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  1. #1
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    * FatCow, Dot5, PowWeb, iPower: One In The Same!

    I found out today that FatCow, Dot5 Hosting, PowWeb, and iPower Hosting are all part of the smae hosting conglomerate. The parent company is called Endurance International Group. It seems that the companies have gone out of their way to make their connections unpublished, which is very misleading to their customers. However, I recognized some similarities of their websites, and spoke with a representative over the phone who admitted that they were all connected. There are probably other companies too, but they wouldn't give out any more info.

  2. #2
    The thing is that Average Joe doesn't care about this stuff, so it's all good.
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by techietype View Post
    I found out today that FatCow, Dot5 Hosting, PowWeb, and iPower Hosting are all part of the smae hosting conglomerate. The parent company is called Endurance International Group. It seems that the companies have gone out of their way to make their connections unpublished, which is very misleading to their customers. However, I recognized some similarities of their websites, and spoke with a representative over the phone who admitted that they were all connected. There are probably other companies too, but they wouldn't give out any more info.
    And?

    Companies operating under various brands is a practice dating back over 100 years.
    ~ But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong...

  4. #4
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    The thing is that Average Joe doesn't care about this stuff, so it's all good.
    The Joe that changes hosts would definitely like to know how to stay away from the company he's leaving and not end up with just another brand, that is run the same as the one he's leaving.

    That being said, tjthayer's right. There's no foul play.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by ldcdc View Post
    The Joe that changes hosts would definitely like to know how to stay away from the company he's leaving and not end up with just another brand, that is run the same as the one he's leaving.

    That being said, tjthayer's right. There's no foul play.
    Exactly! And, it doesn't bother anyone that there are countless numbers of "independent review sites" all over the internet which fill the "top ten" host slots with Endurance Group brands? It seems "fishy". Oh yea, by the way, StartLogic is another brand which is part of the group.

  6. #6
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    It seems "fishy".
    It is nevertheless largely a by-product of their high paying affiliate programs, not a conspiracy.
    Last edited by ldcdc; 08-05-2008 at 08:49 PM.

  7. #7
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    Personally I don't like it, but I suppose its just to appeal to different people.

    Another thing like this in the electronics world in the UK, Dixons-Currys-PcWorld are all owned by the same company, all the same products are there .
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  8. #8
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    And do they share the same data centers?

  9. #9
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    I imagine its just a marketing thing, most people won't really mind and it is not as if they tried to hide it, they are all listed as being part of the same group.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheHero View Post
    And do they share the same data centers?
    Of course. That's the whole point of Endurance--buy a company and move all the customers to their own architecture.

  11. #11
    but none of them is reliable i have been with powweb and virtualave.net (same group)

    and i have been disapointed as they see that u are using litle more bandwith than usual they suspend you

    so if u plan to host than go away from these companies

    because u will get sad after some time

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by zbv2net View Post
    but none of them is reliable i have been with powweb and virtualave.net (same group)

    and i have been disapointed as they see that u are using litle more bandwith than usual they suspend you

    so if u plan to host than go away from these companies

    because u will get sad after some time
    johnnycash.com is hosted on their shared architecture. Somehow I doubt you're pushing more bandwidth. Their mysql servers have been sketchy though.

  13. #13
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    Look at the biggest one of them all.

    BlueHost and HostMonster are one in the same.

  14. #14
    I think bluehost it has its own datacenter

    and hostmonster its sister company of bluehost or maybe they are just using bluehost servers



    but i dont know for sure it looks so

  15. #15
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    In the states, Taco Bell KFC Pizza Hut and Long John Silvers are all owned by the same people.

    It happens in every industry. Economies of scale.
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  16. #16
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    Yep it does. Have you seen how many brands are connected with Dr Pepper?

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by ldcdc View Post
    The Joe that changes hosts would definitely like to know how to stay away from the company he's leaving and not end up with just another brand, that is run the same as the one he's leaving.

    That being said, tjthayer's right. There's no foul play.
    This is the real point in this discussion. One company may have different brand names. That is not a crime. That is related to marketing and all. But the problem arises when they are having the same behavior. One client who quits one brand may unknowingly sign up with another brand of them which is having same problems as the old one.
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  18. #18
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    I am willing to bet that has happened.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by iHubNet-Matt View Post
    This is the real point in this discussion. One company may have different brand names. That is not a crime. That is related to marketing and all. But the problem arises when they are having the same behavior. One client who quits one brand may unknowingly sign up with another brand of them which is having same problems as the old one.
    While it is possible that each brand of a company might provide identical service and support, there is also the potential that certain brands are better. Just because they are part of the same company does not necessarily mean they are the same quality.

    Although, they could be... Personally, I would treat them as separate entities unless I learned otherwise. If I found that they were all on the same servers, in the same data center, using identical hardware, and had the same support staff, then they would be "the same".

    On the other hand, maybe the FatCow hosting is all housed on the best/newest servers, that are never overcrowded, and have the best support staff, while PowWeb hosting is all on a single Commodore 64 with a dial-up modem in the basement of the data center and the janitor handles the support.*

    I've not used any of these brands myself, so I'm just sayin'...

    After all, Ford = Ford / Mercury / Lincoln / Mazda / Volvo and until recently, Jaguar.

    Some are very different products (some not so much), with very different customer satisfaction levels, but they're still all Fords.

    * BTW, c64hosting.com is available if anyone wants to try that business model.
    ~ But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong...

  20. #20
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    Diversify and conquer the market. Multiple domains and websites selling the same product on the same machines is not new (as previously mentioned). Sister companies usually operate on their own but are under the general management of a company overhead.

    The only thing that would bother me would be if you had an issue at one place, and asked for recomendations and they recommend another one of their domains as if it's a different company. Between that and the "TOP HOST" directories that are all over the web - most of them operated by hosting companies that like to plug their own sites a little more frequently. But advertising is advertising - it's done very regularly in the world.
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  21. #21
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    After all, Ford = Ford / Mercury / Lincoln / Mazda / Volvo and until recently, Jaguar.
    They're not all priced the same though.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by nickn View Post
    In the states, Taco Bell KFC Pizza Hut and Long John Silvers are all owned by the same people.

    It happens in every industry. Economies of scale.
    exactly, even the auto industry have different brands
    ford, mercury, Lincoln
    Honda Acura
    VW Audi

    cellular telecom carriers
    the list goes on --

    the are done to appeal to all aspects of the average joe
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  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by nickn View Post
    In the states, Taco Bell KFC Pizza Hut and Long John Silvers are all owned by the same people.

    It happens in every industry. Economies of scale.
    Yes, but if you got a toe nail in your taco every 90-120 days, I bet you'd tire of Taco Bell very quickly. Also the 3 eateries you mention sell very different food - EIG sells all the same sh*t, just in a different wrapper.

    iPowerweb was "meh" to me before EIG purchased them, since then they were more like "barf". So when looking for another host, I chatted with Powweb support and told them my bad experience with iPowerweb - they did not tell me that they were part of the same group (I pretended I didn't know), they just tried to sell me. So they are more sinister than benign and certainly not forthcoming with information.

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