Calling Your Senators about PIPA is Easier Than You Think

If you’re a subscriber to ServInt’s Twitter feed, you may have noticed we’ve tweeted nearly 30 separate “PIPA Facts” today.  We did this because we wanted to empower all our online friends and colleagues with easy-to-remember information that would make phone calls to their senators as quick and painless as possible.

It’s easy to get scared off when people ask you to upgrade your protests against bad policy from the virtual to the real world.  Tweeting and changing your Facebook status seems so much easier than actually picking up the phone and talking to somebody — somebody who you might feel understands the bill in question better than you do.

But that’s where you’re wrong.  The fact is, your elected representatives almost always know a lot less than you do about what you do for a living — and they actually want you to help them understand how legislation will affect businesses in their state or district.

Calls to your elected representatives don’t have to take long.  A few well-informed points, contained in a few simple sentences, are really what they’re seeking, and they’re what will make the difference.  It’s easy.

So here’s what we need you to do — preferably tomorrow, but certainly no later than Monday, Jan. 23: Read more

ServInt, GoDaddy, SOPA and the Fight to Save the Internet

In the wake of a well-publicized boycott campaign against GoDaddy, hosting providers are racing to try to come up with their stances against SOPA. I am proud that we don’t need to do that. Our stance on SOPA, its sister bill PIPA, and the bill from whence they both came COICA, is well known. We have spent much of the last year not just railing against these bills but trying to do something about them.

The well-intentioned goal of SOPA is to go after piracy, which is noble and very important. But piracy is something that needs to be handled smartly, with a laser-focus. SOPA isn’t a laser, it’s a wrecking ball that if enacted is likely to destroy hard-working legitimate businesses more frequently than it does pirates. SOPA allows people merely accused of ‘contributing to infringement’ to have their business taken from them. Pirates will maintain back-up plans in case they get their resources pulled – it’s legitimate businesses that will suffer most. SOPA will be used for censorship and as an anti-competitive tool. It will stifle innovation, and is one of the most dangerous bills I have seen in my two decades in this industry. Read more

ServInt’s Latest VPS Upgrade and Why We Keep Giving You More

Today is an exciting day at ServInt — because we’re announcing the largest free product upgrade in the history of our VPS platform. Basically, we’re upgrading our entire VPS line from Essential through SuperVPS.  Today, VPS clients will begin to see dramatic upgrades in up to 24 different resource allocations associated with their hosting account, including highly requested upgrades to burst resources and disk i/o.  Current customers will see an instantaneous drop in their server load as we actively allocate fewer customers per server than ever before. This decrease in density will mean more CPU resources for every customer, at no additional cost.  All packages will receive a 20% increase in disk space. Signature and above will receive additional RAM guarantees and across-the-board increases to all product specifications — and our SuperVPS line will include even bigger CPU guarantees.

It’s no coincidence that this upgrade comes on the heels of our recent data center expansion in Northern Virginia. In the past 12 months we’ve made substantial capital investments in our network and data center infrastructure, further customized and refined the code that augments our virtualization software, and invested in a 60% increase in our customer support staff.  Increasing the power of our hosting platforms is one of the first things that these investments are allowing us to do, and we’re happy to pass along the benefits of these new efficiencies to our loyal customers.

As I’m sure you know, most hosting companies don’t operate this way.  It’s far more common for hosts to increase profit margins by packing customers more densely onto their new, improved networks. But ServInt has always believed that passing infrastructure improvements on to our customers and increasing the value of our products is the best way to build a loyal customer base and ensure long-term growth.  That’s why we’ve regularly performed upgrades for our clients in the past and why we continue to look for new ways to reward our customers for their allegiance.

We don’t usually get this business-y on the ServInt Source, but I thought it was important for you, our current and (hopefully) future customers, to understand what we value here at ServInt — and to understand the theory behind the decisions we make. Every product offering and improvement—frankly, every dollar spent at ServInt—is meant to increase the value of the customer experience. Our business model is not simply built on attracting the greatest number of customers, but is tied to the health and quality of our customers and their hosting experience. At ServInt, our top priority is you.

