Exchange Hosting Reviews

- Over 40 percent of SMBs spend same amount of time choosing their coffee maker - 1 in 3 companies believe their revenue would increase with a better web address

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) January 24, 2008 — U.S. small businesses are rushing their choice of web address, with 42 percent investing under 1 hour of thought in the decision, according to a survey released today by 1&1 Internet Inc., the world’s largest web host by known servers. A survey of 1,074 American businesses revealed that the average business spends less than 12 hours choosing their main domain name. Some 60 percent of business owners sought no second opinion before making a selection and over half (57 percent) did not consider options such as .biz or .net at all. Most recognized that their domain name could have a lasting effect on their business, with one third of businesses (37 percent) believing that their revenue would improve as a direct result of having a better web address, and 1 in 4 businesses (28 percent) admitting they had ‘concerns’ about the effectiveness of their web address.

1&1’s ‘SMB Domain Choices Study’ found that U.S. businesses most often choose their primary domain name in haste. Some 42 percent of businesses surveyed spent the same time selecting their domain as they did sourcing minor equipment such as their coffee maker or paper shredder (less than 1 hour). The average U.S. business admitted to spending less than 12 hours on the decision, the same amount of time spent selecting IT equipment such as PCs and printers. Some 60 percent of business owners did not seek a second opinion, even though over half (58 percent) had to modify their domain because their first choice was not available.

Although purchasing a web address should be one of the first steps in launching a business, it is often bought in haste. Every American business must recognize the lasting impact that a domain name can have on sales and image, and business owners shouldn’t delay making necessary changes. It is therefore not surprising that many American businesses believe that their choice of domain name could have been better. 1 in 4 businesses (28 percent) admitted to wanting improvements in either their domain name wording or suffix (e.g. .biz). Furthermore, a significant one third (37 percent) believe that their sales revenue would improve as a direct result of a change in web address. Alarmingly, about 1 in 4 of these businesses (23 percent) said they were unwilling to attempt a change in domain name because they believed it would involve a lot of work. There is a clear danger that a number of businesses continue to use an undesirable domain name while recognizing it could be having a negative impact on their business.
1&1’s research would suggest that the way many businesses choose their web addresses could be improved. The survey found that most business owners were preoccupied with .com or .org options, with over half (57 percent) completely ruling out less obvious suffixes such as .net, .biz or .tv. 1&1 recommends that businesses spend at least a few days thinking about their domain name wording and weighing up the pros and cons of the various suffixes available to them.

Andreas Gauger, chairman of the board, 1&1 Internet Inc., commented, “The selection of a business’ web address is a crucial decision, businesses should consider all available options before purchasing their primary domain name. As the number of registered domains increases, it’s often the case that the best available domains belong to less obvious suffixes, and it is always advisable to seek external opinion on what a domain could suggest about your business.”

While most U.S. small businesses now recognize the benefits of having a website, the research would suggest few are optimizing their web presence. Some 7 percent of business owners surveyed admit to having forgotten their own domain name.

Gauger added, “Although purchasing a web address should be one of the first steps in launching a business, it is often bought in haste. Every American business must recognize the lasting impact that a domain name can have on sales and image, and business owners shouldn’t delay making necessary changes.”

As the world’s largest web host, 1&1 offers a comprehensive range of web solutions including domain name registrations, web hosting, email solutions, dedicated servers, and eShops.

For more information on 1&1 Internet Inc., visit the website at www.1and1.com.

About 1&1 Internet Inc.:
1&1 Internet Inc. is a subsidiary of United Internet, a profitable public company with a market cap of $4 billion. 1&1 was established in 1992 and hosts more than 9 million domain names, while more than 40,000 servers run on the company’s five state-of-the-art data centers. 1&1’s global community is over 7 million customer contracts strong. The company’s U.S. headquarters is located in Chesterbrook, PA. For more information, please contact the company at www.1and1.com or 1-877-461-2631.

External connection for top-line data centers upgraded to 120 Gigabit/sec+ & bandwidth of European ring quadrupled. Cost benefits through switch to Ethernet technology and new peerings.

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) January 21, 2008 — 1&1 Internet Inc., the world’s largest web host by known servers, today completed a comprehensive extension of its wide area network (WAN). An overall bandwidth of more than 120 Gigabit/second is now available for 1&1’s top-of-the-line data centers in Europe and the United States. For the first time, 1&1 is connected directly to a large Internet Exchange point outside of Europe at Equinix in Chicago. The development means that the external connectivity of the world’s largest web host has tripled over the past twelve months.

Andreas Gauger, chairman of the board, 1&1 Internet Inc., said, “With the upgrade of our Internet bandwidth, our millions of web hosting customers in Europe and the U.S. can be sure that their content will reach Internet users worldwide even faster and more reliably. As a result of multimedia applications like video streaming, the demand for bandwidth has grown enormously over the last few years.” The data volume transmitted from 1&1’s data centers has in fact nearly doubled over the past year from 3,500 Terabytes (3.5 million Gigabytes) in January 2007, to 6,500 Terabytes in December 2007.

With the upgrade of our Internet bandwidth, our millions of web hosting customers in Europe and the U.S. can be sure that their content will reach Internet users worldwide even faster and more reliably. As a result of multimedia applications like video streaming, the demand for bandwidth has grown enormously over the last few years. “The continuous upgrade of 1&1’s data network shows that despite pessimistic forecasts from some, the boundaries of Internet growth have not yet been reached,” adds Gauger.
In November, U.S. research company, Nemertes, warned in a well known study that Internet infrastructure might no longer supply the growing demands of private and business users over the next 3 to 5 years. With its latest network upgrades and further measures planned for 2008, 1&1 feels well prepared for continuously growing demand.

Over the next year, 1&1 will focus on extending its U.S. network. In Chicago, at Equinix, 1&1 is for the first time connected to a large Internet Exchange point outside of Europe. In March, 1&1 will more than double the external connectivity of its Lenexa, Kansas data center. With more than 600,000 customers, 1&1 is presently the fifth-largest web host in the U.S. market.

Besides the upgrade of its wide area network, 1&1 has also made changes to its underlying technology. Instead of SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy), now Ethernet technology — well-known from corporate and home networks — is being utilized. “Ethernet can be handled more easily, and by switching to powerful routers from U.S. based manufacturer Foundry Networks, we can even save money,” comments Andreas Gauger. 1&1 benefits from an additional cost saving potential through the network extension, as data streams can be distributed optimally through new peerings and routing alternatives.

Founded in 1988, 1&1 pioneered the ‘one-stop-shop’ approach to web solutions. Due to 1&1’s scale and technical heritage, the company can deliver an unrivaled combination of value-added services and technological expertise. 1&1 currently manages more than 7 million customer contracts, 9 million registered domains, and 81 million email accounts.

For more information on 1&1 Internet Inc. visit the website at www.1and1.com

About 1&1 Internet Inc.:
1&1 Internet Inc. is a subsidiary of United Internet, a profitable public company with a market cap of $4 billion. 1&1 was founded in 1988 and hosts more than 9 million domain names, while more than 40,000 servers run on the company’s five state-of-the-art data centers. 1&1’s global community is over 7 million customer contracts strong. The company’s U.S. headquarters is located in Chesterbrook, PA. For more information, please contact the company at www.1and1.com or 1-877-461-2631.