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HostIndex.com examines the Backend Hosting solution from EZ Publishing   We recently reviewed a private-label hosting product from EZ Publishing, a growing California-based service provider.    EZ Publishing's offering is designed to service soon-to-be or current web hosts with a back-end solution. Based on a proprietary software system, the back-end hosting application centers around three unique aspects:a) Client Manager (e.g. billing), b) Control Center (e.g. users setting up their own e-mail accounts) and c) System Manager options (e.g. setting up a new domain customer). According to company President Dan Forootan, "EZ Publishing is helping companies manage all the technical aspects and letting them benefit from selling web hosting to their customers." Their back-end solution is certainly comprehensive, particularly given the entry price points. Each back-end customer is provided a unique dedicated server from which his or her service operates. The servers themselves range in capacity given the selected plan (EZ Publishing provides 3 server options ranging in price from $199/month to $399/month.) Although not the lowest-cost marketplace option, the services are competitively priced and servers are up-to-date. As a web host expands, the company can continue to add new servers, at the same cost structure, onto which further domain clients can be placed.   The service provides a powerful advantage versus some other software options because it already comes installed on each box. This enables operators to avoid technical installations and software upgrading. EZ Publishing's software also links together each server from a back-end administrative basis; enabling potential web hosts to correspondingly consolidate and centralize their admin control. The other admirable area to note concerning the EZ Publishing back-end hosting solutions are their partnerships. For example, the company already has partnerships with credit card gateways such as Authorize.Net and CardServices, which enable web hosts to process domain holder payments in real-time. Also when it comes to domain registration, EZ Publishing does not mandate the use of any particular domain registrar and potential web hosts can opt to work with any desired vendor (the EZ Publishing software provides the technical framework for domain registration). As EZ Publishing has been operating as a web host itself since 1998, the company has in place reliable partnerships concerning fiber connectivity, hardware and so on. Appearance flexibility is a big selling point for the EZ Publishing solution. Many back-end providers mandate the appearance of their software and as such, some customers can identify the end-source provider. Using a series of HTML option tags, EZ Publishing back-end customers can customize the look and feel of their user control panels giving the appearance of a custom-designed and in-house system. As EZ Publishing is not licensing out the software to the open marketplace, this look-and-feel benefit is something that is a unique attribute to their offering. There are however, a couple of aspects that potential customers need to pay attention to. The first is with respect to system-wide preferences. Part of the system's appeal is that preferences (such as 30 day billing terms) are placed on all servers within a back-end client set. However, this is a double-edge sword if you tier or differentiate your hosting client base. For example, if you want different billing terms for different clients then you will need to buy separate back-end hosting servers. The other minor note is with respect to bandwidth, which although sufficient for most hosted sites, is not as aggressive as some back-end providers. As of September 2002, the company lowered their GB surcharge to $4.50/GB (from $10/GB) and they also increased the allocated bandwidth inside of their higher end plans. With the potential for abusive clients, EZ Publishing customers may still need to watch their clients' bandwidth consumption closely. However, it is very positive to see a web host actively addressing marketplace concerns as they arise. Also, EZ Publishing's system does facilitate monitoring and allows web hosts to set account bandwidth limits. Overall, EZ Publishing's back-end hosting solution provides a low cost and tech-friendly way of participating in the web hosting industry. While it does have limits, the EZ Publishing private-label product is bound to make a few savvy Net entrepreneurs some easy money. Editors Note: To learn more about their software and hosting back-end offering, please consult the EZ Publishing website, click here.

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