Below highlights some of the new additions we believe will provide greater convenience, transparency and control over your cloud hosting account, the very next time you login:

Faster, Easier Cloud Server & Account Management

• Condensed, sortable and searchable server, ticket and user list view
• Efficient management of servers, tickets and users directly from the list
• Quick visibility into each cloud servers performance and threat level
• Custom tagging for faster, more granular identification
• Data Center location displayed for each cloud server

Consolidated Network Tab & Pooled Bandwidth

• Bandwidth billing now based on outgoing transfer ONLY
• 1 TB of outgoing bandwidth included with every account
• Pooled bandwidth usage and reporting available at an account level
• All IP addresses allocated for your account identified by server
• Premium bandwidth carrier status available in real time

Performance Increases, Streamlined Invoices & Improved Load Balancer Options

• Increased performance and faster response times across the entire portal
• Streamlined invoices for simpler review with the ability to the expand details
• More invoice export options to better fit your workflow and record keeping
• More load balancer options to better fit your applications’ performance needs
• Add and/or clone Load Balancers on demand through the portal

Login now to experience the next level of convenience, transparency and control over your Secure Cloud Servers. If you have any additional suggestions, requests or questions, feel free to call 877.262.3473 or create a ticket.

If you’re not a FireHost customer and want to know more about Secure Cloud Hosting and the MyFireHost customer portal, chat with one of our engineers today or visit FireHost.com to learn more.

Cloud security is a hot topic throughout the industry and the discussion is not complete without mentioning how the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) has been influential in ensuring major security issues are addressed and averted. Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), a non-profit organization formed to promote security in cloud computing and education on the uses of Cloud Computing to help secure all environments.

“FireHost’s deep experience in virtualized and secure hosting is a welcome expertise for The Cloud Security Alliance,” said Jim Reavis, executive director of the Cloud Security Alliance. “We’re confident FireHost will be an asset in helping the CSA continue to innovate in developing best practices for securing providers in the cloud.”

Joining the CSA is further confirmation of our devotion to security and compliance for our customers. This is another step towards building on a foundation of security, governance and compliance, including PCI DSS, HIPAA compliance, SAS 70 Type II & other compliance mandates.

For more information and details, view the following press release announcing our partnership with CSA – http://www.firehost.com/company/newsroom/firehost-joins-cloud-security-alliance.

Right away, many business owners, designers/developers, and IT professionals “got it” and signed up on the spot. We enjoy providing exemplary protection for our early adopters, but we won’t rest until the entire web hosting community understands that security, scalability, and affordability is for everyone, not just a select few.

Overall, the mission has been well received. As any “pioneer” would expect however, Secure Servers have been met with mixed reviews, particularly from die-hard dedicated hosting proponents.

In an effort admonish any remaining doubt from those who still have reservations about this new way, we created NoMoreDedicated.com. From here, you can:

• Watch real stories from real people told in their own words and decide if dedicated hosting is the best solution.
• Take our short, informative test to determine if dedicated hosting is right for your hosting needs.

Once you see the facts, we’re confident you’ll want to give Secure Servers a try, so we make it easy to do so.

• Secure Servers can be provisioning within 24 hours of validating  your order, and
• There is no lengthy hosting contract to which you must subscribe.

If you still have reservations, that’s fine. We respect your opinion and any doubts you may have about adopting a new way to protect your business. Even if you’re not ready to join the movement full stop, we request that you follow the movement that’s putting an end to overpriced, insecure, and inflexible dedicated hosting. Big change is on the horizon.

Follow: @NoMoreDedicated HashTag: #NMD

The process of determining how to commemorate this grand occasion was… entertaining (at least to us). So for your amusement, here are some of the ideas that didn’t make the cut:

• We could reveal our secret Secure Server sauce.
• We could raffle deprecated hardware for charity.
• We could post pictures from the company picnic.
• We could post pictures from AFTER the company picnic.
• We could give our semi-professional review of Inception.
• We could post high school yearbook pictures of our CEO.
• We could discuss the weather in Texas and Arizona. (It’s hot. End of discussion.)
• We could TP our competition with #NMD toilet paper, and post the photos.

We considered all of these (bad) ideas (and more), but in the end we determined the best use of this space might be creating a concise recap of all the other mediums by which our loyal blog readers can stay updated about FireHost’s initiatives, news, services, strides, and successes in the Secure Web Hosting marketplace.

On the Web

• FireHost Website
• NoMoreDedicated Website
• Revolution Blog by Chris Drake

In the News

• FireHost Newsroom

In Social Media

• Twitter.com/FireHost
• Twitter.com/NoMoreDedicated
• Facebook

For Support

• MyFireHost Customer Portal
• Knowledge Base

We invite you to explore each outlet and hope you can use and appreciate each one for it’s intended purpose. Please feel free to reach out to us via any medium any time the urge strikes.

2008 Accomplishments:

• Achieved 99.999% network up-time throughout the year
• Changed company brand from TargetScope Hosting to FireHost in March
• Added FireVault Secure Online Backup services to our portfolio in March
• Migrated FireHost’s presence in Texas to a brand new, North Dallas Data Center in July
• Developed key relationships with important web hosting industry partners at HostingCon Chicago in July
• Expanded FireHost web hosting and online backup services to a Scottsdale, AZ data center in August
• Added CDN services that allow clients to serve content worldwide via 45 POPs in 23 cities in August
• Began hosting high profile clients like the National Breast Cancer Foundation who require maximum up time and speed during huge traffic spikes from national exposure in September
• Integrated Website Security into FireHost network in October

The agenda for 2009 is packed just as full of web hosting service enhancements and new web security products that will make choosing FireHost as your web hosting provider an even more clear choice. Here is a sneak preview into a few of the web hosting enhancements you can look forward to in the next year.

2009 Agenda:

• Implement an additional database security layer to facilitate SOX and HIPAA compliance reporting in “one-click”
• Complete the FireHost Customer Portal which will empower new and existing clients to easily and intuitively configure, customize, and manage web hosting service and backup storage plans on demand
• Introduce Load Balancing services and extend individualized server clustering capabilities to every FireHost Dedicated Server client
• Add Virtual Private Server (VPS) capabilities to FireHost’s web hosting solution matrix
• Expand our Microsoft Exchange service to include automated long-term archiving

We’re jazzed about having an aggressive to-do list. As always, FireHost will test, re-test, and test every new hosting product again to ensure it’s a solid solution before adding it to our mix of online data backup and web hosting services.

Goodbye 2008. Hello 2009!