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12-20-2007, 02:31 PM #1Web Hosting Master
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SWsoft Acquires WebHost Automation (Helm)
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12-20-2007, 02:35 PM #2Retired Moderator
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That's a strategic move, Swsoft stable is extremely strong in linux controlpanels, but not that strong in Windows. With the acquisition of Helm, I must say that they are going to be the Number 1 in the controlpanel industry very soon. Only competition I can think of that is of threat would be Cpanel. Problem is Cpanel's Windows is yet to be out
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12-20-2007, 02:35 PM #3Retired Moderator
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Moved to Hosting Software and Controlpanel.
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12-20-2007, 03:07 PM #4Greece
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SWsoft is going to create a control panel monopoly.
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12-20-2007, 03:11 PM #5Retired Moderator
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12-20-2007, 03:52 PM #6Location = SoapBox
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well, I was wondering when and if this would happen. SWSoft owns a big chunk of the hosting automation market. cpanel really arent competitors in this space. I think Alabanza and Hosting Controller maybe are left..... things should get interesting... What really complicates this is the patent issue around control panels being fought right now - this really impedes competition from even entering the market... and I dont think its coincidental that swsoft picked now to go after and acquire all of these control panel companies...
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12-20-2007, 04:19 PM #7Rockin' the beer gut
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12-20-2007, 09:34 PM #8Junior Guru
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There is also Interworx, and under windows there is the dotnetpanel (which I don't see quite that often with windows hosts).
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12-20-2007, 09:41 PM #9Web Hosting Master
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I really see this as a bad thing. How can they possibley run so many panels, update them, and support them.. From all that i hear they have problems supporting the panels they run now.
Also the more of the market share they own the more they can dictate to pricing, etc.
I hope cpanel does not sell out to them too. So long as cpanel stays on their own i will be happy because its the only panel i like other than helm anyway.
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12-20-2007, 09:43 PM #10
Cpanel is listed as a partner on the Microsoft IIS7 website. I would assume that's a good indication that they're closing in on the windows version. My only issue with Cpanel is price. it's just to expensive.
It looks to me like SWSoft (or Paralels as they're going to be called) is putting together a very strong, intrgrated offering. They are definately positioning themselves to be the leader in the industry.Aaron Wendel
Wholesale Internet, Inc. - http://www.wholesaleinternet.net
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12-21-2007, 03:24 AM #11WHT Addict
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SWSoft certainly seems headed for panelopoly. That doesn't mean they will do right by ANY of the panels they own. Logic states that if they cannot support their own products, then they certainly will fail at supporting the acquired ones as well.
They snatched up Ensim before Ensim Corp. was able to upsell us to become a strategic partner (time between these events: less than 3 days). Glad we trusted our gut instinct on that one. And SHAME on Ensim Corp for being sneaky and not even mentioning it in the many exchanges we had with them during that time.
On the surface, SWSoft seems legit. In every acquisition they have issued a standard press release stating they will continue to develop/support/advance each panel they have purchased, and that customers of the now-acquired product have nothing to worry about.
However.. more and more we are seeing negative reviews of SWsoft. We have been posting to their forum and contacting them directly, without receiving any response from them. And that is in addition to others' comments that SWsoft is hard to get ahold of or flat-out refusing to assist.
What this all says to us is: added risk. To begin using one of their products, or continue using a product that has since been acquired by them, means we may be doing so with added risk to our operations and our customers.
So to hear that SWSoft has acquired YET another panel says they may just be looking to build migration paths for these third party products and move everyone over to their core panels.
Which means for some, including us, it may well be a good time to look at alternatives outside of SWsoft.Canvas Host, LLC - http://www.canvas.host - 800.574.4299
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12-21-2007, 03:29 AM #12Disabled
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I don't think many Helm users are going to be happy.
Over time, SWsoft will incorporate the best features of Helm with existing SWsoft products to create highly advanced hosting technologies. Customers will have the option to upgrade to the new technologies. In some cases, additional licensing fees may apply. (http://www.swsoft.com/en/helm/)
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12-21-2007, 03:46 AM #13Location = SoapBox
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Hello canvas,
I cant blame you for your concerns - as they are shared by many. However, I can share with you our experiences with swsoft during the psoft and hsphere acquisition and afterwards. First off, I must stress, we never used psoft support prior to swsoft acquiring them and we do not use swsoft for support now - but, from what I have heard, they have extended their support hours for all hsphere users to 24x7 and the responses have been positive. From a product perspective, they have put together a very very nice roadmap and from the testing we have done on their advanced beta, the release is a very very solid one.
I have spoken with swsoft extensively since the acquisition - and honestly, I have been very impressed with them. They have taken our feedback and implemented many of the changes we requested.
So to hear that SWSoft has acquired YET another panel says they may just be looking to build migration paths for these third party products and move everyone over to their core panels.
If you really look at what swsoft is doing, control panels are simply delivery vehicles for various 3rd party (and swsoft core) products via items like Open Fusion and their Application Packaging Standard. The real money for swsoft is delivering products like virtuozzo, sitebuilder, ssl certs, domains, application packages and services, etc to end users - they accomplish this by integrating these solutions into the control panels they own - and the more control panels they own, the larger that target audience is and the larger that delivery vehicle is. I would highly doubt if any of the control panels they own will go end of life for the forseeable future. Remember - plesk, confixx, ensim, helm, hsphere, sphera, etc - are all acquired portions of their portfolio - none of these can be considered their core products....
