Web HSP Acquisition

[Pat]

Hi Everyone!

Web HSP has just acquired Data393 cPanel Shared Hosting Accounts.  

We are very excited about our new customers and hope they will join our forums and assist us in building a fun and informative community.

Sincerely,

Pat Fread

[sundownlady]

Hi, Pat !!

Thanks for the warm welcome !!  Needless to say, it is really GOOD to be with Web HSP !!!

Happy New Customer !!  B)  

Michelle

[simoncox]

Its like coming home! Except I haven't actually been anywhere!

[Pat]

Thanks guys, we're really excited!!!  Hopefully we'll get the community more active and have lots of fun in the process.    B)

Pat  

[Barbara]

Hello Pat and All!

What exciting news!

I've known Pat a long time and have been with their hosting service since they started VenturesOnline.  So, I've been around through a couple of server migrations before data393 came into the picture.  I was impressed with how the migrations were handled, along with the superb support and server performance.  

I have 2 words to describe these fine folks: Competent and Caring

To say that I'm a happy camper would be an understatement.

I just can't sing their praises enough!  

I'm not paid to say this  

I've never been too active on the forums.  I'll try to come around more often.

Best wishes!

Barbara Camisa (Candelario)

[Del]

Yes, it's not often we see so many people actually PLEASED about another acquisition or merger.  

Of course, in this case we KNOW what to expect and can actually look forward to it.

Congratulations and best wishes chaps.

[jumpdawg]

Thanks guys, we're really excited!!!  Hopefully we'll get the community more active and have lots of fun in the process.    B)

Pat 

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I am glad to see the positive comments about WEBHSP.  I will be looking forward to working with WEBHSP in the future. Data393 took good care of me and my clients and it looks like WEBHSP will also.

Thanks
  jumpdawg

[sundownlady]

I am glad to see the positive comments about WEBHSP.  I will be looking forward to working with WEBHSP in the future. Data393 took good care of me and my clients and it looks like WEBHSP will also.

Thanks
  jumpdawg

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Jumpdawg,

No worries here !!!   Having been in the industry for over 10 years, I know the folks at WebHSP are the ABSOLUTE best when it comes to service and care.    

2005 is looking much better !!  

Michelle

[BassX]

I hate to sound less than excited but, what does this mean for the accounts you just acquired?

I was planning on leaving Data393 as it was since they didn't offer SSH on their shared servers. And staying on the same account that hasn't been updated since I joined VO doesn't make sense since I only have about 1/4 of the disk space that I should have at the price I'm paying.

Are you planning on upgrading the accounts or keep them stagnant and requiring people to switch to your current offerings like Data393 did?

I notice that you don't allow SSH on your shared servers either - I'm thinking I should just keep looking as I've been doing. Any thoughts?

I just noticed:
It's interesting that this announcement was posted a full day earlier here than it was on any of Data393's sites (Forum, Data393info, help desk, etc.)

Plus, I still haven't received any emails about the sale from Data393.

It's been two days since they posted it and I guess I was just supposed to find it on my own. Fortunately, I check their Forums, etc. almost everyday even though there is little useful information on them.

Oh well, this isn't the way I wanted to start my weekend.

[Pat]

Hi BassX,

I'll do my best to address your concerns.

Let's start with the notification.  A joint notification was emailed to all customers impacted on Tuesday.  I'm not sure why you did not get your email, is it possible it got sorted into a junk mail folder or something?  It is also possible that some were missed in the distribution, but Data393 compiled it and I have no way to check.  I had another customer today that said he didn't get notice either.  If you send me an email at pat at webhsp dot com or send me a PM with your email address, I'll forward a copy of the notice to you.

We are also putting together another notice to send out that will have all kinds of information, including answers to some of the questions you have.  We're STILL loading data (sigh) which I'm told will be done today. Once that is done, we will turn the billing on so invoices generate and then I plan to send out the notice I've put together.  Hopefully later today, but since nothing ever goes as planned I suspect it could be as late as tomorrow.

Are you planning on upgrading the accounts or keep them stagnant and requiring people to switch to your current offerings like Data393 did?

Yes, but not right away.  Before we can update the plans, we need to do a server evaluation to determine capacity.  Performance is important and we don't want to go update everyone and find out we don't have the capacity on the server...that would be bad.  If customers need more resources before we get this done, we ask that they contact sales and we can work with them on a case by case basis to meet their needs.

