As the world’s top internet infrastructure industry event, CloudFest helps set the tone for our industry. A who’s who of partners, leaders, consumers, end users, and executives gather in Europa Park, Germany, for presentations, discussions, product launches and demos, face-to-face meetings, and so much more.
We appreciate the opportunity that CloudFest provides us to not only showcase the flagship brands of our ecosystem (cPanel, Plesk, and WHMCS), but also connect with our partners and colleagues. We had an amazing time meeting one-on-one and attending the myriad of presentations, keynotes, and panels.
WordPress By the Numbers
Our very own CTO of Cloud Platform and Incubation Projects, Jan Loeffler, kicked things off with his keynote presentation “WordPress by the Numbers.”
This guide to the galaxy of WordPress revealed there are over two billion hostnames worldwide, over 717 million of which are active within the WebPros domain database, and over 80 million of those hostnames are running WordPress as its primary CMS.
Jan went on to reveal some of our research, including that 60% of websites are built by web agencies and web professionals, and that over 80% of agencies resell hosting. It was also shared that 1 out of every 3 WordPress websites on the internet are powered by a WebPros control panel, either cPanel or Plesk.
WordPress & WebPros
WebPros Product Managers Adam Wien and Andrey Kugaevskiy presented “WordPress & WebPros: Elevating UX & Fortifying Security in the WordPress Universe.”
This served as the official launch of our two new WordPress-centric products: WP Guardian and WP Squared. Andrey and Adam led the audience through how to leverage these products to deliver top-notch management of WordPress site with WP Squared and industry-leading protection of WordPress websites with WP Guardian.
The Influence of AI in Hosting
“The Influence of AI in Hosting: Expanding Your Revenue Horizons” was also presented by Jan Loeffler.
By bridging the gap between his own grandfather’s local winery 30 years ago and today’s eCommerce-centric global storefront, Jan led the captive audience into the modern world of AI-driven solutions and how to leverage these solutions for smarter resource allocation, predictive maintenance, enhanced security, and overall pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the cloud and hosting market in general.
Unlocking Profit with Sitejet
Hendrik Koehler, Director of Product Management of Sitejet, presented a masterclass entitled “Sitejet Builder for cPanel and Plesk: Unlocking Profit Potential.” By framing the dramatically changing hosting market against the growth of SaaS providers alongside WordPress, Hendrick presented Sitejet Builder as the user-friendly, feature-packed, and overall powerful tool that it is.
With its inclusion within both cPanel and Plesk, Hendrick illustrated exactly how Sitejet Builder enables users to launch optimized websites and stay competitive in an increasingly aggressive and expanding space.
WP Squared, and the Importance of Diversity
Adam Wien returned to the stage on the final morning of CloudFest to present his keynote:”WP Squared – Putting you in a position to Compete with WordPress SaaS Providers.”
With WP Squared now officially launched, Adam guided the audience through not only the features and usability of the product, but also its space within the market itself and how it competes with SaaS products by answering an opportunity to provide a fast, secure, and reliable solution to WebPros partners.
The final presentation of CloudFest EU 2024 was the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) panel discussion: “Embracing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Turbulent Times for CSPs.” Chief People Office of WebPros, Katee Van Horn, participated in this discussion that explored practical ways to shift the perspective of DEI from an obligatory burden to a strategic advantage that can enhance companies’ performance in the current turbulent climate. This thoughtful and insightful discussion contained real-world examples and was ultimately the ideal way to bring CloudFest EU to a close.
In Closing, and Up Next!
CloudFest is always a whirlwind event, filled with fruitful meetings, interesting and compelling presentations, discussions, product demonstrations, as well as the spontaneous interactions and overall unexpectedness we’ve come to appreciate that all coalesce into CloudFest being the outstanding event that it is.
Of course we’ll be returning to Europa Park again in 2025, but first: June 5-8, 2024, is CloudFest USA in Austin, Texas; we’ll see you there, pard’ner!
