Akamai statement
Hi,
First of all congratulations. Although, concerning to some there is no denying that this is big news for the Linode team.
With statements like "…The focus will be moving Linode’s capabilities into our platform and having a comprehensive solution for large enterprise customers" being made by Akamai I think it's reasonable for your SMB customers to be concerned about their place in this new Linode.
I would like to request that a blog post outlining that there will (or preferably wont) be changes under new management to current service offerings (including pricing). This may also be an opportunity to discuss all the good things that will come out of new ownership, if you are able to discuss such.
2 Replies
Give me one instance in the tech world where a good small company was bought (they call it 'merged' but that is just spin) by a large enterprise where the quality of the service (or product) didn't change for the worse.
If there is an exception out there, please let me know what it is.
I'll give Linode a chance but if the past is prologue, I'm pretty sure the rates will go up and the service will go down… and that I'll be leaving.
I'm looking for alternatives.
I guess if I have to go with a large company I may as figure out how to put my sites up on AWS although perhaps Digital Ocean is possibility… until THEY get bought too. At least with AWS, no one is going to buy THEM!! :-)
I posted a thread about this about a week ago, but it's since scrolled off the front page.
Do not expect a response from Linode, either here or in a blog post as you suggest. Most likely, they are legally prevented from saying anything that hasn't been cleared by their new Akamai overlords.
I actually work (at my day job, not the "side hustle" I use my Linodes for) for a company that is a rare exception to the "acquire, devour, and absorb" pattern. That company has continued to operate largely independently of its new parent for a couple years now, likely so they can leverage our existing name, reputation, and offerings and add those to their portfolio. That said, I still consider that rare in any industry, and I fully expect at some point that our name will go away and we'll only be recognized as part the parent.
At this point, I have enough roots planted at Linode that moving will be difficult, but not impossible. The main thing I'm concerned about is a personal convenience that can likely be replaced at a competitor or through a third-party service. But I don't want to move. As I said in my earlier thread, I've been through all of this (ALL of it) before. I don't want to do it again, but I will if I have to.
When you're a small business, NEVER build yourself on an irreplaceable platform. Keep yourself agile enough that if someone pulls the rug out from under you, you can adapt and move somewhere else. I know too many of my peers who have become so dependent on some pretty big names that, when those big names make a tiny change in their offerings, it devastates them. Always keep a suite of options so, if one goes away, you can pivot and survive without it.
That's… hard to do with server hosting. If your host pulls the rug out from under you, that's a difficult pivot to make. Your best bet is to keep backups (independent of Linode's own offerings) and keep a finger on the pulse of the competition. Always own your own domain name, so it can be redirected to another IP if needed.