Author Archive

GeoTrust is the SSL Brand of Choice for the Top Million Sites Online

A recent survey of SSL certificate use by Netcraft, referenced against the top million sites online (as tallied by Alexa), revealed that GeoTrust SSL certificates continue to be the most widely used choice of the one million top websites on the Internet.

The comparison looked at the Alexa 1 Million and counted publically facing SSL certificates. They found over 35,000 GeoTrust SSL certificates amongst the 165,000 total certificates found. GeoTrust led all certificate authorities, with the nearest competitor alomost 10,000 certificates behind.

GeoTrust points to the data as proof that more users look to GeoTrust as the low-cost SSL certificate provider of choice to secure and encrypt data transmitted over the Internet.

With increasing competition in the low-end of the SSL market, GeoTrust continues to provide cost-effective solutions for a variety of different requirements. From QuickSSL, through True BusinessID with or without Extended Validation, there is a GeoTrust-branded certificate to satisfy any buyer.

If you have an OpenSRS Reseller account, then you are also automatically able to sell SSL certificates from GeoTrust (and also thawte and VeriSign). For more information visit our GeoTrust SSL information page.

.ORG Surpasses 8.5 Million Domains

The latest edition of the bi-annual .org domain name report, “The Dashboard,” is now available.

Public Internet Registry (PIR), the operator of the .org domain extension released the report, which showed 7.6% growth in the .org domain in the first half of 2010. That’s twice the growth compared to 2009 and signals continued strength in the .org extension.

Some other figures of interest:

The growth of .org in the first half of 2010 outpaced both .com and .net over the same period.
New creates for .org showed 16.5% growth, on par with both .com and .net.
77.1% of organizations renewed their .org domains for one to three years, an increase of 4% over 2009.
North America and the European Union continued to represent the regions with the most .org registrations. China showed growth of 4% in the first half of 2010.

With over 8.5 million .org domains registered, .org is the third largest generic top-level domain (gTLD), behind .com and .net.

You can always download the latest version of the “The Dashboard” from PIR’s website at http://pir.org/news/dashboard

Four Million .nl Domains

This week the total number of .nl domain names in existence hit the four million mark for the first time, according to SIDN, the .nl Registry.

That puts .nl in fourth place in terms of ccTLDs for total registrations behind .de, .uk and .cn. Curiously, .nl actually leads all ccTLDs when you look at total registrations compared to the population of the country. In the case of .nl, there is one .nl domain for every four people in the Netherlands.

If you aren’t selling .nl domains, perhaps some of the stats around .nl domains will get you thinking about it:

Since the .nl domain was created, a total of about 5.1 million unique domain names have been registered. Of these, roughly 1.1 million are no longer registered leaving just over 4 million .nl domains.
Within the Netherlands, .nl has a 72% share of the domain name market. Next comes .com with 14%, then .eu with 8%.
Over the last twelve months, the .nl domain has grown by almost 13%.
The use of domain names to create personalized e-mail addresses increased by 25%.
In the Netherlands, 38 people in every 100 have broadband internet access – more than anywhere else in the world.
The average .nl domain name is 13 characters long, but the most common length is 11 characters.

OpenSRS is .nl accredited and we recently rewrote our connection to the .nl registry to take advantage of the new EPP interface.

For resellers who are .nl accredited themselves, you may not know that our OpenSRS Registrar Service platform offers a hosted solution to manage .nl domains using your existing accreditation. Of course, OpenSRS Domain Service offers an easy way to manage .nl domains for those who aren’t accredited.

.nl domains are priced at $8USD/domain year and anyone can register a .nl domain, regardless of where they live.

Meet the Resellers: Xpress Hosting

Este artículo está disponible en español a continuación.

Mexico-based webhost Xpress Hosting has used a customer-centric approach to doing business to become the leading webhost in the region. It was only natural then, for Xpress Hosting to seek out a wholesale Registrar with the same focus on the customer.

Xpress Hosting began working with OpenSRS in 2009. Julian Flores, CEO of Xpress Hosting, says that the company went looking for a vendor that “went beyond, ’okay this is the API, this is how you integrate it…there, you’re good to go. And that’s it.’”

He says they found just that in OpenSRS.

Challenges and Opportunities

The company started out as a specialized application host in 2001, but when customer demand for shared hosting swelled, they listened. That was a move that paid off in spades. The company now provides hosting services primarily to small- and mid-sized businesses throughout Mexico and the surrounding region.

Xpress Hosting sees huge opportunity in a country that is rapidly emerging as a technological nation. But Flores says being in Mexico means the company faces some unique challenges.

express hosting homepage “There is a very interesting contrast in Mexico regarding technology,” Flores explains. “We have three major metropolitan areas – Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey – and more than 60% of our customers come from those cities.”

“The urban customers are informed and educated,” Flores says. “They know what they want and they knock on our doors asking for it.”

But those in the rest of the country often need more help from a customer support and education perspective, something that Xpress Hosting is glad to provide. They’ve built their business on providing that kind of one-on-one customer service.

Customer Service Focused

Flores explains that in Mexico, there is a cultural requirement for a personal relationship in business. “It’s not like in the United States where you can do business with someone over the phone, or email. It doesn’t work like that in Mexico.”

“Our customers look for a personal relationship, and that’s where our niche is,” he says. “For example, we provide a specialized account rep for all of our customers and the customer has their phone extension, cell phone number and email address and the rep knows the requirements and special needs of the customer.”

