IT Web hosting specialist reports strong growth despite a difficult economic environment.

HOUSTON, Oct. 28, 2008 – The Planet, the global leader in IT hosting , today discussed its results for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2008. The Planet provides quarterly updates to its customers, business partners and prospects with information relative to new initiatives and its progress.

“We had another successful quarter of year-over-year growth rates, which are roughly twice that of the dedicated hosting industry, despite a difficult economic environment around the world,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Douglas J. Erwin. “This was a quarter that set a new strategic course for our business, with our entry into managed hosting under the Planet Northstar brand. Coupled with our new Planet Alpha dedicated hosting moniker and an enhanced a la carte services portfolio, we now offer customers the broadest range of technical infrastructure solutions and service options in the business.

“We continue to reap the benefits of previous investments in both our call center and our data center operations,” Erwin continued. “Customer satisfaction is at an all-time high, and we continue our relentless focus on making The Planet the best choice for SMBs looking for enterprise-class IT infrastructure management.”

“The Planet again produced a record quarter, with our highest year-over-year revenue growth,” said Chief Financial Officer Kevin Klausmeyer. “Cash flows remain healthy, and our balance sheet remains strong. We are also pleased about having achieved new levels of efficiency in utilizing our assets.”

Third Quarter Highlights

Strong Customer Activity: In the third quarter, the company added 1,600 customers, bringing the total to more than 25,000. The greatest growth during the quarter came from the company’s current customers, who continued to upgrade and expand their server portfolios. In addition, the company hosts more than 13.3 million Web sites.

Planet Northstar Managed Hosting : Under a new brand, the company announced its entry into the managed hosting business using its rigorous and proactive Anticipation Advantage planning methodology. Small- and medium-sized businesses gain access to enterprise-class IT managed hosting services – starting with as few as two servers – backed by a dedicated team of seasoned IT professionals who are personally accountable for their success.

Planet Alpha Dedicated Hosting : The company rebranded its core dedicated hosting business under the Planet Alpha moniker. Customers have the power to choose from a broad range of products – from single servers to complex infrastructure solutions – based on the precise fit for their businesses.

Planet Alpha Advanced Services: Based on its May 2008 acquisition of TouchSupport, the company added new advanced services to its dedicated servers hosting portfolio, including monitoring, security and server administration. The new Alpha Advanced Services supplement the administration and maintenance of customers’ self-managed dedicated servers to create the optimal management plan for their business. With these new choices, customers can lower their operational costs, and add to or improve the security and availability of their hosted environment.

Yankee Group White Paper: The company issued a new white paper from Yankee Group that details managed hosting services as a tangible consideration for organizations looking to reduce IT costs. Titled “Leveraging Capex-Free Managed Hosting,” it provides an insightful examination into the formidable IT barriers faced by SMBs in today’s competitive business environment. It also emphasizes the choice of managed hosting services as a strategic and effective alternative that offers enterprise-class capabilities previously not affordable for most companies.