We will also be evaluating Hardware and plan to upgrade our of date servers later this year.

I notice that you don't allow SSH on your shared servers either - I'm thinking I should just keep looking as I've been doing. Any thoughts?

Thanks for asking my opinion  It's always nice to be asked, anyway.  

We do not offer SSH access on our shared servers because of security and performance issues.  We have found that granting blanket SSH access opens the server up to abuse.  We realize there are very responsible customers, but unfortunately there are many that just don't understand that the scripts they install have a negative impact on performance. Also, offering SSH access attracts the bad guys, including spammers, hackers and other evil doers.  That is why we stopped allowing it. A shared server is a shared environment and we need to preserve and protect the environment for all of the customers on that server.

There are probably many hosts that still allow SSH, although I don't know of any I could recommend.  Just be aware that if you have it, so do others and that the server becomes more vulnerable to compromises and abuse.

As an alternative, we recommend our VPS.  Unfortunately it is a bit more expensive than a shared account, but it does come with full root access and they are very very nice.

So for my opinion (budget aside) I would go with the VPS. (budget does drive decisions however, doesn't it?)

Whatever you decide on the hosting account, we do wish you the very best.

Oh well, this isn't the way I wanted to start my weekend.

I hope this doesn't ruin your weekend.  However, if you decide to stay and/or get a VPS (with us, of course ) then it's going to be a good week-end, right?

No, really, we do hope you'll stay with us and we're really sorry you didn't get the communication.

Sincerely,

Pat

[Zachariah]

we're really sorry you didn't get the communication.

Just wanted to say that I was in the same boat (not getting the notice) but I really do appreciate the apologies, and I thank you for them.  

I have come to expect very high-quality service from VO (and then Data393), so this hiccup was a real shock.  

I'm writing voicing this so that if others come here and wonder what's going on (like I did) then maybe they'll be calmed quicker than I was.  

In the end, really nothing's changed, it seems

[Pat]

Hi Zachariah,

Hey, in this world of fraud and spam, I don't blame you, given the header on our first invoice mailing out of this billing system.  Sheesh, you would think we're rookies (but honestly I looked, our tests were okay).

Anytime merger and acquisition are mentioned, people tend to get nervous and I don't blame them.

Hope the rest of your weekend is restful...we do appreciate your post.

Sincerely,

Pat

[TObject]

I am also one of the Ventures Online customers.

This looks like very good news, or a very elaborate fishing attack.

Could you give us a little more history on Ventures Online ? Data393 ? WebHSP? Maybe less formal history, so that we understand better at what's going on?

Ventures Online used to be a great company that took care of their customers very well. I never fully understood the Data393 transition, and had some initial disappointment at the perceived drop of the helpdesk support. However, I stayed put, and it seemed as if support quickly improved.

So, what does this new transition mean? We are getting new billing and new support, right? How about hands on maintenance of the servers, is Data393 still going to be doing that?

Thank you!

[Pat]

Hi TObject,

Well, I'm not exactly sure what you want to know, but Ventures Online was acquired by Data393.  John and I were two of the original owners of Ventures Online and after the acquisition stayed on with Data393 for awhile.

In June, 2004, I decided I missed having our own business and more control (I guess I'm a control freak, eh?) and Data393 was gracious enough to allow us to start up our own Web Hosting company again (since we had a non-compete clause). They figured, rightly so, that if we did well, they would benefit since our servers were with them.

At the end of the year, we began discussing the idea of us acquiring the cPanel shared and Bulk reseller accounts because they were not putting any Product Development into cPanel and no longer offered cPanel products....their focus was Facilities management, Colocation and SWsoft Hosting Products (e.g. PEM and Plesk).  They knew their cPanel customers were not getting the attention they deserved and felt we would be in a better position to take over these customers and begin rebuilding this customer base.

We were delighted, of course, since we already knew so many of you and are familiar with cPanel and your packages.  

We have contracted with Data393 to manage our servers, so we have known resources working on our servers and a great network.  Also, unlike many acquisitions, we didn't have to worry about server moves.

