its customers for showing faith in us and making us the premium Hosting Control Panel.In our continuous endeavor for giving our clients the best, we are glad to announce that our new build is available, through which we become one of the first Control Panel supporting Exchange 2010.
Latest release also addresses bug fixes alongside performance improvements and new features, to name a few are:

* Provision for Exchange 2010 Server Groups
* Intelligent segregation through automated configuration of segregation steps
* Interfaces included for Exchange 2010 Support

“MachPanel v.4, uncovers manifold characteristics encompassing a stable, secure, reliable, robust and performance efficient modern platform. Newly released offering unleashes Exchange 2010 that provides complete functionality of Exchange, alongside extending unlimited options for SaaS offerings comprising SharePoint, CRM 4.0 and providing mobile exchange automation to its value added clients.

Your customers need efficient and secure access to email, calendars, contacts, and more—wherever they are, on any device they use. With Exchange 2010, deliver the advanced protection, anywhere access, and the operational efficiency your customers need.

MachPanel has been in active development ever since its launch and the story doesn’t end here. Office Communication Server is the next milestone in our sight and will be available in coming weeks. Now, you can make the most of your business by utilizing sound platform of MachPanel's v.4, A Complete Windows Control Panel for your hosting business needs." says Max Roosenbrand, CEO and Chairman of MachSol Inc. http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/machpanel_saas_hosting_control_panel_now_supports_exchange_2010.html

Comodo Creates Trust Online with Free Email Certificates

2010-03-03T06:11:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) When New York jeweler Harry Winston donated the famous Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution, he shipped the 45.52-carat gem via US mail. Email users need to be warier than Winston. Unlike rocks, email messages scatter into tiny digital signals bouncing from computer to computer, owned and operated by different companies. Anyone along the way can imperceptibly alter or even destroy these messages. That's why Comodo provides free personal email certificates for private email users, to allow them to entrust their valuable information to their email services.

Once email users understand how insecure messages they send via regular email are, they have two choices. First, they can refuse to send emails that contain information they would not want strangers to read. Such information may include banking information and government identity numbers. Or, second, they can learn how to scramble the contents of their messages, so that only they and their intended recipients can read and understand them.

Email users scramble their messages using "encryption" software built into many email programs. Once it is encrypted, the message is not readable by anyone but the sender and the intended recipient.

Encryption software requires a small computer file called a "digital certificate." Businesses that value the speed of email and the confidentiality of encryption provide digital certificates to employees for their email communications. Home email users may want to enjoy the same privacy, but for those on a limited budget, the typical cost of $19.95 a year may be a strain.

In order to create trust online, Comodo provides free SSL certificates for private users at www.comodo.com/home/free/free-protection.php. The free email certificates complement other Comodo products, such as their security products for online businesses, and award-winning desktop security software.

With free Comodo email certificates, Internet users can take advantage of both the speed of email and the security of digital encryption. They can entrust their valuable information to their email services as confidently as Winston did the US postal service. http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/comodo_creates_trust_online_with_free_email_certificates.html

Data Subsystems, Inc. SEO Moves Tampa4U.com to Top Google Rankings

2010-03-03T06:08:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Tampa4U.com Realty, a leading veteran in the Tampa Bay Real Estate market, uses a custom client management system developed by Data Subsystems, Inc, a software development company. Additionally, Tampa4U.com Realty uses Data Subsystems’ Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consulting services for their website Tampa Real Estate online resource. It is the #1 ranked web site for the search keyword “Tampa Real Estate” on Google.

"People at DataSub are real professionals. They helped us to develop a reliable and efficient system for our business that manages all our customers and agents. With a system like that we brought our services to the next level. Plus with the help of DataSub consulting services we optimized our website performance. Search engine optimization, is a key part of any website marketing strategy", said Erich Caparas, one of the founders of Tampa4U.com Realty.

Tampa4U has a team of more than 30 outstanding full-time realtors and thousands of clients. They manage to organize their work and keep record of every client using their custom client management system developed by Data Subsystems, Inc. The system features multi-level user access for agents and administrators and manages the information of all the clients. The system stores the correspondence with clients, status changes, assigned agents, pricing and all other important information. The system also has many collaboration tools like calendars, agendas, to-do lists and reminders. The client management system also has extended export and import features. Utilizing this management system keeps every client satisfied.

Data Subsystems, Inc. is a business software development and search engine optimization company based in Tampa, Florida. It focuses on software development with a full service content management system. Their Customer Relationship Management technologies helped create a reliable management system for Tampa4U.com Realty. The company also has vast experience in search engine optimization and search engine marketing. It provides SEO consulting services to the customers, including Tampa4U.com Realty. It has a proven record of getting companies to the first page of Google for targeted keywords.

For more information about Tampa4U Realty visit www.tampa4u.com

http://www.gawkwire.com/seo_sem/data_subsystems_inc_seo_moves_tampa4u_com_to_top_google_rankings.html

SmarterTools Donates $400,000 of Software to WebsiteSpark

2010-03-02T12:21:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Applied Innovations is proud to announce that SmarterTools has donated $400,000 of software to its WebsiteSpark offering, giving small businesses participating in the Microsoft-sponsored program the business tools they need to succeed.

