| Allton Starts Web Design Firm in Lake Saint Louis, MO
Michael Allton can still remember his first website. "It was 1997, and my mother had just formed a new non-profit organization in Norwalk, Ohio called Project Leadership. It was designed to promote leadership and community values and she wanted a website to help recruit members. I used FrontPage 97 and it was very basic, but it sparked my love for website design." Since then, Michael has come a long way. For several years, he designed websites for businesses and organizations in Ohio while with an IT Firm. Then, last year, after moving to Lake Saint Louis, he started his own design firm, Stadia Studio. "I wanted very much to get back into designing websites for small businesses," said Michael. "I've always enjoyed helping businesses grow, and having a great website is an integral part of that." Stadia Studio specializes in providing small businesses with complete web services including website design, hosting, search engine optimization and consulting.
Cisco pumps $9.5M into SaaS Startup
Networking giant Cisco led a $9.5 funding round of two-year-old application hosting firm SoonR. The move announced on Tuesday is the latest in a series of investments Cisco has been making in small Web 2.0 software firms. Facing a changing marketplace where business and personal productivity applications increasingly exist on the web, network hardware giant Cisco has spent about $4 billion in the last year acquiring software firms such as WebEx and Reactivity.
In the last year Cisco has acquired about a half-dozen software and service firms, and earmarked another billion dollars to dole out venture funds on small firms mostly in Silicon Valley, but occasionally in China, India and Russia.
The company has invested heavily in software and services startups such as China Communications Services and Russian e-commerce firm Ozon, and has taken an equity positions in Albaba.com.
Malware writers exploring Software as a Service model
The business of writing, buying, and selling malware has become increasingly commercial over the past few years, but a new report from online security firm Finjan sheds light on just how mainstream the crimeware business has gone. Earlier this month, the company discovered a small, standalone application gathering data on over 8,700 servers, including web sites from 2,500 North American companies and a handful of sites in Alexa's top 100 ranking. Potential buyers were able to log into the malicious server hosting the data-gathering service and evaluate any given web site's size and Google Page Rank to decide whether or not the site's FTP information was worth purchasing or not. The concept of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is nothing new, but this is the first time anyone has organized the purchase of FTP login credentials, with additional tools available to help a buyer confirm he's making a smart purchase.
IPOWER Joins RatePoint Partner Program
NEEDHAM, Mass. & PHOENIX --(Business Wire)-- RatePoint, the leader in providing businesses with the only comprehensive online reputation management and customer feedback platform available, and IPOWER, Inc. (www.ipower.com), a leading web-site hosting provider for small businesses, today announced a new partnership that will give IPOWER customers access to the RatePoint platform and consumer approval program.
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Business Briefs: Chamber organizes annual trade show
The Athens Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the annual Business Expo on March 27 at The Classic Center. Organizers for the 2008 Business Expo have adopted the theme "Let's Make a Deal" and will provide activities throughout the day. The day will start with a networking event, Business Before Hours, and end with award presentations at 4 p.m. The awards will include the annual Small Business Person of the Year. Trade show organizers are expecting more than 100 exhibitors, said Rich Cary, the chamber's vice president of member services. Exhibition booth costs are $475 for members and $575 for non-members. For more information, visit the chamber's Web site at www.athensga.com or call (706) 549-6800. Toccoa company plans $1M expansion Combat Training Solutions, a Stephens County company that manufactures simulated explosives for the military, announced that it plans to add more than 30 jobs and invest $1 million to expand a facility in Eastanollee.
LeaseWeb Launches Windows Express Server
Business hosting provider LeaseWeb, in collaboration with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), has announced a new low-cost dedicated hosting service targeted at small and midsize businesses. LeaseWeb Dedicated Windows Express Server allows customers to be online within 24 hours with a proprietary start-up server and broadband package. Dedicated hosting -- as opposed to shared -- offers companies a complete system without the threat of negative performance caused by other users. The Windows platform guarantees continuity of the solution through upgrades. LeaseWeb's network has been shown to have a realized uptime of 99.99 percent, according to a WatchMouse study in 2006. LeaseWeb is based in the Netherlands with offices throughout Europe and in New York. « Back to Critical News « Get more advice every month.
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