Structure Research

It was a very busy week as Rackspace, Apptix and Web.com reported its 4Q12 results. We have noted in our recent commentary that the sector has showed signs of slowing and the last quarter of the year is also typically quite slow for many firms. So we expected some bumpiness and results were generally in line with that outlook: continued growth on a positive trajectory but some modest downticks to close 2012. However, that is not to say there are not many firms still in growth mode and moving forward q/q and y/y. Private firms like Codero are an example and they shared details with us about their recent progress.  

There have not been any transactions announced these last few weeks but Go Daddy broke that streak with the acquisition of a mobile site builder startup. Go Daddy looks to be getting more active in M&A and is focusing its efforts on bringing in new capabilities and technology – a developing trend in the sector.

Elsewhere in the sector, we saw a number of expansions that underscore the overall trajectory of the market. INetU moved West and Elastichosts launched several cloud nodes around the world. UKFast is also planning to build out a few flagship facility in Manchester. In products, there was more activity as Parallels recently launched a cloud storage enablement technology, while Dimension Data added WAN optimization to its enterprise public cloud.

Finally, we want to draw your attention to some of the more analytical pieces we write on a regular basis. Last week we took a look at some of the issues surrounding the future of colocation and dive deeper into some of the many drivers underpinning the sector’s growth. This week we consider some of the future directions in hybrid. We are often asked how we differentiate from our competitors. This is one big way and why you should become a subscriber!