“We wanted to ensure our sponsored WebsiteSpark businesses would be successful and offer not only a fully managed, highly available virtual dedicated server but all of the components for a complete Web hosting solution. Pairing the SmarterBundle from SmarterTools with the Microsoft Web Platform provided on our managed virtual dedicated server platform allows us to meet that need,” said Jess Coburn, founder and CEO of Applied Innovations.

Applied Innovations recently partnered with Microsoft Corp. to provide a year of managed Windows VPS hosting to 500 sponsored Web development and design companies participating in the WebsiteSpark program. The new partnership with SmarterTools will provide each participant professional editions of the SmarterMail mail server, SmarterTrack customer service software, and SmarterStats Web log analytics and SEO software. The software bundle, also known as the SmarterBundle, is valued at $800 and is also distributed by partnered hosting companies with dedicated and VPS offerings.

“Applied Innovations is a longtime SmarterTools partner and we are excited that we could accommodate their request to help create an ideal environment for these small businesses to thrive,” said Tim Uzzanti, CEO of SmarterTools.

WebsiteSpark provides business development programs, tools and technologies to build sites and applications, as well as support and training programs to help ensure adoption and success. For more information on the program, visit http://www.appliedi.net/websitespark.

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/smartertools_donates_400_000_of_software_to_websitespark.html

Microsoft and VirnetX Going to Trial Over Patented Security Technologies

2010-03-02T12:19:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) “The March 8th jury trial between VirnetX Holding Corp. (AMEX:VHC; www.virnetx.com) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) will be an opportunity to reveal VirnetX’s patented security technologies and the impact those technologies could have on real-time secure Internet communications,” stated Larry Oakley, editor and publisher of WallStreetCorner.com (www.WallStreetCorner.com). Oakley made the statement in an Investor Alert today which was posted in his “Bold Ventures” column at his WallStreetCorner.com website. The jury trial between VirnetX and Microsoft will commence on March 8th in Tyler, Texas.

VirnetX, a secure real-time communications firm based in Scotts Valley, California, is alleging that Microsoft Corp. has infringed on two of its patents by deeply embedding them into Microsoft core products. The patent issues include technology for building Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), one of the fastest growing segments in communications. These all involve patented methods for establishing secure connections (“immune from eavesdropping”) involving VPNs where security doesn’t, or wouldn’t, exist. Potential eavesdroppers or hackers cannot hack or invade that which they cannot find in the first instance, which results from the use of VirnetX’s patented technology.

According to Oakley, “This is definitely a ‘David’ versus ‘Goliath’ legal battle taking place in Texas on March 8th. It’s possible that if VirnetX succeeds in this patent jury trial that it may be awarded up to three times the compensatory damages sought and could impact the trend in patent reform being debated in Washington, D.C. As recently as a week ago, Microsoft’s market value motion related to not allowing damages to be based on the entire market value of Window’s sales (as much as a base of several hundred billion dollars) was denied by the court. It’s possible that Microsoft could be liable at trial for enhanced (trebled) damages. Thus far, the court has given VirnetX the potential to include all of Microsoft’s Windows revenues for the referenced infringements. It also means, as I understand it, that VirnetX might be awarded three times the compensatory damages sought. In yet another recent ruling, the court limited the main portion of the trial to 12 hours per side, so we should have a result within a reasonable period of time.”

Oakley also stated, “This trial is a unique opportunity for all of us to learn about VirnetX’s patented security technologies. This company’s technologies could be the beginning of a dramatic shift in secure real-time Internet communications. Could it be that once this trial is completed that VirnetX’s patented technologies will be licensed, developed, implemented, and ultimately emerge as the new security tech standard in the global shift to 4G/Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless networks? We all understand that the mobility market is projected to have over 2.5 billion connected devices by 2014. VirnetX owns the patented security technology solutions for the vast majority of 4G specifications. This alone will, in my opinion, result in a large part of VirnetX’s expansion over the next few years.”

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

Best Web Design Agencies Announced by bestwebdesignagencies.com

2010-03-02T12:17:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) The March 2010 rankings of the best web design agencies was released today by bestwebdesignagencies.com, the independent authority on web design and development. The ranked companies were those that stood out on top after an extensive evaluation process was completed. The top web design agencies are evaluated and recognized each month by bestwebdesignagencies.com.

Web design produces the aesthetic appeal for businesses providing a clean, functional look to the site. Essentially the design of the site can be compared to the storefront of a shop. First impressions can mean the difference between someone continuing on their way or stopping to shop. The companies recognized produce high quality designs that create a professional look for their clients.

