Month: May 2010

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Managed Hosting Provider Netcetera announced as finalist in 2010 ISPA Internet Industry Awards

Netcetera, one of Europe’s leading managed hosting and data center providers, has been nominated as one of five finalists in the prestigious 2010 ISPA Internet Industry Awards in the Best Shared Hosting category.

The battle for finalists’ places was ultra-competitive again this year with a large number of entries in all categories. Finalists in the majority of categories are selected based on three months of rigorous testing by ISPA’s technical testing partner, Epitiro.

“We are extremely proud to be nominated for this award for the fourth year in succession.” said Tim Cass of Netcetera  “We strive to lead the industry through constant innovation and by delivering excellent value to our customers. It is good to know that our efforts are appreciated.”

The ISPA awards are unique because they are awarded to people and organisations in the industry by their peers. They have been organised since 1999 to herald the best of the internet industry and to celebrate innovation and best practice. Entrants in the Best Shared Hosting category are tested on the availability and performance of their web servers as well as features, value for money and other criteria.

Established in 1996, Netcetera is one of Europe’s leading Web Hosting service providers, with customers in over 60 countries worldwide. The company is a leading IT infrastructure provider offering datacentre co-location, dedicated servers and managed infrastructure services to businesses worldwide.

Responsibility for selecting the winners now lies with a high-profile panel of expert judges, which is this year chaired by Think Broadband Editor Andrew Ferguson.

ISPA Secretary General, Nicholas Lansman said, “Each year the ISPA Awards rewards the UK’s top Internet companies after a process that involves thorough technical testing and judging from an independent panel. I would like to congratulate all of the finalists and look forward to welcoming them to the Awards gala dinner ceremony, which looks like being one of our biggest to date.”

The winners will be announced on 8th July 2010, at a sparkling black tie awards ceremony at the Grosvenor Marriott Hotel, London.

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About Netcetera:

Netcetera was established in 1996 and is the largest web hosting company on the Isle of Man in addition to being one of Europe’s leading managed hosting and datacentre providers. Providing co-location, dedicated servers and managed hosting infrastructure, Netcetera provide services to businesses in over 60 countries worldwide.

Netcetera’s 16,000 square foot ISO27001 certified facility located in the Isle of Man, allows the company to offer any business enterprise level co-location and hosted solutions. Netcetera can provide companies with the IT requirements they need from single server co-location and disaster recovery to fully customised and dedicated servers. Netcetera offers relief to companies and allows them to maintain a focus on their core business instead of managing servers, networks and firewalls often at significant cost savings. As a web host Netcetera offers a steadfast, cost effective service delivered through leading technology channels with superior quality bandwidth and expert personnel. All processes are well defined to ISO9001 standards. For further information please visit www.netcetera.co.uk

Notes to the editor:

The Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA) was established in 1995 as a trade association to represent providers of Internet services in the UK. ISPA promotes competition, self-regulation and the development of the Internet industry. For a list of members or other information about ISPA, please consult the website: www.ispa.org.uk The views expressed in this release are those of the Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA) and do not necessarily reflect the corporate policies of the individual companies that are members of the Association or other organisations that may be mentioned in the release. For further editorial information or to arrange an interview please contact press@netcetera.co.uk or telephone 0871 3096 461

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Netcetera in Netcraft’s most reliable hosting list for April 2010

Netcetera have once again been listed in the Top 10 of most reliable web hosts worldwide, for April 2010.

We have recently bolstered the reliability and performance of our network and service functions by investing in a comprehensive infrastructure upgrade. The investments were driven by significantly increased adoption of the company’s business hosting accounts, often used by UK developers and resellers for ecommerce, transactional and programming functionality for businesses.

Netcraft measures and makes available the response times of fifty leading hosting providers’ sites. The performance measurements are made at fifteen minute intervals from separate points around the Internet, and averages are calculated over the immediately preceding month. Netcetera ranked 7th in the world according to real-time data displayed at: http://uptime.netcraft.com/perf/reports/Hosters

Want to improve the reliability of your hosting?

To speak to one of our Hosting Specialists about what our services can do for you please fill out our Enquiry Form, call 0800 061 2801, Request A Call Back, Chat Online or Request a Brochure.

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Primary misconceptions of London Data Centres

The benefits of a datacentre outside London and the added benefits of hosting with Netcetera

It is often difficult to acknowledge the difference between myths and truths and recently it has been publicised that myths within the data centre industry have now been commonly accepted as truths. This is leading companies to make decisions regarding their colocation or hosting choices that ultimately are just not right for their business. This is a concerning prospect given that now more than ever before, it is vitally important that businesses get the most out of their investments and ultimately make the right decisions with regards to data management.

London is widely believed to be the model location for your data. The capital is close to transport links, central to businesses and on the hub of the fibre networks. With all this in mind it is no wonder London is seen as a prime data centre location. However, in reality the picture is not all that it seems. London is a minefield.  Data centres located in the heart of the city are competing for power and fibre on an already oversubscribed network. This leads to an increased risk in outages and downtime for your servers. It is also very important to remember why businesses use colocation services in the first place – to ensure business continuity.

The Solution

Managed hosting and data centre provider, Netcetera, has tackled the London space shortage with their expansion into a new zone of a 10 million pound development on the Isle of Man. The Isle of Man and Netcetera’s datacentre is perfect for co-location and disaster recovery services. Power is supplied from three of the most modern power stations in the UK, the data center has natural security provided by the sea and the resilient high capacity fibre optic cables connected to both Manchester and London mean that connectivity is superb.

