We were invited to attend a WHIR (Web Host Industry Review) event in downtown Toronto. For those of you who are unaware, WHIR is well known in the hosting industry. Their website is informative and I’ve seen some great interviews with some great people in the hosting industry.
I decided to attend the event for a few reasons, aside from the open bar. I looked at the list of RSVP’ed companies and found a few that I was curious about. When you work in the hosting industry for a long time you understand that competitors are everywhere you look. They may not sell the same service as you but they will do whatever they can to convince a potential client that their own service is what the customer needs.
Let me give you a better example – Company A sells apples. Company B sells oranges. The customer is looking for fruit that is red. Now if approached by company B first they will be informed that red is bad, red is not what they need and that orange is much better. The customer may not budge but physchologically the customer now has a decision to make. The point I am trying to make is that knowledge in your industry or field is essential. Understanding your own products and services is one thing but try to expand your information portal and see what your competition has. Having the ability to inform a potential client on what you offer is what they need is crucial in an industry where competition is fierce. The more you know about your competition the better. It also helps to expand your services and maybe even offer a service that they offer. People always want more but sometimes more is not always better.
So back to the event! It was a great venue (unfortunately forgot the camera) with people from all sectors of the technology industry. I attended the event representing HostUpon Inc. and asked a friend of mine in the industry to join me. We met a few familiar faces but in the end the event was a social gathering with more greetings than gossip. It was refreshing to see our competition and speak with them on what’s changing in the industry.
Overall I had a great time, on a cold bitter winter night in Toronto.
Also on a side note keep an eye out for our new backup system which will be rolling out sometime in the next few weeks!
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