(The Hosting News) – cPanel concluded their annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana on Wednesday, capping off a week that included incredible networking, company announcements, industry insights and much, much more.
The event officially kicked off on Monday night as cPanel attendees made their way to the lobby at the Sheraton New Orleans hotel off Canal Street. From there, they formed a second line parade and marched down to the Mississippi where upon they boarded the Queen Creole Riverboat to spend a night on the river.
The first full day at cPanel kicked off on Tuesday with a keynote speech given by hosting industry vet and eSigns.com CEO Robert Marsh. There, Marsh provided insight into the hosting industry and how to deal with clientele.
“You can trust your customers. If you’re open, honest and completely transparent, your customers will work just as hard for you as you work for your customers,” Marsh emphasized, according to a report from Ping! Zine Web Tech Magazine.
Marsh’s keynote, however, wasn’t the only one given on Tuesday. Following him was ServInt COO and i2Coalition co-founder Christian Dawson who discussed “12 lessons from 18 years in web hosting.” Dawson urged attendees to partner, figure out what they did well and do it more, give it their all, learn from mistakes and love what they do.
During the day, attendees at cPanel Conference 2013 also had the chance to get their knowledge tested, receive cPanel certifications and take part in “Speed Geeking,” a chance to talk to cPanel employees about any number of subjects.
Moving later into Tuesday, cPanel organized a Mardi Gras parade, complete with 6 impressive floats and an entire marching band. After gathering in the lobby at the Sheraton New Orleans, attendees boarded the floats, threw beads to excited New Orleans locals and heade
When Wednesday finally arrived, attendees gathered bright and early at 10:00 AM to hear a keynote from “Web Hosting for Dummies” author Peter Pollock. Pollock cited his experience in the hosting industry as a former owner of more than 2 hosting providers.d to the Republic bar where they gathered for some refreshing drinks.
“It’s always been the case in any industry, as soon as you get together as a company and start discussing something, you start to create industry terms. But very quickly after that, you can’t talk to your friends and family about it anymore because they don’t know what these terms mean,” Pollock told attendees, according to Ping! Zine. “Our customers are stuck not knowing the things we find extremely basic. We try talking in simple language to them, but we’re actually talking way above their heads. We might as well be talking Klingon.”
Later in the day, cPanel hosted a panel discussion which included the likes of employees from companies like Go Daddy, OnApp, SingleHop and Demand Media to discuss the future of hosting.
“It’s not about packages or specs. It’s about getting a website up. On the infrastructure side, people have diverse needs. They’re confused about the concept of cloud. I think flexibility is key. Offering dedicated and public cloud and letting them work together…that’s a powerful thing. The buzzword is hybrid. I think that’s where it’s going,” commented SingleHop’s Dan Ushman, according to Ping! Zine.
Meanwhile, GoDaddy’s Ben Gabler followed him up by saying, “Web hosting is no longer an entry point. Look at website builders and domains, something you can sell on top of hosting and making it become a necessity to an SMB. I think that’s the direction the industry’s starting to head towards.”
cPanel closed the event Wednesday night with one last party at the New Orleans House of Blues.
