2014 went by so fast I didn’t get a chance to get my annual Top 10 post up in December. So here is a recap of the Top 10 things we accomplished in 2014.
1. We launched Everleap
This project was brewing in R&D for a couple of years and we are excited to launch our cloud hosting solution at Everleap.com. Everleap is powered by Windows Azure Pack (WAP) and provides scaling options that do not exist at DiscountASP.NET. We were the first host to launch a production hosting solution using the websites functionality of WAP.
Over the years, we’ve witnessed web applications becoming more sophisticated and complex and customers outgrowing traditional shared hosting services. So we wanted to provide a hosting solution for growth but we were not so keen on doing the same old VPS and dedicated hosting as all the other hosts.
Now with Everleap, we have a great upgrade path for our shared hosting customers, seamless scaling options that are not easily found at traditional hosts, all offered at flat, fixed pricing without mystery bills. In fact, we are offering free migration services for DiscountASP.NET customers who want to move to Everleap.
2. SQL 2014 hosting in the US and Europe
As always we try to keep up to date with new Microsoft technology releases. We launched SQL 2014 hosting in both our US-based and Europe-based data centers.
3. Managed TFS 2013 hosting in the US and Europe
We launched Managed Team Foundation Server 2013 hosting in both our US-based and UK-based data centers. This is a great option for businesses that want their own instance of TFS that is not shared with any other users and/or those who require server-side customization. TFS 2013 includes real-time collaboration enhancements with Team Rooms.
4. Exchange ActiveSync
ActiveSync was an “ask” from many customers, and now some new updates in Microsoft licensing make it possible for us to offer this feature. Exchange ActiveSync helps sync your email, calendar, contacts and tasks with the Smartermail email server and your mobile devices in real time – including Google Android, Apple iPad and iPhone, Motorola, Nokia, HP, Samsung, LG and Windows Phones.
5. SSD powered Reserved Cloud Servers at Everleap
On our Everleap cloud hosting solution, we introduced SSD accelerated Reserved Cloud Servers. The Reserved Cloud Servers are your own private VM that is reserved to serve only your sites, no other customers. So you get to use all the resources of the server, meaning all the CPU and RAM and there is virtually no constraint on idle timeouts and concurrent connections. We offer them in three flavors – small (1 CPU, 1 GB RAM), medium (2 CPU, 2 GB RAM) and large (4CPU, 4 GB RAM). These are a great option to grow into for CPU intensive or memory hungry apps.
6. Smartermail update
Admittedly, we did not keep up to date with Smartermail updates over the years. In 2014, we updated all our mail servers with the latest Smartermail version and we will work to keep up with the updates.
7. Git integration at Everleap
Many developers are using Git for their version control nowadays. We had customers ask about Git but integrating Git with DiscountASP.NET is difficult. However, WAP includes features to integrate Git so we offer Git publishing over at Everleap. We even host a local Git repository in your account. You can add additional users with Git publishing rights as well.
8. TFS 2013 Updates 1-4
Microsoft is adopting a faster cadence for releases. With Visual Studio 2013 we saw 4 updates released throughout 2014. So for our TFS 2013 hosting service, we stayed up to date with all the updates. But we don’t go ahead and blindly install updates. We test them out as thoroughly as possible and we schedule the updates with our customers.
9. Urban Turtle for Managed TFS 2013 and TFS 2012
For a while there, we were only able to support Urban Turtle for TFS 2010. Now, the latest Urban Turtle tools for TFS 2013 and TFS 2012 are available for our Managed TFS hosting solution. And, as discussed in the previous item, Microsoft’s fast release cadence can cause breaking changes with add-ins. So when we apply updates to TFS, we also work with Urban Turtle to make sure compatibility issues are ironed out.
10. Microsoft Gold Partner renewed
I know I may sound like a broken record (remember those?) but I think the renewal of the Microsoft Gold Partner status it is something important to include here because it is not a trivial task to maintain. With Microsoft continually raising the bar for the Gold Partner level, we’ve witnessed many hosts dropping in partnership level. Maintaining the Gold status is an investment and a differentiator.
Thank you for powering through and reading this long post and we look forward to having more things to talk about in 2015!
