Exactly 1 year ago DotNetPanel Beta has been launched and its commercial sales started on February, 2006. We must admit that this year was very successful. DotNetPanel project caused a live interest among a big number of web hosting companies and it showed that definitely there is a room for another hosting management solution on today’s market. DotNetPanel project attracted a really big base of customers and many of them become our best friends and business partners.
DotNetPanel business is growing along with our customers and we can’t just stamp on the same place. It is time to move the business on the next level, make a step higher.
So, the first major news is that DotNetPanel project was divided into a separate company! The benefits for our customers are obvious:
* DotNetPanel Company is dedicated to the development of hosting automation solutions and related services only
* DotNetPanel Company does not provide web hosting services, so it does not compete with their own customers
* DotNetPanel Company unites only highly-educated professionals to provide the best quality software
In relation to this event the whole company workflow, policies, politics will be changed in the next 2 months as following:
*** Pricing
The entire pricing model will be changed to cover all market segments and to give our customers the maximum flexibility in choosing right solution for their business. DotNetPanel prices will be suitable for web hosts of any size and its modular architecture will allow buying the functionality that is really need for the business and don’t spend extra cents!
*** Upgrades
Starting from the next version all major upgrades will be paid. It’s a common practice to pay for major product releases with a ton of great features helping to move the business to the next level. Moreover, paid product upgrades make it possible to further develop and improve the product.
*** Support
Starting from the next DNP release we are going to introduce a support ticketing system which will allow us to improve the quality of support, make it more streamlined and increase the level of customer satisfaction. A number of support plans will be introduced suitable for the customers with different support needs.
*** User Education
Starting from the next DNP release a brand-new online collaboration tool will be introduced to provide a single source of user education information. All manuals, how-to, FAQs, KB articles will live under the single hood; the entire set of information will be ordered and indexed and our customers (and customers of our customers) will be able to browse, search, collaborate and publish the content.
*** Partnership
There will be a number of improvements, simplifications in reseller management interface and web services. Reseller program will be strictly defined, described and the process of a new reseller opt-in will be simplified. Also, we are going to introduce a very attractive program for data centers, dedicated server providers and affiliate program for everyone willing to make money on DNP.
*** Existing Customers
Of course, the information above may seem very shocking for our existing customers. Dear friends, we keep our promises and don’t forget about those great people staying with us all this year. So, the second great news is that ALL our existing customers will get DNP protection for ages. This means the following:
* All existing licenses will have the MAXIMUM set of functionality included without any quantitative limitations.
* All existing licenses will have FREE LIFE-TIME major and minor upgrades warranty.
FOR OUR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS THIS INFORMATION MEANS THAT IT IS RIGHT TIME TO BECOME OUR EXISTING CUSTOMER AND GET THE LIFE-TIME PROTECTION TOO!
*** Next DotNetPanel Release
We’ve been promising to release the next DNP version in the end of September. We always do our best to deliver the product on the promised date and minimize delays. But as you might see our plans have been changed.
So, the final date for the next DNP release is November 24, 2006.
The version number of the next DNP release is 2.0 and its internal code name is “Spark”. The next DNP will have completely re-designed user interface with a fresh, lightweight and nicely-looking design. The number of mission critical operations will be re-designed and simplified. Backup/restore and e-commerce functionalities will be included too.