The top web design companies for March 2010 are:

1.   MindSmack.com
2.   2advanced.com
3.   Web 312
4.   DeepBlue
5.   Oxygen Productions
6.   Rooster Ink
7.   Big D Creative
8.   POP Interactive
9.   Studio 7 Designs Inc.
10.   352 Media Group
11.   lifeBLUE Media
12.   Blue Fountain Media
13.   Web.com
14.   Blast Radius
15.   Hudson Horizons
16.   Oxidev Interactive
17.   BeetrootStreet
18.   End Communications
19.   Hawaii Web Development
20.   Bam Creative
21.   Digital Base
22.   etonDIGITAL
23.   Ideaz Inc.
24.   Broadway Infotech
25.   Crea7ive Web Design
26.   Breworks Design & Communications
27.   Intense Design
28.   Iflexion
29.   Headstand Media
30.   BlackPig

An evaluation team is assigned to each category ranked by bestwebdesignagencies.com. The team sifts through the thousands of applicants every month in order to find the best web design companies. In addition a member of the team will make contact with at least three clients of the design firm in order to obtain their perspective on working with the company. Questions are asked of clients such as, "Is a lot of attention paid to the design for the customer or does it appear to be too generic and quickly assembled?" or "Does the quality of the stock photography used in the design create a more professional look?".

Web designers that would like to be considered for ranking can apply at:

http://www.bestwebdesignagencies.com/rankings/web-design-agencies/apply-for-ranking

To view the latest rankings of the best web design agencies visit:

http://www.bestwebdesignagencies.com/rankings-of-best-web-design-companies

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/best_web_design_agencies_announced_by_bestwebdesignagencies_com.html

Nagios Voted Monitoring Application Of The Year

2010-03-02T12:16:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Nagios was voted Monitoring Application of the Year by LinuxQuestions.org members, beating out competing OSS projects and commercial monitoring solutions in a landslide victory.

"This is another exciting achievement for everyone involved in Nagios and we're grateful to everyone who helps make it such a great IT monitoring solution" remarked Nagios Founder Ethan Galstad. "Nagios has strong brand name recognition and a solid reputation among network and system administrators worldwide."

Galstad believes that Nagios has come a long way from its humble beginnings as an OSS project in 1999 to its present state. "The dominant position of Nagios in the marketplace proves it provides extreme value to IT professionals and business stakeholders. Its not just about the price point or its open code. Its about the value an organization gets with a system that provides flexibility, extensibility, and stability. Deploying Nagios to monitor your IT infrastructure is like having an insurance policy that provides you with peace of mind. Its an easy sell to companies that want protection against outages that can have huge cost implications."

With well over two million downloads and hundreds of thousands of users worldwide, Nagios is the industry standard in IT infrastructure monitoring. Extensive documentation and flexible APIs, along with an active and supportive community has resulted in hundreds of community-contributed addons that extend Nagios' native capabilities and provide for integration with third-party and custom applications.

Nagios Enterprises is the official commercial arm of Nagios and provides value-added services, products, and solutions to clients worldwide.

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

Hackers Industrialize Cyber Attacks

2010-03-02T06:20:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Imperva recently released a new report warning that hackers have become industrialized and represent an exponentially increased threat to individuals, organizations and Government. Imperva’s report says the emerging industrialization of hacking parallels the way in which the 19th century revolution advanced methods and accelerated assembly from single to mass production. The result is that today’s cybercrime industry has transformed and automated itself to improve efficiency, scalability and profitability.

The report, The Industrialization of Hacking, can be downloaded at: http://www.imperva.com/ld/industrialization.asp

As an example of this ‘industrial revolution’, Imperva has discovered new hacker scheme that is infecting educational servers worldwide with Viagra ads. According to Imperva, cyber-criminals are using industrialized methods to automate an as-yet unreported scheme that has infected hundreds, possibly thousands of .edu servers worldwide with Viagra ads. “This attack on academic institutions highlights how hacking has become industrialized infecting servers from major institutions including UC Berkeley, Ohio State and more. Ironically, this technique is the most prevalent method used to create havoc in cyberspace, yet remains virtually unknown to the general public,” explained Imperva CTO Amichai Shulman.

The mass infection can be easily seen by searching Google US with the terms “Viagra and .edu”: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=viagra+.edu&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=

Key findings in the report include the organizational structure and technical innovations for automating attacks:

Organization structure—Over the years, a clear definition of roles and responsibilities within the hacking community has developed to form a supply chain that resembles a drug cartel. The division of labor in today’s industrialized hacking industry includes:

o Researchers: A researcher’s sole responsibility is to hunt for vulnerabilities in applications, frameworks, and products and feed their knowledge to malicious organizations for the sake of profit.

o Farmers: A farmer’s primary responsibility is to maintain and increase the presence of botnets in cyberspace through mass infection.

o Dealers: Dealers are tasked with the distribution of malicious payloads.

Technical innovations—Hacking techniques once considered cutting-edge and executed only by savvy experts are now bundled into software tools available for download. Today, the hacking community typically deploys a two-stage process designed to proliferate botnets and perform mass attacks.

o Search engine manipulation. This technique is the most prevalent method used to spread bots, yet remains virtually unknown to the general public. Essentially, attackers promote Web-link references to infected pages by leaving comment spam in online forums and by infecting legitimate sites with hidden references to infected pages. For example, a hacker may infect unsuspecting Web pages with invisible references to popular search terms, such as “Britney Spears” or “Tiger Woods.” Search engines then scour the websites reading the invisible references. As a result, these malicious websites now top search engine results. In turn, consumers unknowingly visit these sites and consequently infected their computers with the botnet software.

o Executing mass attacks through automated software—To gain unauthorized access into applications, dealers input email addresses and usernames as well as upload lists of anonymous proxy addresses into specialized software, the same way consumers upload addresses to distribute holiday cards. Automated attack software then performs a password attack by entering commonly used passwords. In addition, today’s industrialized hackers can also input a range of URLs and obtain inadequately protected sensitive data.