-Reed

PS: Visit ServInt’s website if you want more specifics on new package specs for the VPS or SuperVPS lines, and you can even check out the new kid on the block, the Essential+ VPS!

Photo by sparkieblues

Our Largest Disk Space Upgrade Ever, Completed One Month Ahead Of Schedule!

Back in June, we announced that we would be increasing the disk space across our entire VPS line — and that this upgrade was going to be passed along to all our customers, both existing and new, at no additional cost. After weeks of hard work, I’m proud to announce that we have successfully completed the disk space upgrades — and prouder still that we did it more than a month ahead of schedule.

I should be clear — the fact that we performed the upgrade quickly doesn’t impress me so much.  What impresses me is the fact that we performed this massive upgrade so quickly, without compromising our exacting standards for uptime, customer care and service reliability.

It wasn’t easy.  Before our announcement we had done extensive testing. We had invested a small fortune in new equipment, and had devised the necessary workflow to get the job done right.  But no matter how hard you plan you can’t help but worry when the hard work actually gets underway. Over the course of just 58 days, we managed to test each and every box to make sure it met ServInt’s standards and get everything into production without a hitch.

We implemented the change in two phases:

1. All new clients were automatically turned up on new host machines (the giant servers we use to host our VPS and SuperVPS products) that were pre-outfitted with the upgraded disk space.
2. All existing clients were then carefully migrated to host machines reconfigured with new resources by ServInt’s network engineers.

We made that decision because we wanted to get as many people more resources as quickly as possible, and we didn’t want to make everybody wait.  Some of you may have seen your resources suddenly pop up overnight without ever having noticed the transition, and if you didn’t — well, that was the idea!

I’ve got pretty high standards for this company, and I don’t brag about our achievements too often — but in this case I really want to say that this was a fantastic example of intelligent engineering.  Our team worked long hours, as long as it took, at all of our data centers to bring you these features in a way that minimized interruption to our clients’ online businesses, and I’m proud of them.

Now that everybody has their free upgrade, we hope you can put it to good use. Look for even more free updates in the future — and thanks again for your business!

Follow Reed Caldwell on Twitter.

Announcing the Biggest Disk Space Upgrade In ServInt’s History. Nearly Half A Petabyte, For Free.

Reed’s Announcement! from ServInt on Vimeo.

If the point of virtualization is to make hardware abstract, why do most hosting companies charge for resource upgrades?

At ServInt, we work hard to ensure that our VPS and SuperVPS customers never have to worry about being left behind as new hosting industry technology and service standards evolve.

Sometimes our efforts to stay ahead of the curve are largely invisible: new cooling systems, network operations center enhancements, hiring and training practices, and so forth. We do this kind of thing all the time, and assume you have no interest in keeping up to date on all of it.

But sometimes we make really big decisions, and today’s announcement is one of those.

Let me get straight to the point: today, ServInt announces the largest disk space upgrade in the company’s history. In fact, we’re adding almost a half a petabyte of disk space, across our most popular VPS packages — and, whether you’re a new or existing customer, you won’t pay one cent for it.

There are lots of reasons why we took this initiative, but they really boil down to one thing: when you sign up as a ServInt customer, you’re not buying a server. You’re buying a solution.

You can buy a server from anybody. But very few companies will take the time, or do the hard work, or hire the talented people, or spend the money to make sure that their customers’ online business never falters. At ServInt, we do.

