“Oh My God We’re All Gonna Die” – HostingCon 2010

A couple weeks back, I mentioned that I would be speaking at the HostingCon 2010 conference in Austin, TX. I also mentioned that I would post the presentation here for all to see after the conference and I want to make good on my word. The presentation is posted below (after the jump).

The title of my presentation is “Oh My God We’re All Gonna Die”. While the title is intentionally provocative, the message is, I think, pretty optimistic. Our industry is changing rapidly, while we’ll be forced to innovate and compete on a whole new scale, it will mean a leaner operation for businesses and better and more affordable services for end users.

Since there is no video of the presentation (sorry about that), I’ll try and sum it up as best as I can here.

In my view, the webhosting industry of today can be compared to the automobile industry more than 100 years ago. Prior to the assembly line, there were many competing fuel standards (much like the various web standards we have to contend with), there were no road standards or highways, the expectations and needs of your average car owner at the time were considerably less stringent than today.

When the big three automakers essentially equalized the industry, they destroyed a lot of peripheral businesses in the process, but we all benefited from the standards they introduced, the products they created, and the technology they helped cultivate. What resulted was a new, healthier, more vibrant industry where niche companies could still thrive despite the big guys’ presence.

Cloud technologies, and the behemoths entering our industry who dominate the space, are bringing with them an entirely new way of delivering hosting services. For businesses that are willing to do the legwork and innovate within the cloud, there is plenty of room to grow and prosper. However, those that have sat back, stacked racks, and tried to coast are going to learn very harsh lessons in the coming months.

I believe that what makes this cloud evolution so interesting is not necessarily the technology – after all, virtualization is nothing new – but the mechanisms surrounding it that allow it to flourish.

In other words, it’s not the cars themselves that are interesting or transformative, it’s the assembly line.

Without further ado: “Oh My God We’re All Gonna Die.”

I think it’s perfectly clear that this industry is changing before our eyes and all of us at ServInt have certainly taken notice. While I don’t have anything to announce just yet, you can rest assured we have some incredible products and services coming in the next few weeks that will put a lot of these arguments into practice.

In the meantime, stay tuned and keep your head out of the clouds.

Thoughts? Comments? Angry protestations? Let me know in the comments, on Twitter, or on Facebook!

Follow Christian Dawson on Twitter.

Photo by pangalactic gargleblaster.