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

Kathleen Fealy Speaks on Web Strategies at Search Engine Strategies

2010-03-02T06:18:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Kathleen Fealy, Search Engine Optimization Strategist and President of KF Multimedia & Web, Inc., will speak at the Search Engine Strategies Conference session "Stretching Your Marketing Dollars: The Upside of Search," on March 24th, 2010, in New York City.

Stretching Your Online Search Marketing DollarsAffordable online marketing strategies for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are the focus of this Search Engine Strategies session. To be successful, businesses need to gain valuable traffic and increase online visibility for their product, service or cause. The panel of industry experts will share online marketing techniques using search engine optimization, local search, social media and pay-per-click. Other panelists include Eli Goodman, Search Evangelist at comScore, Inc.; Dave Cook, Sr. Director of Marketing at TheFind and Brian Bowman, Chief Marketing Officer at Reply.com.

Fealy will present a case study of an awareness campaign on a missing person cold case, Vernon Kent Jones, who went missing from New York City 17 years ago. The client, NY Private Investigator, Robert Rahn of Management Resources Ltd. of New York, wanted to increase the web visibility of the case with the hope of gaining new leads and continuing media interest. The budget was minimal. Digital asset management and universal search were key strategies to increasing visibility of the case. Web strategy and optimization tips regarding web sites, video directories, Flickr and social media sites will be shared.

Businesses are finding a competitive advantage when they can increase their visibility on the Internet and their conversion rates, be it sales, phone calls or other actions. "I'm excited to be speaking again at Search Engine Strategies. Small and medium-size businesses have the same search needs as big companies, but their budgets are often much more limited," says Fealy. "By reusing their digital assets, such as photos and videos, businesses can make the most of their budget." Fealy, who's clientele includes many small and medium-sized businesses, finds that many of them are so busy running their businesses that they don't understand all of the options available to them. Online marketing strategies, especially over the past few years with the rise of social media, are more cost-efficient. The trick for businesses is to understand which strategies will work the best to help them achieve their objectives with the people, time and money resources they have available.

Kathleen Fealy is a search industry veteran with over 10 years experience as a web consultant, specializing in search engine optimization and online strategies. In 2008, she added Certified Usability Analyst to her credentials, giving her greater ability to help increase clients' website and online conversions by developing strategies that persuade their targeted visitors to take action. Kathleen is the Co-Chair of Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO)'s Education Committee; a peer reviewer of SEMPO Institute's Insider's Guide to Search Marketing and Advanced SEO courses, authored articles on SEO and usability for Visibility and Search Engine Strategies magazines and is a member of Usability Professionals Association.

Search Engine Strategies will be at the New York Hilton, March 23-25, 2010. Approximately 5,000 marketers and search engine optimization professionals attend SES New York each year to network and learn about topics such as PPC management, keyword research, SEO, social media, local, mobile, link building, duplicate content, multiple site issues, video optimization, site optimization, usability and more.

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

ClickandBuy Launches Facebook P2P Payments App

2010-03-02T06:16:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) A new P2P payment application for Facebook was launched today enabling users to send or receive money up to a value of €50. Buxter, developed by ClickandBuy, has a wide range of possible uses, from paying a friend your share of the previous evening’s restaurant bill, to giving someone money for their birthday, to making a donation in support of a charity. The application can be found here: http://apps.facebook.com/mybuxter.

The application will also allow people who develop applications for Facebook to boost their revenues in a quick and easy way.

To send money, users just have to be connected to the intended recipient on Facebook. Select a friend’s name from a drop-down list, enter the amount to send, and it's sent, free of charge. To load money onto a Buxter account, users will need to set up a ClickandBuy account. They’ll be redirected to the ClickandBuy site to do this. Once this is done deposits to Buxter can be made via credit card, debit card, direct debit or Payzone voucher.

To receive this money, users just accept the Buxter application and enter an email address. Receiving money is also free of charge.

The money will sit in the Buxter account until sent to someone else, used for a purchase inside Facebook, or until the user wishes to withdraw it. Withdrawing money back to a ClickandBuy account - in order to access the money that has been sent to you - is charged at 1.9% (min. €2 or $3). The application will initially be available in Euros and US Dollars.

ClickandBuy has been providing online payment solutions since 1999. It currently works with over 16,000 online traders including iTunes, Orange, Vodafone, msn and the Financial Times Deutschland.

Christian von Hammel-Bonten, Senior VP, Head of Product Management, ClickandBuy says: “From now on, Facebook users can not only share their status and pictures, they can also share real money in a way that is fast, easy and secure.”

Charles Fraenkl, CEO, ClickandBuy says: “Buxter is the application that will see Facebook members use the platform not just as a way to stay in touch but also as a fast, easy and secure way to exchange money or buy and sell products and services.” http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/clickandbuy_launches_facebook_p2p_payments_app.html

DiscountASP.NET Announces SSL Encrypted SQL Communication

2010-03-02T06:15:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) DiscountASP.NET, a leader in Windows hosting, announces enhancing security of their SQL Server hosting platform through support of SSL encrypted SQL communication with their SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2005 servers and in both the US and UK datacenter locations.