But that’s enough chest-pounding from me. Let’s look at the numbers. This upgrade affects all our VPS products as follows:

• ServInt’s Essential VPS service, priced at $49 per month, now features 50 GB disk space, up from 30 GB.
• ServInt’s Signature VPS service, priced at $89 per month, now features 75 GB of disk space, up from 45 GB.
• ServInt’s Ultimate VPS service, priced at $129 per month, now features 100 GB of disk space, up from 60 GB.
• ServInt’s SuperVPS service, priced at $199 per month, now features 100 GB of disk space, up from 75 GB.

As before, this new disk space is provided on powerful RAID arrays with industry-leading speed and is further bolstered by our exceptional free backup system.

ServInt engineering staff have already begun implementing the disk space increases for existing customers, and we expect to have all VPS subscribers up and running in the enhanced packages within the next 90 days. This upgrade will not require any effort or involvement from our clients.

This isn’t the first free service enhancement we’ve implemented for our customers, and it won’t be the last. One thing is certain: whatever improvements we deploy over the coming weeks, months, and years will be done in order to continue providing you with the solution you bought when you signed up with us as a customer.

That commitment is just one of the things that makes ServInt different, and it’s one of the things that makes me proud to own and operate this business.

Questions? Comments? Let us know in the comments below, in our Customer Forums, on Facebook, or on Twitter!

Follow Reed Caldwell on Twitter.

ServInt’s Biggest VPS and SuperVPS Promo Ever…and Why We Did It.

ServInt is at a very interesting point in its 15 year history. We have a lot of customers outside of the United States, and despite the ongoing global economic crisis we’ve managed to grow quite well. Whether its our latest series of data centers springing up on the West Coast, the launch of our new Solo Series dedicated server line, or our continued philanthropic projects revolving around the ongoing crisis in Haiti, we are growing larger, more competitive, and more socially aware by the day.

In celebration of our 15th anniversary, and in the spirit of being the most competitive Enterprise-class player in webhosting, I’m announcing the return of our most aggressive VPS promotion ever for a limited time.

50% off of your first THREE months on any VPS or SuperVPS with promo code ‘50×3’.

We are a premium hosting company with premium products and services. In an industry that includes competitors from every angle engaging in a race to the bottom in pricing, we’ve chosen a different path. While others focus on making their products cheaper, we focus on making them better. Because we invest in our infrastructure and development to ensure we have the best servers in the world, we don’t need to lure people in with second rate products at subsidized, unsustainable prices.

ServInt has never been your run-of-the-mill bargain-basement hosting option, there are plenty of companies that fill that niche already. However, we also know that for those businesses entering the world of VPS and Dedicated servers for the first time there is often some initial sticker shock. Going from $7 to $50 a month is not trivial for a growing business tasting its first real wave of success, but finding a partner you can trust, that you can hold accountable, and that truly wants you to succeed is a priceless commodity these days.

In the early days of ServInt, doing business with an influential partner at a special price was like winning the lottery. I want to bring that same experience to everyone who hasn’t felt 100% comfortable making the switch to ServInt.

Once you experience ServInt, you’ll stay with ServInt. We’ll be there on day one to help you get your business running, we’ll be there when you’re ready to go Solo with a Dedicated Server, and we’ll be there for you every day in between.

Being a host for over 15 years means we build our business on long-term relationships.  It also allows us to build personal relationships with our clients, making you more like family to us than someone who buys a service.

Most of all, we’re looking forward to doing business with all of you.

ServInt, 15 Years In the Making

15 years ago, I founded ServInt.

The odds were very much against us at the outset.  I was 19 and I didn’t have any connections to the industry, much less the capital that would be necessary to start a company of our scope today.  What I lacked in funding, I made up for with sheer, unadulterated passion for building a rock solid business on the web.  In my mind, the only things we needed to be successful were a coherent vision and geek cred, and ServInt would have both in spades.

From the beginning, the difference between ServInt and the competition has always been our level of accountability.  We wanted businesses of all shapes and sizes to be able to trust us to ensure they stayed up and running.  The things that many folks take for granted, such as 24/7 support, were things we had to develop from the ground up…and when I say ground up, I mean me waking up at 3 am to update someone’s server in the next room. Ah, simpler times indeed.

