Whirlpool

I'm assuming not much will change on the front? Changing heads but that's it yeah?

Sorry, I should give some more detail. Cove has sold to IntraIP (which is Cheyne AFAIK).

http://forums.cove.com.au/showthread.php?t=1404

So Cheyne now officially owns ELS and Cove?

I guess his agreement from the sale of Jumba to Aussie HQ is over?

HK-47 writes...

So Cheyne now officially owns ELS and Cove?

The name is changing from Cove apparently. It's all in the forum posts.

Congrats Cheyne and Cove on the sale.

HK-47 writes...

I guess his agreement from the sale of Jumba to Aussie HQ is over?

Cheyne wasn't part of the Jumba sale process, it was Craig and myself who sold Jumba. :)

Michael B writes...

Cheyne wasn't part of the Jumba sale process, it was Craig and myself who sold Jumba. :)

My apologies.

Congrats to all those involved.

Good move IMO. Name changes but faces remain the same.

Morgs23 writes...

How would a new Director change any credit rating for Cove the company?

My understanding is the assets of both Cove Business Technology Pty Ltd and Every Last Second Pty. Ltd have been sold to IntraIP Group (Australia) Pty Ltd

Chris* writes...

My understanding is the assets of both Cove Business Technology Pty Ltd and Every Last Second Pty. Ltd have been sold to IntraIP Group (Australia) Pty Ltd

Correctimundo. Cove is dead. RIP.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot writes...

Correctimundo. Cove is dead. RIP.

We will still be trading as COVE for some time.

This is great news, and I love the new name. Very apt and very professional sounding, IMO.

Hello everybody,

My name is Paul Lansbury and I am the Customer Relationship Manager at COVE/IntraIP. I will be your new Whirlpool liaison as Mark, our former Customer Service Manager, has today left the company.

A number of other changes have taken place today, including the sale of the business and the first of three new staff joining our team.

Although it has already been detailed at the COVE forums, today's announcement changes nothing for our customers. We will still continue to trade as COVE for the interim until we are ready to begin with the new brand, and at that point we will still be using the same business model with some small changes that will benefit our customers, such as new plans with increased resources.

I trust that we can all keep this conversation on a mature level, and I am looking forward to becoming a part of the greater Whirlpool community.

Cheers,
Paul

Hello Seewhymit,

While I may be a friend of Cheyne's, I can assure you that everyone who he has hired is based on their individual merits and expertise.

And you're right, there is nothing new and nothing to see here, because for the moment it is business as usual at COVE. Some of the things we will be changing however will only impact customers in a positive way, such as changing our complaints handling policies and communication with our customers – both points that have been raised a number of times here on Whirlpool, and we're listening.

As much as we would like to be perfect, we're not, and I don't think anyone has ever said we are, but we will continue to do our best and our customers will tell us if we are doing the job good enough for them, which at the end of the day is all that matters.

Cheers,
Paul

I just moved over to Cove and my first impressions was that they are very helpful, even to little guys like me who isn't paying a fortune for hosting.

I only decided to choose Cove at the time because I recognised some old names from my Jumba days.

I must admit I wasn't rapped in the Cove name at the time, and thought "What the heck does that mean"? But then IntraIP doesn't seem to come out and grab me either. :-) Anyone know what that means? :-)

I do wish all concerned the very best for the future.:-)

OZusenet writes...

Anyone know what that means? :-)

a cove is a sheltered bay from the sea – see this lovely pic of a cove ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:McWay_cove_1.jpg

IntraIP – intra means internal or inside, and I presume IP refers to IP addresses?

Clark Kent writes...

a cove is a sheltered bay from the sea

I have always thought Cove was an outstanding name for a web host. Hopefully they wont regret the change

Louie L writes...

I have always thought Cove was an outstanding name for a web host. Hopefully they wont regret the change

Only having the .com.au makes it extremely limited name. :)

Paul Lansbury writes...

Mark, our former Customer Service Manager, has today left the company.

This guy hasn't finished solving my problem and said he would get back to me, now I know why – anyway I have put up a new ticket.

OZusenet writes...

But then IntraIP doesn't seem to come out and grab me either. :-) Anyone know what that means? :-)

I know Cheyne is happy to be able to register the .com and .net TLDs, but I don't get the name. Shouldn't it be InterIP?

Intraip sounds like somewhere that you might find a feral animal in Scotland.... anyone? anyone? Is this thing on?

Michael B writes...

Only having the .com.au makes it extremely limited name. :)

Entirely your choice :)

Hello Bailes,

As far as I was aware, Mark had no outstanding eTickets assigned to him, and any open eTicket in our system can be answered by any member of our staff. If you feel as if your request has not been actioned, please login to MyCOVE and find the eTicket, and add a comment to the ticket which will bring it to our attention.

Cheers,
Paul

Clark Kent writes...

IntraIP – intra means internal or inside, and I presume IP refers to IP addresses?