“We offer a secure web-based SQL manager powered by myLittleTools, and we support industry standard SQL authentication for our SQL hosting offering, but we wanted to provide our customers with an extra level of security,” said Takeshi Eto, VP Marketing and Business Development at DiscountASP.NET. “Our customers now have the option of using SSL encryption over the line when connecting with their SQL databases on our SQL hosting platform.”

With this security enhancement, DiscountASP.NET customers can use SQL Management Studio and use the “Encrypt Connection” option when connecting to their database.

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

WebmasterRadio.FM Launches New Show "State of Search"

2010-03-02T06:14:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) WebmasterRadio.FM, the premier free, 24/7 Internet business radio network focused on the B2B marketplace, has announced that starting Tuesday March 2nd WebmasterRadio.FM will be re-launching the show “Search Cowboys” under a different name: State of Search.

The hosts of Search Cowboys, Bas van den Beld and Roy Huiskes have been retained to host the weekly series. Both Bas and Roy are experienced internet marketers in the Netherlands with a highly respected international reputation.

The Search Cowboys show has been a very successful show over last few months. With the movement of Bas van den Beld from the website SearchCowboys to Stateofsearch.com a change of show-branding however became necessary.

The show will as ever take a good look at what is going on in the world of search and social media. Bas and Roy will welcome guests from all over the world to join the conversation and find out what is going on and how we should react to certain developments. Because of the European background the show will look at different topics with a specific European angle.

"Roy and I have been doing our shows with a lot of pleasure. We are going to do exactly the same with the new show.” said van den Beld. “We will get guests in from around the globe to discuss what is happening in the world of search, and we won't be afraid to share our own opinions!"

New Episodes of “State of Search” air every Tuesday at 2pm Eastern/ 11am Pacific. Archived episodes are available on demand at http://www.WebmasterRadio.FM/State-Of-Search/ located inside the “International Marketing” channel or on iTunes. Existing subscribers are urged to change their subscriptions to the new feed.

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

KEMP Technologies Introduces its Load Balancer Virtual Appliance

2010-03-02T06:12:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) KEMP Technologies today announced the general availability of its Virtual LoadMaster (VLM). This new virtual-appliance application delivery controller (ADC) offers the same functionality as KEMP’s hardware appliances while significantly reducing operating costs. Following the launch of the VLM to service providers under an SPLA program, KEMP is now offering its Virtual LoadMaster to enterprises, SMBs, non-profit, educational and government institutions.

As a “virtual appliance,” the Virtual LoadMaster removes the need to maintain hardware and reduces costs associated with power consumption, cooling, rack space constraints and other environmental dependencies of hardware-based appliances. The VLM can be quickly configured and deployed, accelerating service provisioning and simplifying ongoing management, which aids in reducing operating expenses and increasing ROI.

The VLM offers the same management interface and functionality as KEMP’s hardware appliances, including advanced Layer 7 content switching, application health checking, persistence, caching, compression, L7 intrusion prevention and SSL offloading. As businesses consolidate and virtualize servers in order to reduce hardware and related management costs, the Virtual LoadMaster becomes a key component of corporate virtualization and “cloud” computing strategy.

“We have designed the VLM to harness the full power of the VMware Hypervisor and as a result, the VLM can deliver high throughput levels without sacrificing functionality and performance required to support today’s most demanding applications. Unlike other vendors that primarily target their virtual ADC appliances towards development and evaluation purposes, KEMP’s VLM is designed for full commercial and business-critical production applications,” said Peter Melerud, co-founder and VP of product management of KEMP Technologies.

KEMP’s Virtual LoadMaster reduces the cost of load balancing without sacrificing functionality. Pricing for the VLM starts at $2,990 and includes two licenses which can be used to implement high availability, active/hot-standby configurations across multiple physical hosts. A first-year support agreement is included at no extra cost and provides telephone support and firmware updates. Available immediately as an installable virtual machine, KEMP’s offering is packaged for VMware ESX/ESXi versions 3.5 and 4, VSphere v4, VMware Server v2, VMware Fusion v3 and VMware Workstation v7. A full production version can be downloaded for evaluation at www.kemptechnologies.com

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

Code Signing Certificates for Individual Developers Released at GlobalSign

2010-03-01T12:00:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) GlobalSign, one of the longest established Certification Authorities (CA) and specialists in supplying Digital Identities used to authenticate the publisher of software and produce tamper evident virtual “shrink-wrapped” software, has today announced the introduction of GlobalSign’s Code Signing Certificates for Individual Developers. GlobalSign Code Signing Certificates support many popular developer platforms ranging from Microsoft Authenticode (including the new Windows 7 and VBA) to Adobe AIR.

Up until recently, developers of downloadable software had little choice on how to secure their application, protect their brand identity, and reduce download abandonment due to un-trusted warning messages that result from unsigned or self-signed code. More and more operating systems insist that code available for installation be digitally signed to provide the recipient assurances that the identity of the publisher has been verified by an independent and trusted source and that the code was not altered after it was signed. Pop-ups ranging from Running Unsigned Code / Executables can be dangerous! to Publisher = Unknown; “Are you sure you want to install this application to you computer have significant negative business impact, slowing distribution as would-be installers are cautioned to pause or even abandon installation completely.