Flores says that the relationship he has with OpenSRS enables his company to react quickly and provide the kind of service and support that his wide range of customers require.

“We have a very successful and close relationship with OpenSRS and our account manager,” he says. “Honestly, it’s been the best customer experience that I’ve had with a wholesale registrar.”

A Very Bright Future

Within Mexico, technology is spreading and the population, especially the youth, are embracing the Internet. Flores says the future looks exceptionally bright for the company and for the country.

“The next 10 to 15 years are going to be quite a ride for us,” he says. “These young people, make no mistake, they are here to replace us and they will have a webhosting account with us. We’ll be a part of it!”

With a continued focus on meeting the needs of customers like Xpress Hosting, OpenSRS aims to be an important part of it as well.

Con sede en México, Xpress Hosting ha utilizado un enfoque centrado en el cliente para hacer negocios y convertirse en el servicio de alojamiento web líder en la región. Fue natural entonces, que Xpress Hosting buscara un Registrador de venta al mayoreo con el mismo enfoque en el cliente.

Xpress Hosting comenzó a trabajar con OpenSRS en 2009. Julián Flores, director general de Xpress Hosting, dice que la compañía fue en busca de un proveedor que “fuese más allá de, bien aquí está el API, esta es la forma de integrarlo … están listos. Y eso es todo.’”

Menciona que encontró precisamente eso en OpenSRS.

Retos y Oportunidades

La compañía comenzó como un tipo de alojamiento para aplicaciones especializadas en el 2001, pero cuando la demanda del cliente para alojamiento compartido creció, ellos escucharon. Esa fue una decisión que dio frutos con creces. Ahora la compañía ofrece servicios de alojamiento a empresas pequeñas y medianas en México y la región circundante.

Xpress Hosting ve una gran oportunidad en un país que está emergiendo rápidamente como una nación tecnológica. Sin embargo, Flores dice que estar en México significa que la compañía se enfrenta a algunos retos únicos.

express hosting homepage “Hay un contraste muy interesante en México en relación con la tecnología”, explica Flores. “Tenemos tres grandes áreas metropolitanas – Ciudad de México, Guadalajara y Monterrey – y más del 60% de nuestros clientes vienen de estas ciudades”.

“Los clientes urbanos son informados y educados”, afirma Flores. “Ellos saben lo que quieren y tocan nuestras puertas pidiéndolo.”

Mientras tanto, los clientes en el resto del país, necesitan más ayuda desde una perspectiva de soporte al cliente y educación, algo que Xpress Hosting se complace en ofrecer. Han construido su negocio con esa clase de servicio al cliente “uno-a-uno”.

Enfocados al Servicio al Cliente

Flores explica que en México existe un requisito cultural de una relación personal en los negocios. “No es como en los Estados Unidos, donde usted puede hacer negocios con alguien por teléfono, o correo electrónico. No funciona así en México”.

“Nuestros clientes buscan una relación personal, y ahí es donde está nuestro nicho”, dice. “Por ejemplo, ofrecemos un representante de cuenta especializado para todos nuestros clientes y el cliente tiene su extensión de teléfono, número de teléfono celular y la dirección de correo electrónico y el representante conoce los requisitos y necesidades especiales de sus clientes”.

Flores dice que la relación que tiene con OpenSRS permite que su compañía reaccione con rapidez y proporcione el tipo de servicio y soporte que su amplia gama de clientes requieren.

“Tenemos una relación muy cercana y exitosa con OpenSRS y nuestro representante de cuenta”, dice. “Sinceramente, ha sido la mejor experiencia de cliente que he tenido con un Registrador de venta al por mayor.”

Un futuro muy brillante

En México, la tecnología se está extendiendo y la población, especialmente los jóvenes, están adoptando la Internet. Flores afirma que el futuro se ve excepcionalmente brillante para la compañía y para el país.

“Los próximos 10 a 15 años van a ser un paseo muy interesante para nosotros”, dice. “No se equivoquen, estas jóvenes generaciones, están aquí para reemplazarnos y ellos tendrán una cuenta de alojamiento web con nosotros”. Nosotros vamos a ser parte de este cambio! ”

Con un enfoque en la satisfacción de las necesidades de los clientes como Xpress Hosting, OpenSRS espera ser una parte importante de este cambio también.

Much thanks goes to OpenSRS Tech Support Analyst Carlos Barrientos for translating this post to Spanish. Muchas gracias!

6 Ways for Web Hosts to Stand Out in a Saturated Market

Look around the web hosting industry and you’ll run into a lot of similar looking websites offering similar packages with similar costs. So how is a webhost supposed to stand out amongst the crowd and attract new customers?

To help out, we’re presenting a webinar on August 26th, 2010. Adam Eisner, who heads up our domains business here at OpenSRS will take you through six tangible strategies that you can use to differentiate yourself in a crowded environment. He’ll bring you real-world examples along with data from our Reseller base that will provide you with practical ways to fuel growth and attract new customers.

As with all of our webinars, it’s free to attend and everyone is welcome. We’ll hold a pair of sessions on August 26th at 9am and 2pm EDT (that’s 1300 and 1800 UTC) to accommodate attendees in different time zones. Register today so you don’t forget. And, keep in mind that registering ensures that you’ll automatically get an email with a link to the archive after the webinar ends, so even if you can’t make it to the live event, it does make sense to click the link below and signup.