Today, we have staff all over the U.S. serving customers from all over the world.  More than 30% of our customers are in Asia, and we continue to have a dominating presence in North America and Europe, we are a truly global company.  From our Managed Services Team in Virginia, to our network engineering teams in Washington, D.C., Virginia, and California, all the way to our Enterprise Sales teams in Michigan, it shows just how far we’ve come from the early days in ServInt’s infancy.

We’re a healthier, smarter, and faster company now than we’ve ever been, and these last 15 years have been a blast.

This year, we have a lot of really exciting projects we’re working on.  In the coming months, we’ll have new products competing in new markets, paving the way for a future that further enables businesses to grow, and keep growing, with ServInt.

Traditionally, a 15th anniversary is represented by a gift of crystal or a watch.  Both are symbols of longevity, rigidity, strength, and transparency.  Like a crystal, ServInt has a clear focus that has been shaped and refined by our experiences in this industry.  Like a watch, we have stood the test of time, and our product has an elegant complexity shaped by a combination of open source expertise and the attention to detail only true craftsmen could supply.

I think that image is fitting, and I want to personally thank all of you for trusting us with your business.  You are, and will continue to be, an integral part of our success.

Here’s to another 15 years.

Announcing ServInt LA

When I started ServInt in 1995, I saw a niche that had yet to be filled.

Organizations, companies, and entrepreneurs like me were using in-house servers to host their own webpages. For big companies, this was sometimes ok if only a tad inefficient. However, for small businesses whose priorities did not necessarily include learning the intricacies of FreeBSD and Linux, it was a completely unnecessary burden.

That’s why I started ServInt. We could focus on keeping a website up, while our customers could focus on keeping their bottom-line up. There have been plenty of ups and downs in our company’s history, but at the end of the day we’ve come away a stronger company with a better product. Our flexibility, innovation, and ability to solve really hard technological problems has kept our customers, and ourselves, in business.

There are times in every company’s history when it has to take a big, bold step in its quest to grow. ServInt was blazing trails in 1995 and we haven’t stopped innovating since. In that same spirit, I’d like to announce the latest evolution of ServInt.

Allow me to introduce, ServInt LA.

Read more

An American Broadband Stimulus

I hadn’t much thought about the proposed Rural Broadband Stimulus until recently.  The fact that the government is hoping to spend $7.2 billion, or more, on rural broadband just wasn’t all that interesting to me.  I think they spent that much on toilet seats or something last month.  The government wastes some money, spends some wisely, and will always continue to do both. However, upon recently relocating my home office to a different neighborhood, I really got to thinking about it, and started wondering whether the FCC has the right broadband strategy or whether they’re missing the bigger picture.

My old home office was in McLean, Virginia, one of the most broadband connected places on earth.  I got to choose between COX Cable Modem, Verizon DSL, Verizon FIOS, and a number of others.  I had COX because it was cheap and easy, and yet I’d often complain about it.  What I took for granted though was that I never had to reset my cable modem, and I could start watching an HD movie from my Apple TV in about 1 minute, on average.  Videoconferencing wasn’t a problem either, nor was VOIP.  In general my service just worked, unless I needed help.  COX customer support for my area was so bad I’d rather cancel and sign up elsewhere than have to call them, but fortunately I rarely had to.

Then I got relocated to a neighborhood in La Jolla, California.  I love it here–I can see the beach from my office, I have a balcony where I can sit outside typing things like this blog post, and the house is great.  I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but for now I love almost everything about it.  Except for my Internet service.  You see, my neighborhood is over 50 years old.  The house I’m in is a rebuild, its a little over 10 years old.  The telecommunications infrastructure is definitely aged, and it shows.