Hmmm, well I know I wouldn't have gone to Cove had I not seen previous management from my other hosting service. (Name didn't grab me)

From someone who doesn't yet understand the pro's and con's of hosting services I do tend to look at the business name. IntraIP doesn't sound like a hosting service provider to me. It might to the people knowledgeable in the field, but the average joe like me who is just looking for hosting.... no. :-(

OZusenet writes...

IntraIP doesn't sound like a hosting service provider to me.

Fair point but does Amazon sound like a book retailer? :-) I guess it's all about brand awareness which I'm sure the Cove IntraIP dudes are working on almost constantly!

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot writes...

Fair point but does Amazon sound like a book retailer? :-) I guess it's all about brand awareness which I'm sure the Cove IntraIP dudes are working on almost constantly!

That's true, but if the same people are behind it as the Cove branding then they need to pull their socks up. If it wasn't for WP I wouldn't have know who they were if even if I fell over them.

OZusenet writes...

That's true, but if the same people are behind it as the Cove branding then they need to pull their socks up. If it wasn't for WP I wouldn't have know who they were if even if I fell over them.

Goes to show that the trolls are actually doing Cove/IntraIP a favour by introducing new customers :) A good marketing manager would be a big asset for them.

From the looks of their plans, IntraIP will be much larger than Cove in the forseeable future. They'll take baby steps though. It doesn't pay to expand too quickly. Good on 'em for planning for growth in a downturn. That'll see them prepared for when the economy turns the corner and people start spending money again.

Paul Lansbury writes...

My name is Paul Lansbury and I am the Customer Relationship Manager at COVE/IntraIP. I will be your new Whirlpool liaison as Mark, our former Customer Service Manager, has today left the company.

Hopefully a new brush, who will actually be interested in looking after your customers.

Lets see some open & honest communication, and an end to putting existing & potential customers off side with statements like

"good luck with your new provider" (a little ironic in the circumstances :) ) or
"we can't answer that due to privacy concerns" or
"Its beyond our control and someone else's fault" or
"you can't have a problem – there are no tickets in the queue"

and most importantly the removal of that stupid T&C that says – "if you post in a public forum we will terminate your account"!

tRock writes...

be interested in looking after your customers.

Which you are not one I do believe

like "good luck with your new provider"

Sometimes its the best thing when 2 parties can not resolve an issue.

we can't answer that due to privacy concerns"

Well privacy concerns do play a big part in this day and age.

T&C that says – "if you post in a public forum we will terminate your account"!

When you sign up for anything its your responsibility to read the T&C's but yes I do agree with you on 1 thing here

"you can't have a problem – there are no tickets in the queue"

There may not be but then you are not privileged to their customer information and thus wouldnt know

Good luck Cove with the change of ownership and new name and branding.

OZusenet writes...

But then IntraIP doesn't seem to come out and grab me either. :-) Anyone know what that means? :-)

It doesnt grab me either.... it conjures up thoughts of a contaceptive device.

ursulasays writes...

Wonder how long til we hear the thread about how those $2 lifetime accounts were for cove's lifetime, not the customers.

you think maybe those accounts may carry over to the new company and still be $2 lifetime accounts?

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot writes...

Goes to show that the trolls are actually doing Cove/IntraIP a favour by introducing new customers :) A good marketing manager would be a big asset for them.

I have no idea why your talking about 'trolls' introducing new customers?

tRock writes...

Hopefully a new brush

While I am not too sure about how he handled customers directly, Mark's attitude on these forums sometimes was questionable. He seemed to take a lot of things personally. Hopefully Paul won't fall for the same trollbait.

OZusenet writes...

I have no idea why your talking about 'trolls' introducing new customers?

I think he meant the whole saying "All publicity is good publicity" applied here. Some of the trolls do more harm than good to their own argument.

toiletduck writes...

you think maybe those accounts may carry over to the new company and still be $2 lifetime accounts?

Nope. It's no different to a free account, unsustainable in the long run.

HK-47 writes...

While I am not too sure about how he handled customers directly, Mark's attitude on these forums sometimes was questionable.

I didn't detect an attitude problem. He always seemed knowledgeable, sensible and quick to respond.

Disappointed with the "IntraIP" name – very corporate, very sterile and unattractive. Whereas "Cove" is a real word with nice connotations.

Hello Stephen,

A name is exactly that – a name. What's an Optus? What's a Twitter? What's a Uecomm?

These are all brands that most of us would probably recognise now, but at first glance don't appear to be anything that grabbing.

We intend to build on our new brand name so that IntraIP will become a name just like COVE was when it was first created. As it has already been said, we would have preferred to have kept the COVE name, but we were unable to secure any of the other gTLD's nor the .net.au.

Though I can tell you that some of the original names that were floated around with staff were absolute shockers. :)

Cheers,
Paul

Stephen writes...