GlobalSign will continue to offer Code Signing Certificates to publishers affiliated with legal organizations such as enterprise, educational institutes, and government entities; however independent software developers will now be provided an alternative method to obtain a “vetted” digital identity using alternative identity verification processes focused on the individual applicant. In both the case of individual software developers and organization software vendors, the end user experience will be the same in that a trusted message will appear encouraging increased downloads and installations.

“GlobalSign sees expanding publicly trusted code signing to individual developers as an important way to increase the security model for applications developed on key platforms such as Microsoft Authenticode and Adobe AIR. Delivering a secure method to publish software to both Organizations and Independent software developers moves the market one step closer to expecting publically verifiable code as the standard for acceptance.” according to Lila Kee, Director of Product Marketing.

For more information on GlobalSign Code Signing Products, please visit: http://www.globalsign.com/code-signing/

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/code_signing_certificates_for_individual_developers_released_at_.html

Saniuk.net Announces ‘Simply Honest Hosting’

2010-03-01T12:00:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) In the Web hosting world of over-selling and under-delivering, Saniuk.net is starting a small revolution with Simply Honest Hosting, its brand of reliable, reasonably priced shared hosting solutions.

Breaking sharply with the prevailing trend, Saniuk.net does not over-sell its services in any way, instead providing customers with exactly the resources included in their hosting plan. Over-selling is a practice in which hosting providers sell a greater level of service than they can actually deliver, in the hopes that customers will use less capacity than is included in their hosting plan. The gap between promising and delivering results in significantly increased profit margins.

Unfortunately, this model is not sustainable in the long-term, and hosting customers face the consequences of unstable performance, crowded servers, and data loss.

“I started Saniuk.net because I wanted to deliver a hosting experience focused on the needs of the customer. I’ve seen too-many hosting providers offer unlimited bandwidth and unlimited storage for just a few dollars per month, only to cause tremendous frustration when the customer actually tries to use it,” said Jordan Saniuk, Saniuk.net founder and CEO. “In the long-run, the customer loses every time in the over-selling model. We’re out to change that.”

As part of its commitment to community stewardship, Saniuk.net will donate 10 percent of hosting revenue from each customer to a charity of that customer’s choosing: “The idea to donate to charity is rooted in the notion of ‘help and be helped.’ Giving back to the community needs to be an important part of business, and we’re leading by example in every way,” said Saniuk.

Saniuk.net has no minimum service period and offers a 30-day money back guarantee – no questions asked. The company also offers genuine 24/7/365 support and a 99.9% uptime promise.

Shared hosting from Saniuk.net starts at $3.49 per month and includes 300MB of disk space and 4000MB of monthly data transfer. All hosting plans are housed on Linux-based servers and powered by the cPanel control panel, which offers an online site builder (500+ templates), one-click script installers, and a variety of other Web site management tools.

To learn more about shared hosting plans from Saniuk.net, please visit http://saniuk.net/hosting.

To learn more about Saniuk.net, please visit http://saniuk.net.

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

‘NetHosted Platform' Unveiled at NetHosted

2010-03-01T12:00:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) NetHosted, a leader in Linux-based shared, reseller, VPS, and dedicated hosting, today launched its NetHosted Platform, a new approach to shared Web hosting based upon the six dimensions of customer needs in hosting. The company has also revamped its shared and reseller hosting plans.

The NetHosted Platform codifies the basis for the company’s shared hosting lineup. It recognises the six dimensions of Web hosting as Ease of Use, Reliability, Security, Speed, Data Backup, and Support. In each of these areas, the NetHosted Platform outlines the company’s commitment and differentiates it from other hosting providers.

“NetHosted is refreshingly different—that’s the message,” said Darryl Taylor, sales manager at NetHosted. “The NetHosted Platform raises the expectations of shared hosting, offering easy-to-use Web hosting with a wealth of powerful features on a fast and secure hosting platform. Our hosting packages are designed from the ground up with six core values in mind, representing what hosting consumers need. The NetHosted Platform puts on record our meaningful commitment to each of these values.”

With the launch of the NetHosted Platform, the company is revamping its shared and reseller hosting packages, including the addition of new value-added features and security options. NetHosted recently partnered with R1Soft, adopting its Continuous Data Protection (CDP) solution to offer four-times-daily data backups.

Shared hosting plans now start at £34.95 per year (about $55 USD) and range to £139.95 per year (about $215 USD). Its entry level hosting plan includes 250MB of storage, 5GB of monthly bandwidth, incremental backups, site builder software, simple application installs, VirtualHost PHP chrooting and the ability to host two Web sites.

To learn more about the NetHosted Platform, please visit http://www.nethosted.co.uk/nethosted-platform.php.

To learn more about NetHosted, please visit http://www.nethosted.co.uk.

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

Beatriz Infante Appointed to Board of Directors at Skybox Security

2010-03-01T12:00:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Skybox Security, the leader in automated security risk and compliance management, today announced that the Company has appointed Beatriz Infante to its Board of Directors. Ms. Infante brings extensive experience in creating and driving revenue growth and expanding technology businesses internationally. She joins the board at an important time in the Company’s history, as it responds to increased opportunities to solve the IT risk and compliance challenges of enterprises and government organizations around the globe.