My choices here are Time Warner’s Roadrunner or AT&T’s DSL.  I got cable from TW, so I opted for their Internet service.  I’ve been kicked offline twice since I started writing this post, and I have to reset my cable modem 4-5 times a day.  It takes 85 minutes to start watching a 30 minute HD TV show on my Apple TV.  I can’t use VOIP due to the quality, and at best I enjoy download speeds that range between 20KB/sec and 150KB/sec.  I know that’s 160 Kbps to 1.2 Mbps, and that qualifies as broadband.  But La Jolla, California is a wealthy suburb of San Diego, is definitely a semi-urban area, and hundreds of executives live here.  How can Time Warner possibly offer such substandard service in an area that is rich in so many ways?

I was amazed to find that while here in the United States we still have the most Internet connected users in the world, we are only fifteenth in broadband adoption, what this says to me is that broadband isn’t just a rural problem.  Instead of a Rural or an Urban Broadband Stimulus, maybe we need an American broadband stimulus.  Maybe we need to deal with the core inadequacies of the system as a whole.  It’s eye opening to see how inadequate connectivity is, especially when each day it’s becoming even more important to our daily lives.  Hopefully over time good old fashioned competition will solve this problem for everyone, as I’m none too thrilled by the idea of the public sector running with this.  Still, a solution can’t come soon enough for my tastes!

As you probably guessed, my AT&T DSL is being installed as I post this.  People tell me not to expect much better.  If any of you have similar experiences with broadband in your area, I’d love to hear your comments.

Follow us on twitter at @servint and become a fan of ServInt on Facebook!

You’re Hosted By…Who?

I remember a day when you needed certain qualifications to run a company.  You needed a track record in business, the ability to grease palms and sell your ideas, and most importantly you needed a business plan!  My how times have changed.  Today there seem to be hundreds of new hosting companies popping up around the world every day.

Who is behind them?  What is their history?  What is their future?

To put some perspective on things, I started ServInt in February of 1995.  I spent nearly a year prior to that planning to start the business.  A great friend of mine at the time used to spend hours each day discussing it with me.  Many other friends would provide a nice brainstorming group.  I had several meetings with folks from the SBA, various business professors at my university, and a number of business leaders I was fortunate enough to have access to.  The first check ServInt ever wrote was to a lawyer and the next meeting I had was with an accountant.  Then, I ran back to the business leaders for a while longer until I wrapped up my nearly 100 page business plan.  All that in 1995 with little to no direct competition.  All that, and still miles away from what many businesses in other industries had done at the time.

Now back to present day.  You’ve picked your hosting provider from a seemingly endless list of companies.  They have a crazy deal — check — amazing price — check — specs look good — check — and they have an AJAXy website with lots to play with.  You’re sold!

But who on earth is behind that company?  Downloading a slick website template and knowing how to lease a dedicated server somewhere with Parallels running on it doesn’t translate to knowing how to run a business.  These companies are usually motivated by the thought of a quick buck, fueling the false conception that the seemingly low barriers to entry in the hosting space translate to running a hosting business, and the false conception that success will be easy and quick to follow.  Business is competition, just like any other.  My son knows how to ride a bike, but he’s not itching to enter the Tour de France.

Choosing a hosting provider should be a major decision.  You should want a provider you can stay with for a long time, that you can grow with, and one who will grow with you.  You want a provider who has been around a while–or to make me seem less biased, one who is run by people who have a proven track record.  You should also choose a provider who can handle problems effectively.  Every provider is vulnerable to problems, but not every provider has the mettle to handle them efficiently and decisively.

So when you go off to the budget host, the new start-up that lacks a business plan or a solid management team, and you get starry-eyed at the “deal” they’re offering, and you forget to do your research and find a solid, reputable, trustworthy brand to do business with, don’t blame them when your site goes down, or when the provider disappears.  Blame yourself.

After all, on the internet, there are a thousand ways to say “I told you so”.

Photo used and altered under Creative Commons License, courtesy of flickr user random dude.

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