Disappointed with the "IntraIP" name

Me too. It's just a hosting business afterall. Something more catchy would of been a better choice. IntraIP just sounds silly.

Hello ursulasays,

I have just checked with Cheyne, and he has assured me that COVE has never done any promotion which involved "$2 lifetime accounts".

Are you sure you are thinking about the right web hosting company there?

The only "lifetime" deal that COVE has ever done, was back in December 2008 where you were able to purchase a lifetime hosting account for some $300.00. This was a limited promotion that also required the customer to have their domain name(s) with COVE for the duration.

The only other plan we have is the Get Started plan, which is a free service that has a $2.00 set up fee to prevent spam bots signing up. This plan has very small quotas and limits on technical support, and was designed to give new small businesses a "leg up" so to speak during these tough economic times.

Both plans are still active with no plans to change.

Cheers,
Paul

Paul Lansbury writes...

A name is exactly that – a name. What's an Optus? What's a Twitter? What's a Uecomm?

What's Google, Citrix, Verizon, Equinix, etc, etc. As Paul said, it's about building a brand name, that's all there is to it. With smart marketing, and some money, anything can become a household well known name.

SLK-65 writes...

Something more catchy would of been a better choice. IntraIP just sounds silly.

Whats a Chombo?
Whats a Jumba?
Whats an AussieHQ?

ETC ETC ETC

What was a "Whirlpool" a washing machine? who would have associate back in the early days the name Whirlpool forums with being what it is today.

They are business names only that the owners then go on to brand and build a reputation for that name.

Its a business name... Get over it

All of those brand names work without capitalisation though....

IntraIP relies on the capitals to work, otherwise its intraip... in traip? int raip? inter ape? There'd also be the confusion amongst computer "nubs" as to the difference between intra and inter. I wonder how many people will be telling their mates about this great hosting company interip they are with?

Doesnt really matter when its wholesale, but when its public facing its more important.

Having said that, my last suggestion for a business name was rejected so I'm not any better at coming up with names (FWIW, it was 'Arse And Fist')

Paul Lansbury writes...

The only other plan we have is the Get Started plan, which is a free service that has a $2.00 set up fee to prevent spam bots signing up. This plan has very small quotas and limits on technical support, and was designed to give new small businesses a "leg up" so to speak during these tough economic times.

Of course that is what I was referring to. Please stop spinning it, it's a free account, free accounts aren't sustainable. I'll even guess you've got 10 of these for every paying customer.

Both plans are still active with no plans to change

not this month anyway.

ursulasays writes...

Of course that is what I was referring to. Please stop spinning it, it's a free account, free accounts aren't sustainable.

Yes, you are somewhat correct. However, a large percentage of users who sign up to these GetStarted Packages soon upgrade to paying accounts. Usually I see these accounts used for:

- Developmental purposes whereby they upgrade when the site goes live.
- A testing point for new customers to test our systems and quality of service before bringing these services across to ourselves.
- For webhosting newcomers who don't yet know what to expect from the web.

So ultimately these accounts are sustainable as most will upgrade from these accounts.

Jesse

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot writes...

Fair point but does Amazon sound like a book retailer?

Sure, they cut down forests of trees from the amazon to print their books.. It has more relevance than cove and webhosting.

Jesse Mahoney writes...

Developmental purposes whereby they upgrade when the site goes live.

Or they do what ive done with mine, using it as a sandbox to test changes prior to changing the main site, to ensure nothing explodes :) and as a learning exercise with more room to experiment for much the same reason (so i now have 2 separate accounts)

Stephen writes...

Disappointed with the "IntraIP" name – very corporate, very sterile and unattractive. Whereas "Cove" is a real word with nice connotations.

Yeah, I'm sure they will continue to be a good business but the name Cove was far better than IntraIP. Sounds very corporate and sterile.

Blackheathsnow writes...

Sounds very corporate and sterile.

It sounds generic. A name you could easily forget.

I think they should find a more distinctive and iminaginative name, before its too late. They can always do "intraip trading as fabulously_sexy_name.com"

I recommend Cove to a lot of people, cove.com.au is easy to remember, intraip.com is easy to mess up or forget.

Find a better name guys.

Twisted Pierre writes...

Find a better name guys.

Anything you can suggest?

From what I hear, they went through pages and pages of names, trying to find one that wasn't corny, already trademarked in other countries, and whose domains were not already taken.

Haha, get over the name guys. In 6 months, you'll be used to it :)

Will the $2.08 plans from COVE still remain after this? I just bought a 12 month account :)

Cat.head writes...

Will the $2.08 plans from COVE still remain after this? I just bought a 12 month account :)

Yep. (Soon to be) Different name, same staff, same company.

technology.sponge writes...

Yep. (Soon to be) Different name

When is the name change happening?

I hope someone does some new web link graphics for the new name... hint :-)

OZusenet writes...

When is the name change happening?

I think I read they are going to rebrand it all once their (long promised) website revision is launched. No idea when that is though.