Keeping your data Secure

London is a prime suspect for terrorist attacks and the 7/7 bombings only confirmed this. Any potential threats could result in access being shutdown indefinitely leaving customers in the lurch. Another misconception is that data centre space in London is more expensive because you are receiving much better quality and higher specifications than elsewhere in the country. In reality though London is an expensive city, space is scarce and as a result most data centres are not in purpose built buildings but in converted existing buildings which are not going to be as fully specified as a purpose built site.

Giving you room to grow

Companies are being restricted from expansion by both space and power shortages in their current data centers. Here on the Isle of Man we are in a great position to offer co-location at an all-in-one price for any business. Due to this, banking and financial services companies are showing particular interest in Netcetera. A purpose built data centre such as Netcetera’s Dataport is a prime example of the benefits of a building designed specifically for the bespoke needs of a data centre. Secure parking and facilities such as meeting rooms and kitchen facilities are potentially high priorities in terms of security and comfort for both customers and their clients alike.

Datacentre Access

Another perception is that being a city that never sleeps London data centres can offer 24/7 access to their facilities. This is not the case, many data centres have to adhere to strict planning restrictions which mean that access procedures can be very slow limiting or even prohibiting night time or weekend access. Most businesses will need to maintain an uninterrupted service so they will need access when required at any time of the day or night. The Isle of Man is only a maximum of an hour by plane from any UK airport and clients using Netcetera’s co-location facilities have 24hr access, 365 days a year. Clients can also manage their servers remotely with virtual server management services.

Datacentre Tour

Rather than basing your decision on a set of assumptions, seeing the site for yourself before committing to a contract will help to ensure that you don’t get tied into a contract which you will later regret. A data centre that values you as a customer and appreciates your business should offer a personal guided tour as a matter of course; this is the only method in which to gain a real perspective on whether or not the data centre is the right one for your business.

Datacentre benefits at a glance

In terms of infrastructure The Dataport features an exceptionally highly specified infrastructure which at its core incorporates 2(N+1) power, generator and UPS. Redundant cooling and fire protection and suppression systems, specialised heat and smoke sensors, raised flooring, scalable power for future expansion, 24×7 technical support 365 days a year.

Physical Security

The standard of security at The Dataport is second to none. That it’s housed in a building that was previously used to manufacture industrial diamonds says a lot about The Dataport’s physical security arrangements. In fact, the entire Freeport zone is a fenced site and access can only be gained via a barrier controlled from a manned security lodge. Visitors must pre-warn of arrival and provide acceptable photo identification, before gaining admittance.

IT Security

While physical security is important, it would be rendered redundant if not for Netcetera’s provision of the world’s most advanced IT security measures. Netcetera partners with global technology and IT security brands and offers specialist management services so that customers can focus on their core business and never have to worry about security risks.

London vs The Isle of Man – Added benefits

Netcetera’s success is in part down to its location on the Isle of Man, a low tax jurisdiction that is extremely friendly to e-business. The government boasts that the Island gives its residents and businesses the ‘freedom to flourish’ and does what it can to make this happen with several incentives. For example, internet-based companies could realise tax savings of up to 47.5% of total profit. There is also a range of grants available. The government prides itself on being flexible and responsive to the needs of business and this experience is borne out across many industries on the Island.

What are the next steps?

To speak to one of our Hosting Specialists about what our services can do for you, or to arrange a Data Centre Tour (virtual or in-person) or for any other queries, please fill out our Enquiry Form, call 0800 061 2801, Request A Call Back, Chat Online or Request a Brochure.

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Netcetera in Top 10 Most Popular companies at Dedicated Server Directory for April 2010

Netcetera has once again been selected as one of the Top 10 Most Popular companies at Dedicated Server Directory UK for April 2010!

This is a great testament to the quality and cost-effectiveness of our range of  Windows VPS servers and our range of Managed Dedicated Servers.

Need to improve the performance of your hosting?

Contact one of our Hosting Specialists to see how you could benefit from Netcetera’s superior network reliability and service.

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10 Ways to Speed Up Your Website

Google recently announced that they were going to start considering site speed as a search engine ranking factor.

Google Webmaster’s Official Blog states: “Like us, our users place a lot of value in speed – that’s why we’ve decided to take site speed into account in our search rankings.”

That is the second most important reason to have a fast website. The top reason is showing your visitors the information they want fast so they don’t leave your website.

These are 10 things you can do to speed up your site.

  1. Use External CSS and Script Files
    Don’t include CSS or JavaScript code in your HTML documents. Create separate files and call out to them when necessary.
  2. Use DIVs for Layout
    Avoid using tables.
  3. More Is Less
    Remove elements you don’t really need.
  4. Optimize Your Images
    Use this software to reduce the size of your images.
  5. Don’t Use Images to Display Text
    With CSS styles you can make text look pretty much any way you want.
  6. Use Clean Code
    Get rid of unnecessary code.
  7. Use Trailing Slashes When Linking to Directories
    If you have your blog in a folder called “blog”, link to www.yoursite.co.uk/blog/ (with a trailing slash at the end) as opposed to www.yoursite.co.uk/blog.
  8. Use the Height and Width Tags
    Don’t forget to use these tags for images and other elements.
  9. Avoid the Excessive Use of Flash
    Flash animations can really slow your website down; avoid them if possible.
  10. Choose your web host carefully
    If you are a UK based business then it is crucial to have a UK based Web Host with verifiable performance and availability measurements.

Need to improve the performance of your website?

Contact one of our Hosting Specialists today to see how you could benefit from Netcetera’s superior network performance and service.