Comodo purchases Positive Software

[Simon]

I'm sure most people have already heard the news that came out this morning, regarding Comodo's acquisition of Positive Software (developers of CP+ and H-Sphere).

My thoughts are that this announcement has the likes of CPanel, Ensim, and to a lesser degree -- plesk wondering "what next".

The impact of this buyout is huge - I can only imagine what Comodo are going to bring to the table. The announcement that the dev team will almost double immediately shows a great willingness to reaffirm H-Sphere's dominance.


Thoughts?

Simon

 

[Blue]

H-Sphere's dominance?
Did I miss something? When did H-Sphere overtake cPanel?

 

[Simon]

H-Sphere's dominance?
Did I miss something? When did H-Sphere overtake cPanel?

CPanel's whole existance is based on single-OS hosting.

CPanel is literally nothing when in comparison with H-Sphere - any user that has used the two panels in full, will acknowledge that fact.

The problem with the scenario, is people assume that because CPanel is given free with a bunch of cheap providers, it's dominating the market - however, taking a look at the growth of H-SPhere, and the companies involved before, and now - H-Sphere's development dominance is now being matched with it's marketing punch that Comodo will no doubt provide.

Simon

 

[Blue]

Perception is reality.
cPanel dominates the market because it is cheap and user friendly.
I'm not saying it is the best control panel out there just that they have a large share of the market.

Maybe with the acquisition by Comodo they will take over the #1 spot.

 

[Blue]

By the way Simon.
How is the weather where you are.
I'm trapped in Newfoundland for another day.

 

[ldcdc]

I'm with Blue on this one, but I hope H-Sphere will become a more important player in the market. Competition is good because the customer wins.

 

[ANMMark]

CPanel's whole existance is based on single-OS hosting.

Not everyone needs or even wants dual OS hosting. Not to mention that CPanel is working on a Windows version of CPanel, which will open a lot of opportunities for them as well.

My opinion of H-Sphere is the same opinion of many applications that try to pack as many features into one application, that they possibly can, turning it into something that was built more for NASA, than consumers.

I don't want a CP to bake me a cake, just let me control my website, and CPanel, in my opinion, has accomplished that nicely....which is part of the reason it holds it's current rep with end users.

 

[Moobrack]

Am I wrong in thinking that H-Sphere was designed for power in mind Mark? With all respect to what you're saying CPanel is as cheaper solution as it is common, which is why people enjoy using it so much.

H-Sphere from my brief time using it I saw was much more functional and offered the smaller, more important features that CPanel neglects, as well as larger features possible for use by large entities or resellers. H-Sphere caters for the needs of everybody, rather than just a nice market of customers / users.

 

[ANMMark]

Am I wrong in thinking that H-Sphere was designed for power in mind Mark? With all respect to what you're saying CPanel is as cheaper solution as it is common, which is why people enjoy using it so much.

It is also more user-friendly. In any case, this is what I've been saying all along. CPanel is a little less expensive, and because of that more hosts offer it. Customers don't request it for that reason though, because like any control panel that comes with a hosting account, is free to them. So the cost plays no role, IMO to what the customer wants.

H-Sphere caters for the needs of everybody

The problem with this theory is that, typically, as with anything, the more features you put into something, or the more people you try to cater to, the more difficult or complicated the application becomes.

Most people will tell you that they don't need their control panel to cook them breakfast, they just need to administer their site. The more overwhelmed they are with features, the less they'll appreciate those features.

With MY brief experience with H-Sphere, it left me begging for CPanel.

 

[Moobrack]

You're right, but it all boils down to 'Added Value'. A major role in marketing and especially e-Marketing. Everybody wants more for less

 

[othellotech]

Am I wrong in thinking that H-Sphere was designed for power in mind Mark? With all respect to what you're saying CPanel is as cheaper solution as it is common

HSphere is designed to run your hosting business, and allow you to build up your cluster of servers/services. cPanel is much more single-box oriented. cPanel really only looks to being a basic control panel for resellers/end-users, needng 3rd part tools (modenbill/whmautopilot etc) for billing - largely these features for user-accounting are built into hsphere.

very different beasts aimed at very different markets - each one with their own zealots/advocates.

to claim cpanel is cheaper is not to understand the pricing models employed by the two products.

 

[ANMMark]

HSphere is designed to run your hosting business, and allow you to build up your cluster of servers/services. cPanel is much more single-box oriented.

1. This is why I personally love CPanel. It doesn't try to run our business. It allows us to build fully branded applications around our billing, and support. H-Sphere's branding is limited.

2. Saying that CPanel is not built for clustering is false. We actually use CPanel in a cluster right now.

to claim cpanel is cheaper is not to understand the pricing models employed by the two products.

The model employed by CPanel makes it more affordable immediately, and thus more quickly deployable.

The thing is, we can bounce our own opinions back and forth until the cows come home. However, the fact remains that in overall general markets (where H-Sphere or CPanel is the choice) CPanel is in much higher demand than H-Sphere, regardless of what the reasoning behind it is. Therefore, catering to CPanel requests, is catering to the majority, at this time.

No doubt that H-Sphere may see those same numbers in time....but that time just isn't right now, and until that time comes, we're sticking with what our customers want, and enjoy using.

 

[othellotech]

With MY brief experience with H-Sphere, it left me begging for CPanel.

With my extensive experience of both, I praise God daily for ssh and a kvm :agree:

A lot of the choice of which a host uses comes down to preference and management - some like a CP to do it all, some like it only to give the clients something pretty to click on, some have fck-all clue about running a server/service, some are wizards at it - this is why there is a choice of software - the most sucessful hosts all have custom written bespoke CP's.

Which is better ? the one that does the jobs you require of it !
Which has more market share ? does it matter !?!
Ford sell more cars that Jaguar simple "fact" - are they better ?
are they just cheaper ? are they more heavliy promoted at garages ?
Which company makes more money and is therefore more "sucessful" ?

cPanels no setup, monthly licence fee allows a quicker setup for a un-funded new host to get into the market - we can argue forever if thats a good thing or not - HSphere's more structured layout approach requires more thought/planning and initial investment but is cheaper in the long run.

Horses for courses as they say.

 

[ldcdc]

Therefore, catering to CPanel requests, is catering to the majority, at this time.

The majority is not a exactly a niche.

we're sticking with what our customers want, and enjoy using.

By offering a certain control panel, you cater to those who prefer your control panel or have no actual preference. Yes, Cpanel is known and preferred by a serious percentage of end users, but that can be an advantage just as much as it can be a disadvantage.

Personally I see it more difficult to position yourself as unique when you're using what most competitors use.