It isn’t very well known, probably because they don’t like to toot their own horn, but Contegix hosts most of the popular Java open source projects out there, as well as many Java technology companies. The list is impressive: OpenSymphony, Spring, Codehaus, Appfuse, Jive Software, Atlassian, Virtuas, Sourcebeat, Cenqua (makers of FishEye and Clover), and ClientJava. And those are just the ones that the Java and JavaBlogs community would know first hand.
But it’s not their client list or their open source contributions that are what I want to point out. In fact, that list is merely a symptom of their excellence. Since they took over the OpenSymphony infrastructure, I’ve worked closely with all the Contegix engineers. What is so special about them is their communication. They are the most proactive professionals I’ve ever worked with. Not just in the hosting industry, but in general. Not once have I had to reach out to them about a problem. They are always the first to know about an issue, the first to communicate, and the first to provide a fix. Recently, Matt Raible had some good things to say about them.
The unfortunate thing is that many out there, especially in the Java community, don’t even know how deep their support goes. Imagine this: they proactively keep JavaBlogs (the site you probably came through to read this entry) up, as well as Spring, OpenSymphony, Codehaus, and a host of Apache projects up with almost perfect uptime, all while making sure they are running the latest versions of their hosted software, such as JIRA, Confluence, Roller, Jive Forums, FishEye, or anything else. And those sites almost never have any trouble (I can’t speak for the others, but the only time OpenSymphony has troubles is when I’m screwing with the server myself!) They are not only great communicators, they are experts in the tools Java professionals use every day (in addition to standard system administration).
So this is my little thank you to Contegix. I hope that everyone out there recognizes their efforts for our open source community. And of course, if you need hosting, I can’t recommend them enough. They really are an amazing team to work with.
on Jan 23rd, 2006 at 5:02 am
On behalf of the whole Cenqua team, I have to say we wholeheartedly agree. Contegix really do provide astoundingly awesome service. We’ve been with them for probably 2 years and I can’t imagine ever choosing another hosting company.
on Jan 23rd, 2006 at 1:37 pm
Seconded!
I started working with the Contegix guys when I came to Atlassian. These guys have been not only the best hosting providers I have ever worked with, but they have provided the best customer service I have ever experienced — for any product or service. They’re unbelivable.
on Jan 23rd, 2006 at 10:28 pm
Here, here! I’ve been working with these guys a lot in the last 6 months at Virtuas. They’ve been great for not only the Java stuff, but other good projects like Drupal, SugarCRM and Trac.
on Jan 24th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
+1 from everyone here at Tangosol. The level of service that Contegix provides is truely amazing.