We are excited to have software industry veteran Ms. Infante in our Board of Directors at this exciting time,” said Gidi Cohen, CEO of Skybox Security. “We have built a strong base of large enterprise customers, and are now extending our reach to a broader market with the CertiFire firewall assurance solution, aimed at the mid-market, and our new channel partner strategy. The addition of Ms. Infante, with her track record and experience in driving software business growth and transforming sales and channel models, will help us further accelerate growth.”

”The wheels are in motion to put Skybox’ innovative technology in the hands of a broad range of new customers,” said Ms. Infante. “I’m pleased to work with Gidi and the board to accelerate this transformation.”

Ms. Infante is currently chief executive officer of BusinessExcelleration LLC, a strategic business consultancy; she previously served as CEO and Director of VoiceObjects Inc. (now Voxeo Corporation), Chairman and CEO of of Aspect Communications, and SVP at Oracle Corporation. She is also an Executive-in-Residence at U.S. Venture Partners, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital firm; serves on the Advisory Committee to the Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science, and is an advisor and investor in several early-stage technology companies. She received a BSE from Princeton University, and holds an MS from CalTech.
About Skybox Security, Inc.

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

topseos.com Announces the Best Search Engine Optimization Services

2010-03-01T12:00:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) topseos.com, the independent authority on search vendors, announced the best search engine optimization services for March 2010. The best search engine optimization company was found by an experienced research team that put thousands of firms through a rigorous evaluation process.

Search engine optimization services assist business in improving the volume and quality of traffic attained through search engines. Companies assist clients in identifying quality keywords that will produce the best results for their client. They then optimize the site of their clients in order to allow search engines to better rank the site for the identified keywords.

The top search engine optimization services for March 2010 are:

1.   Increase Visibility Inc.
2.   WebiMax
3.   SEOP
4.   Slingshot SEO, Inc.
5.   ArteWorks SEO
6.   eVisibility, Inc.
7.   Customer Magnetism
8.   SEO Image Inc.
9.   Intrapromote LLC.
10.   ThinkBIGsites
11.   WebMetro
12.   Weblinx Limited
13.   SEO Inc
14.   Bruce Clay Inc.
15.   1st on the List Promotion Inc.
16.   SEO.com
17.   High Position Limited
18.   Direct Hit Solutions, Inc.
19.   WebpageFX
20.   Peak Positions, LLC
21.   Sems
22.   First Page SEO
23.   HighPoint Search Marketing
24.   Elite SEO Marketing
25.   PageTraffic
26.   First In Search Inc.
27.   iProspect
28.   Outrider
29.   White Hat Media
30.   Edit Optimisation Ltd
31.   LeapFrog Interactive
32.   Spark Inbound Marketing
33.   SEER Interactive
34.   Exclusive Concepts, Inc.
35.   ymarketing
36.   Seologist
37.   Qualified Impressions, LLC.
38.   Exa Corporation
39.   DDS Agency
40.   Found Search Marketing, LLC
41.   Stickyeyes
42.   Position Research
43.   Red Spot Design, LLC
44.   Leverage Marketing, Inc.
45.   e-Storm International, Inc.
46.   97th Floor
47.   Steak Limited
48.   Eyeflow
49.   Yellow SEO
50.   Crexendo, Inc.

Thousands of firms were put through an extensive evaluation process by the topseos.com research team assigned to the search engine optimization category. This team has over 8 years of experience identifying and ranking the best through in-depth analysis. To go one step farther topseos.com then contacts the clients of each firm to ask questions such as, "What are the most competitive keywords you have been able to rank on the major search engines and how long did it take you to achieve those rankings?", "How comprehensive, specific, and useful are the reports that are offered to the client?", and " How many of your top industry keywords rank in the top 10?"

Any SEO company that would like to be considered for ranking can apply at:

http://www.topseos.com/rankings/search-engine-marketing-agencies/apply-for-ranking

To view detailed information about each ranked SEO company go to:

http://www.topseos.com/rankings-of-best-search-engine-optimization-companies

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

Marin Software Join Panels at SMX West 2010

2010-03-01T06:32:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Marin Software, provider of the leading paid search management application for advertisers and agencies, today announced that Wister Walcott, co-founder and vice president of products, and Joel Hall, product manager, will share their insights as panelists at SMX West 2010 in Santa Clara, California.

Walcott will join the panel entitled “Measuring How Search Ads Drive Offline Conversions.” The group will discuss strategies and techniques for measuring the effectiveness of search marketing campaigns that drive offline sales. The panel will be held Thursday, March 4, 2010 from 11:30 am – 12:30 pm.

Hall will present on the panel entitled, “Landing Pages & Multivariate Testing to Increase Conversions,” to be held from 10 – 11:15 am on Thursday March 4, 2010. In this session, Hall and the panelists will discuss testing alternative versions of landing pages with multivariate testing tools that can lead to dramatic increases in conversion.