Anyway, I know many of you are  concerned and that's okay...change can be uncomfortable. Please keep in mind that we are always open to feedback and hope that we can build a fun and informative community.

Pat

[MarcAllan]

I too have been very pleased with the service of VO and like TObject, I stayed put when Data 393 showed up. This morning I needed to cancel one of my accounts (no longer active) and I wanted to make sure I wasn't lost in the transition.

I sent an email and to my surprise, Pat responded within minutes. I guess I was lucky (or not ), but it's that type of "help" and service that I've come to expect and which makes me a satisfied customer. So much so, that when ever someone needs webhosting, I always point them in their direction. I'm fortunate enough to know my way around webdesign but some of the people that I help set up sites for, aren't so lucky. The fact that the customer service they've received is spot on, makes them feel more comfortable with the whole experience.

Marc

[TObject]

Pat,

Thank you for sharing! This is exact the kind of information I was looking for, to help somebody from the outside looking in understanding what is going on.

I too referred customers to VO on occasion, and it was nice to receive a little kick back on those referrals. Thank you.

I am a bit nervous about upcoming review of the shared hosting accounts. May I suggest considering grandfather the features for "old" customers who have a history of not being a security risk? I mean allowing those customers to keep SSH access and such.

Overall I feel very optimistic about the change. And it is good to see you back!

[Pat]

Hi,

Thanks for the kind words.

May I suggest considering grandfather the features for "old" customers who have a history of not being a security risk? I mean allowing those customers to keep SSH access and such.

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Usually we do grandfather. How we manage the changes and updates going forward, I'm not sure, since we have to analize the servers and impacts.

We try hard not to 'take away'.  

We'll share more information as we know more.

Pat

[BassX]

Wow! I went out of town for the weekend shortly after I posted and I wondered what kind of response I would get - a lot of very good information has been posted.

Thank you Pat for your post to my original message and all the ones that have followed.

My post was mainly out of frustration due to the fact of visiting the data393info site and seeing that all the cPanel accounts had been turned over to a company that I've never heard of - I've seen a lot of new hosting companies that do very well with a small number of clients and then as the client base grows they explode under the demands. That is what went through my head when I read the announcement.

Add on top of it that I noticed that the announcement was posted 2-3 days earlier and I hadn't heard anything about it and I'm pretty proactive about keeping up with what's going on - I just thought this can't be good.

I still never got the initial email announcement, but I did get the February invoice and a secondary announcement.

Now, It does look like it is good news for the people that stayed with the cPanel accounts. We'll see what happens, but at the moment I'm not as discouraged as I was last Friday.

[cyphlus]

Hi TObject,

Well, I'm not exactly sure what you want to know, but Ventures Online was acquired by Data393.  John and I were two of the original owners of Ventures Online and after the acquisition stayed on with Data393 for awhile.

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So let me see if I understand this correctly. Owners of Ventures Online sell their hosting company to Data393. Months later Data393 sells it back to them? This kind of behavior makes me uncomfortable and well, should make everyone here uneasy about their future web host.  :blink:  Maybe the real question is, who will WebHSP sell their company to next year? Does WebHSP have a local support team like Data393 or is it outsourced?

[Pat]

So let me see if I understand this correctly. Owners of Ventures Online sell their hosting company to Data393. Months later Data393 sells it back to them? This kind of behavior makes me uncomfortable and well, should make everyone here uneasy about their future web host.? :blink:? Maybe the real question is, who will WebHSP sell their company to next year? Does WebHSP have a local support team like Data393 or is it outsourced?

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Ventures Online was a corporation and had more than two owners....so two OF the owners started Web HSP and later acquired the cpanel accounts.  This opportunity for Web HSP transpired due to Data393 making changes in their business plan and it only included a segment of their business.  I can also tell you that VO did not look for a buyer, we were approached and only when there were very valid business reasons to do so, did we make a deal.  

Web HSP has a very different business plan than VO did.  VO was a datacenter facility and had a wide range of products.  With Web HSP our focus is on a smaller range of hosting products and we'll let Data393 handle the facilities side of the business.

It doesn't matter who your host is, if the right business opportunity comes along, they will most likely make the decision based on valid business reasons.

As far as support, we have both local and non-local support teams, which include some outsourcing including our partnership with Data393 to manage the servers.  We have listed our partners on our website.

Pat