It's been a hot summer indeed, not only for the weatherman, but for Internet folks as well. The latest round of economic warnings come at a time when everyone has been once again scared by the media. Don't believe all the hype that you hear on the news. As a matter of fact, a surprising new study by an Internet pioneer has found that Internet traffic has grown faster than ever in recent months, contradicting widely held views that Internet growth has slowed. Dr. Lawrence Roberts of Caspian Networks says his new research is based upon actual scientific data, rather than on the financial performance of equipment vendors. As a leader of the team that developed ARPANET, which evolved into the modern Internet, Roberts says he was able to gain unusual access to top scientists at leading carriers. By signing non-disclosure agreements with the top 19 carriers, Roberts' team was able to access information about their network topologies and traffic. Network traffic was sampled in April and October of 2000 and April of 2001. Roberts said his data for that 12-month period shows that traffic has been doubling every six months on average across core IP service providers' networks. That equates to an annual growth rate of about 400 PERCENT. In other news, IN-HOUSE WEB HOSTING is on its way out, according to a recent report by Jupiter Media Metrix, as U.S. companies discover that they can save big bucks and potential time and money-eating errors by outsourcing Web-hosting tasks. Currently, 34 percent of U.S. companies handle hosting internally and another 24 percent manage their applications internally but outsource server management. Many companies have opted for in-house hosting due to security concerns, control issues, and customer service and confidentiality issues, according to Jupiter. The problem is that companies overestimate the competitive advantages of in-house Web hosting and fail to see the possible cost reductions that come with outsourcing the service, Jupiter reported. U.S. companies with in-house Web hosting spend more on staffing and technology than they would if they outsourced these functions, saving 30 percent to 40 percent of their Web-hosting costs, according to the researcher. The cost-reducing benefits of outsourcing are most apparent in companies with mid- to high-traffic sites, Jupiter said. Over three years, a company with a staff of 18 people to 25 people would pay three times more per year than it would to outsource the activity. In addition to paying too much for Web hosting, companies perform other Web hosting blunders such as initiating Web projects before their site hosting and technology infrastructure design is built, Jupiter said. Eighty percent of companies jump the gun on their Web development projects, Jupiter said, and due to this lack of planning, nine out of 10 of these ventures will incur some avoidable rebuilding. Jupiter recommends that companies undertake infrastructure design in tandem with first-stage application planning and development. If this precaution is not taken, companies risk exceeding their scalability limits and may have to "shift into crisis mode," incurring sky-high hosting costs, the researcher reported. By choosing a technology infrastructure provider simultaneously with an application developer, companies can cut implementation delays by 25 percent to 30 percent, Jupiter reported. When selecting for a Web hosting provider, companies should look for reliability, scalability, security, a proven track record, accountability, response speed, and customer service, the researcher suggested. After all, according to Jupiter, slimming down a company's in-house Web hosting could fatten up its bank account in the long run. If you would like to find out how we have been helping businesses small and large to save money by outsourcing your web services, contact one of our Account Representatives today. Since 1997, WebStream has proven to be a reliable solution. Sincerely, Jason Edwards Director of Promotions WebStream Internet Solutions [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.webstream.net/ (888) 932-2333 Toll-Free (954) 730-7127 Local (954) 733-7067 Fax (954) 730-7405 Help Desk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Would you like to un-subscribe from this mailing list? If so, please click : http://demo.webstream.net/optout/optout.cfm?email=mysql%40lists%2Emysql%2Ecom&mailgroup=GlobalBusiness If the above link is not available, cut and paste this into your browser window. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Before posting, please check: http://www.mysql.com/manual.php (the manual) http://lists.mysql.com/ (the list archive) To request this thread, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Trouble unsubscribing? Try: http://lists.mysql.com/php/unsubscribe.php