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/marin_software_join_panels_at_smx_west_2010.html

Telefónica O2 Ireland and Mimecast Partner to Offer Cloud-Based Email

2010-03-01T06:31:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Mimecast®, the leading email management specialist, today announced that it has formed an alliance with Telefónica O2 Ireland, a leading provider of mobile services in the Irish marketplace. The partnership will allow Telefónica O2 Ireland to resell Mimecast’s Cloud-based email management services to business customers to complement their in-house email resources. For Mimecast, the Telefónica O2 Ireland partnership represents another significant milestone in the development of the Mimecast Partner Program.

Julian Martin, Business Development Director at Mimecast, said: “Telefónica O2 Ireland’s decision to offer business customers cloud services for email archiving, continuity, security and policy enforcement is a natural progression from a mobile email services offering, as customers’ requirements continue to evolve beyond traditional telecommunications services. We are delighted that Telefónica O2 Ireland has recognised Mimecast as a company that has the technology to help it meet the evolving needs of its business customers”.

Alan Brown, Business Sales Director, Telefónica O2 Ireland said: “As companies become ever more reliant on email, it is imperative that always available, cost effective email management solutions are introduced. Mimecast provides a great alternative and with it we are now well positioned to co-ordinate and manage the information flow across the enterprise. We see this as another key differentiator between ourselves and the pure voice and data providers”.

Mimecast is a cost-effective alternative for companies currently managing a variety of solutions in-house to secure, archive and provide continuous access to email. IT staff responsible for managing email benefit from the ease of use and productivity benefits of Mimecast. Users can instantly search 10 years of archived or deleted email without needing support from IT staff. In the event of an outage, users are unaffected as Mimecast guarantees seamless ‘always-on’ access to email. In addition, Mimecast provides spam and virus protection and data leak prevention controls, which guarantees the security and safety of all data in emails.

Recent research conducted by Forrester Consulting*, commissioned by Mimecast, evaluated and measured the financial impact of utilising Mimecast’s cloud-based service compared to on-premise solutions. The case study estimated 86% return on investment in seven months with benefits such as avoiding on-premise archiving and replication costs, maintaining email availability and productivity gains for email users.

*Forrester Consulting research: “The Total Economic Impact of Mimecast’s unified email management solution: A multicompany case study.”

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/telef_nica_o2_ireland_and_mimecast_partner_to_offer_cloud-based_.html

SEO Consult Recruits New Web Development Experts

2010-03-01T06:30:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) SEO Consult have internally recruited three new employees to their web development division.

The three developers have been recruited internally from SEO Consult’s search engine optimization division, and will start working full-time in their new roles from the beginning of March 2010 onward. As a result, SEO Consult will be employing more search engine optimisation programmers to fill the gap, and are also looking to add to their web development team in the future.

Despite the recession, SEO Consult has seen unprecedented company growth and has been solidly recruiting throughout the winter months. The recruitment drive is coinciding with SEO Consult’s imminent move to their new, larger premises in Hooton, and the additions to the web development department will add more resources and will bring fresh impetus and creativity to the division.

“We’re pleased to offer our congratulations to those who have accepted their new position as SEO Consult web developers and are sure we have found the right people for the job,” commented Matt Bullas, Managing Director of SEO Consult. “They’re all creative individuals and will be able to offer a wealth of ideas and expertise to benefit our present and future clients. The recession hasn’t stopped us recruiting and we’re proud to champion talented individuals who can bring fresh ideas to the world of search engine optimisation.”

To find out more about SEO Consult please visit our website at http://www.seoconsult.co.uk/ or call 0845 205 0292 during office hours.

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

Search Engine Strategies 2010 Returns to Amsterdam

2010-03-01T06:30:00-05:00

(Gawkwire.com) Incisive Media & BBP today announced that the Search Engine Strategies (SES) Conference and Expo is returning to Amsterdam for the second consecutive year in 2010. The SES Conference and Expo is the biggest event for online marketing. SES Amsterdam will take place on 17-18 March 2010 at The Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky. See www.SearchEngineStrategies.nl

The Chair of this event will be Ronnie Overgoor. The programming of the event has been done by the members of the IAB taskforce Search, directed by Joost de Valk and Lisa Dijkstra.

SES Amsterdam will feature a number of workshops designed for delegates at all levels, whether they are new to search marketing or skilled search marketers with years of experience. All sessions are ranked according to levels of knowledge and understanding.

Paul Petermeijer, CEO BBP, said, “We are delighted to host SES Amsterdam for the second year in succession as it is the leading event for online marketing. The industry is expanding rapidly in Holland and we have selected a line up of leading speakers at this year’s event with presentations and case studies showing the very latest tools and techniques.”

Mike Grehan, VP and Global Content Director said: “Last year’s event in Amsterdam was a resounding success and we are excited to be returning this year. Search is recognized globally as the critical channel to market and Holland is no exception to this with online marketing spend increasing. I am looking forward to this year’s event as we explore new avenues in search marketing.”

SES Amsterdam is actively supported by the taskforce Search of the Dutch branch of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

For more information about the 2010 Search Engine Strategies Conference & Expo series please visit http://www.SearchEngineStrategies.nl

http://www.gawkwire.com/events_html/search_engine_strategies_2010_returns_to_amsterdam.html