- There’s no reason to host on Linux anymore
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When I started in the hosting industry as a product manager with Mail.com, Microsoft wasn’t even a footnote in the hosting market. Apache was the unquestioned leader. I even remember an article during the hosting boom days in the late 90s or early 2000s that quoted Graham Weston of Rackspace saying that “God invented Linux for hosting”.
When I started with the hosting team at Microsoft in 2004, we were just starting to make progress with building a viable hosting platform. Starting with Windows Server 2003 we added some features that were important to hosters, which brought significant gains in the Netcraft active sites market share numbers (in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 percent). Today’s launch of Windows Server 2008 shows that we have not only caught up but actually passed Linux in what we can offer hosters (e.g. hosting ASP.NET and PHP applications on the same server).
For many years, Linux dominated the market. For Microsoft to have reached the point where we can truly match Apache and offer hosters a superior platform is truly exciting.
- Hosted vs. PC-based applications - what's in it for you?
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Is it time for pure browser-based software? Can we ditch all traditional applications and rely on SaaS?
After my comments at the recent Tier 1 Research Hosting Transformation Summit, there seems to be some discussion about whether we’re ready for the all-browser experience or not. David Snead, popular WHIR blogger covers the discussion quite well here.
David and Phil are correct; a blend of online and offline, or software and services will ultimately deliver the best experience for the user. Most people today have reasonably powerful PCs or laptops with a somewhat decent display. Why leave “computing power” on the table? Why have a less-than optimal experience? What happens when you are not connected (bad network, flying, expensive broadband fees)?
So while this debate is interesting and all, the real question keeping me up at night is what does it mean for hosters? What role do hosters play in the new software distribution model? What partnerships should hosters seek out?
One thing is clear, change is happening and hosters are well poised to take advantage. I plan to pen more thoughts in the coming weeks, but please comment at will.
Michael
