From my research, what’s happening, is that the UK internet market is coming into its own as its growth projections for internet users are twice that of the US and Canada - where the rate is half that of the UK. Market indicators suggest (and I can most assuredly attest to this through personal experience) that the US and Canada have already gone through the hurly burly of market-driven pricing and option levels - and have settled down to what can be considered as “industry-standard” levels - I would hardly call them “3rd World Levels”.
The reason more and more companies are hosting with companies in the US are in my opinion:
- everyone is pretty much marketing to the US since they are the world’s largest consumer group - China is not included in this as they have severe restrictions on internet access in and out of their country;
- if you’re marketing to the US and Canada - connection speeds are fastest when the server hosting a site is closer to the person accessing it, so you’d want to logically host in the US (where data networks are incredibly robust) and in those regions, penetration rates of hi-speed internet users are hitting the 80% mark - allowing for more immersive web experiences.
(Of note, Canada is already changing over from cable-modem / adsl hi-speed access, to fibre-optic-direct connections to the actual internet backbone for household consumer users, where the speed for normal hi-speed is averaging 20mb/sec to proposed levels of 40gb/sec - yes, gigabits - within the next 5 years.)
So, while UKer’s have traditionally been satisfied with their local service providers, their eyes have begun to open up to the possibilities of the outside world and the savings that can be easily had in a global market. Things typically get done much quicker in the US and Canada (not to mention as individuals you’re also expected to work faster and more cheaply) as companies are continuously looking to reduce overhead and increase the bottom line. The UK (and Europe) is from our viewpoint, dragging its feet, but it’s also faced with a hugely expensive currency and a very old infrastructure that is costly to update to acceptable standards - which by the time things get done, they’ll be behind again… The US and Canada are new and it is much easier to upgrade the infrastructure… Which is why wireless access is progressing exponentially faster in Europe than in the US and Canada! A whole other story…
I personally do not feel that I am offering “3rd World Levels” of hosting because I am priced to what is considered average for my regional market. Also, my support is in my opinion, first-class.
I’ve already gone through the adjustments for market-pricing that Europeans have yet to face for design, etc. - and with that, I welcome all new potential hosting and design clients (UK or otherwise) looking to increase their bottom line while gaining excellent pricing, fantastic services and first-class support.
Best Regards,
James Wilkinson
Print and Web Design Services
Visit: http://www.dzynlab.com
Website Hosting Services
Visit: http://www.have-host.com
On Dec-14-07, at 11:47 AM, David Owen wrote:
In this case (I’m speaking about UK hosting prices generally) , I really do think its more to do with the strong UK pound, bigger overheads, bigger prices, and the UK is a much smaller market than the US.
(Looking at the exchange rate its currently $2.04 to £1, if you consider that, UK prices stack up comparably) Without doubt the whole market will reduce its prices over time - but can it ever match 3rd world prices which will be cheaper again? would you buy from them to gain even better pricing? Or would the Market be better with a few Mega Huge Hosting companies selling at knock down prices but no reasonable support? Long live choice.
This is a much smaller world, Ad agencies are sourcing artwork, web design, and illustration in Asia at prices knock down prices, and sadly this will, and is, effecting both the US and UK.
Don’t get this wrong, and not wanting to be personal Peter, do you sell a service? how would you defend your UK charging fees, to a designer/illustrator in South Korea working at levels a fraction of yours. Would you be happy to be accused of profiteering. We are all buyers and sellers, it rubs both ways… Unless you’re retired - that is… Sigh, maybe one day
On 14 Dec 2007, at 15:23, Pete MacKenzie wrote:
Some cynics might argue that there is a cartel at work here but more likely it is just the usual UK malaise that affects all industry here where companies price to the maximum that the market will bear (which, in typical stoic, long-suffering Brit mode, is a lot). It then becomes Catch 22 where no company will buck the trend - one doesn’t want to look cheap because after all you get what you pay for, don’t you, so one better be expensive with everybody else.
David Owen
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