HostReview is bringing back the roundtable format interviews. In each issue we will ask a group of experts questions about the web hosting industry, business and the internet in general. The topic for this first roundtable feature is trends: what should we expect of the hosting industry in 2008.

The roundtable brings together representatives from companies of different sizes, with differing technology and business focus. We hope that their views will provide valuable insight of the industry as a whole.

Presenting the participants: Tell us about yourself and your position in the company.

   Eric Pratt, Founder and CEO of Server Intellect

My name is Eric Pratt and I am the founder and CEO of Server Intellect. In short, I am responsible for the strategic vision and overall direction of the company. I have successfully led the company to record revenue and profits each year since it was founded in 2003. We have experienced revenue growth of over 300% in 2006, over 200% in 2007 and we are currently on track in 2008 for more than 200% growth from the previous year. Server Intellect currently serves thousands of customers from over 90 countries worldwide.

   Urvish Vashi, Director of Product Management, with The Planet

In product management (at The Planet), our job is to be the voice of the customer, and to make sure that the products and services we bring to market meet their needs. It involves driving alignment with teams across our company. For instance, our data centers support customers, so they need to know about the new products and services. We work with our provisioning team to be certain they can deploy products, as well as our network team that manages the additional requirements for our network. We ensure our call center and data center support teams are informed so they can help customers should issues arise. Equally as important, we also evaluate new products and services to be certain we can make a fair profit.

   Dan Richfield, CEO and President, EasyCGI

My role as CEO (at EasyCGI) makes me heavily involved in almost every facet of the business. In addition to my everyday management duties, I act as the lead architect of all software and systems, including our web services, and Hosting Control Panel.

   Marc Burofsky, President, Barak Hosting

My name is Marc Burofsky and I am the President of Barak Hosting, Inc.

   Steve Renda, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Verio

I joined Verio earlier this year as vice president of sales and marketing following more than 20 years in technology. Much of that time was spent in the telecommunications industry, performing nearly every business function you can imagine. I came to Verio with two main goals: First, to develop a strategy as Verio moves up the value chain for the SMB market; and second, to further build out our global capabilities. As part of one of the top 50 largest companies in the world, we are NTT Communications’ face to the SMB community, so I feel we have the resources and the pedigree to make both goals a reality.

There seems to be a consensus that the US economy is slowing. How do you think this will impact the hosting industry?

   Eric Pratt, Founder and CEO of Server Intellect

I personally feel that the slowdown in the US economy is a perfect opportunity to capitalize on building strong trust-based relationships with businesses. Now more than ever businesses are looking for companies who they can trust to increase their profits by providing complete server solutions. Web Hosting companies who are able to focus on strong customer relationships, and do it well, should easily be able to weather the storm. Companies are still willing to pay for quality over quantity.

   Urvish Vashi, Director of Product Management, with The Planet

While certain industries are seeing a slow down, we’ve haven’t had that experience. First and foremost, we are a global company, with about 40 percent of our business coming from outside the U.S. Hosting is inherently a geography-independent business, and some of our largest customers come from some of the fastest growing economies in the world such as India and China. Our customers largely comprise small- and medium-sized businesses that are looking for cost-effective ways to grow by moving their operations online. They’ve found that hosting significantly reduces their IT costs since they no longer have to buy servers, hardware and other ancillary services, and they don’t need a large IT staff to manage their infrastructure. With significant international business, we actually benefit from the weak dollar, which makes our pricing even more attractive. Further, in a potentially shaky economic climate, customers really need a low-risk platform for their business and IT needs. Hosting providers, like The Planet, have enabled customers to avoid big upfront expenses and have given them the flexibility to do business without long-term contracts. As a result, hosting providers often become the safest place.

   Dan Richfield, CEO and President, EasyCGI

We have been providing Hosting services since the mid 1990s. During the last economic downturn in 2000-2002, we noticed very little impact in terms of customer demand for Web Hosting products. I believe that we will also see little to no impact this time around.

   Marc Burofsky, President, Barak Hosting

Overall, the weakening economy will cause decision makers to either delay their next moves or lessen what they choose to do. There are certain industries (real estate being an example) where they feel the need to increase their presence on the Internet in their declining market. We’re seeing an increase in that niche area and a few more. Companies will continue to grow their presence on the web and we envision that will help offset the normal “slow down” in spending seen in a recession or slowing economy.

   Steve Renda, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Verio

In a world where there are thousands of hosting options, companies looking for a hosting solution must look to the companies who can last through economic downturns and that are not looking for a quick exit by being acquired. What this will boil down to for customers is primarily an issue of trust. There’s a good deal of consolidation happening in the industry right now. But in times of economic stress, you want to know that your hosting partner is in it for the long haul. Our customers don’t worry about this, and we have a long track record of reliability to back this up. But it will be clear which providers are building for the long term and which have a more short-term view of the world. As a part of NTT, we know we have the power of a global provider to back us up.

We see the downturn as a major opportunity for our customers, as well as for us. It’s a time for them to look at things with a different lens. There’s a reason that the hosting market continues to see growth while other technology sectors may be shrinking. SMBs are examining how to be make their businesses more efficient, turning to hosting, software services, virtualization and other cost and time savings methods that could help impact their bottom line. They will turn to providers that offer ease of use and unwavering reliability with offerings that also allow them to ‘set it and forget it.’ We are well positioned to serve this market to the fullest not only here but abroad as well.

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