Over time, SWsoft will incorporate the best features of Helm with existing SWsoft products to create highly advanced hosting technologies. Customers will have the option to upgrade to the new technologies. In some cases, additional licensing fees may apply. (http://www.swsoft.com/en/helm/)www.cartika.com
www.clusterlogics.com - You simply cannot run a hosting company without this software. Backups, Disaster Recovery, Big Data, Virtualization. 20 years of building software that solves your problems
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12-21-2007, 04:46 AM #14Aspiring Evangelist
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The real money for swsoft is delivering products like virtuozzo, sitebuilder, ssl certs, domains, application packages and services, etc to end users - they accomplish this by integrating these solutions into the control panels they own - and the more control panels they own, the larger that target audience is and the larger that delivery vehicle is.Last edited by Mikie4648; 12-21-2007 at 04:50 AM.
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12-21-2007, 04:50 AM #15Location = SoapBox
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Hello Mikie4648,
My understanding is that all of these can be turned on or off by the upstream provider. Havent used the latest and greatest Plesk, so, I am not sure if that is the case - but, with everything being worked on in hsphere, these items are options - so, if end users see them, then its because the upstream allow them to - probably because they are making money off of those options themselves.
If you are talking about the providers themselves seeing those options - well, nothing wrong with providing value added services and products which can be upsold. As long as the provider has the choice on whether to make them available to their end users, I dont see the issue with this...www.cartika.com
www.clusterlogics.com - You simply cannot run a hosting company without this software. Backups, Disaster Recovery, Big Data, Virtualization. 20 years of building software that solves your problems
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12-21-2007, 05:27 AM #16Webhosting Professional
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12-21-2007, 07:36 AM #17Rocco Alive!
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I don't think they'll be able to concentrate on developing/supporting all these control panel.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
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12-22-2007, 02:16 AM #18WHT Addict
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Hello Andrew,
We just had a fantastic round of exchanges with SWSoft today. What a relief. We'll be speaking with a few members of their team middle of next week once everyone is back in the office, and they have addressed some of the immediate concerns I shared with them today.
Compared with Ensim Corp., I'm getting a sense that SWSoft will do better by Ensim users. They're already off to a great start with us.
I'm never too proud to admit my concerns were premature, especially when there's good news to be shared.
Cheers,
DavidCanvas Host, LLC - http://www.canvas.host - 800.574.4299
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12-22-2007, 02:39 AM #19Location = SoapBox
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Hi David,
sounds like great news !
I must admit, swsoft is not a forum driven company. They havent done a good job at communicating with their customers via their forums or the forums of companies they have purchased. But, if you drop them an email, or give them a call - they are a very professional and thorough organization.
I am really pleased to hear it is working out for you. I was a little skeptical when they first took over hpshere - but, I must admit, it has been excellent working with swsoft and I think you will be just as happy down the road...
Cheers for now and happy holidays...www.cartika.com
www.clusterlogics.com - You simply cannot run a hosting company without this software. Backups, Disaster Recovery, Big Data, Virtualization. 20 years of building software that solves your problems
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12-22-2007, 02:58 AM #20Retired Moderator
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Swsoft is starting to communicate with customers, I must say, their accounts managers at least are now sending emails to you introducing themselves etc. Previously getting them is a bit hard. We used to go through Web CC instead.
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12-24-2007, 02:48 PM #21Aspiring Evangelist
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SWsoft still remain one of my favourite suppliers. They have their bad points, but so does every business. I feel their positives outweigh any negatives substantially for my relationship with them and I am happy to be a customer.
I agree with some (not all ) of your comments about SWsoft, but don't have time to go into details right now.
I'm curious what you consider 'core product' to mean though? If you consider it to mean products SWsoft originally developed themselves (i.e. they did not buy it) then this is incorrect, as PEM was a product of Plesk, Inc. prior to their acquisition. HSPcomplete, Virtuozzo and SiteBuilder have always been SWsoft products, HSPc being designed to automate VZ provisioning, and also shared hosting within VE's (prior to Plesk replacing most/all of that function), with SiteBuilder being SWsoft's only new product for years.
All the other products come to SWsoft through acquisitions (Plesk, Plesk Expand, Plesk Enterprise Manager (now PEM), Confixx, Sphera, HSPhere+SiteStudio, Ensim, Helm, Parallels). Expand was released under SWsoft, but design began with Plesk, Inc.
Did you mean something else?Andrew Cranson, Director of Operations
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12-25-2007, 09:25 PM #22Location = SoapBox
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What I consider core products are their own products (sitebuilder, Virtuozzo) - I did get PEM and HSPcomplete mixed up, us I thought PEM was their own and HSP was acquired - apparently I got those mixed up.
Eitherway, I still see their control panel acquisitions as the development of delivery vehicles for their core products as well as an economies of scale distribution model for 3rd party products via their various integration and delivery mechanisms. The best example is the deal they cut with Comodo for SSL certs. Owning all of these CP's gives them a very large end user audience and allows them to make significant margins on selling various value added products. I would expect this to countinue with other applications and services. Granted, this is just an educated guess - but, if I were in their position, that is what I would be doing - and based on some of the distribution deals they have signed lately - seems like a good enough guess
cheers and merry Christmaswww.cartika.com
www.clusterlogics.com - You simply cannot run a hosting company without this software. Backups, Disaster Recovery, Big Data, Virtualization. 20 years of building software that solves your problems
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12-26-2007, 09:22 AM #23Aspiring Evangelist
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Fair enough, thanks for the explanation, it makes sense now and is what I assumed you must have meant.
Andrew Cranson, Director of Operations
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