The Planet Relocates Headquarters to Houston's Bayou Place

The Planet, the world's largest privately held dedicated hosting company, today opens the doors to its new world headquarters at the city's famed Bayou Place entertainment complex located at 315 Capitol in downtown Houston. The noon ribbon cutting includes remarks from Chairman and CEO Douglas J. Erwin, GI Partners' Managing Partner Howard Park and Walter Ulrich, president and CEO of the Houston Technology Center (HTC).

To celebrate the occasion, Houston Mayor Bill White issued a proclamation to announce Dec. 12, 2007, as "The Planet Day" in Houston.

The company's new 80,000 square foot office is home to The Planet's core corporate functions, including the Network Operations Center (NOC), Customer and Technical Support, Sales, Finance, Marketing and Human Resources.

"We envision our new offices as a showplace where customers can see first-hand the IT infrastructure hosting capabilities we provide," said Erwin. "This creative environment has been designed to encourage our employees to stretch their skills and think outside of the box. It's also a prime location for attracting talent, where potential employees will experience the pulse of The Planet and know why working for our company is a great career move. The energy and pace of the downtown Houston business community is a direct reflection of our own culture, and it's a perfect place for a progressive company like ours to call home."

In conjunction with the opening, The Planet will present a $25,000 check to the HTC, announcing its sponsorship of the 2008 Web-Based Business Startup School education series. For up-and-coming organizations, the educational format provides relevant topics critical to operating in a Web 2.0 environment. Among the topics the series will include are legal, technical, sales, marketing and design issues, as well as relevant industry trends.

A number of companies have played a significant role in enabling the company to make its move downtown. Among these are The Cordish Company, developers of the Bayou Place complex; Kendall-Heaton Architects; D.E. Harvey Builders; and real estate brokerage firm Jackson-Cooksey.

"The creative talents of these companies and many more, along with their skilled craftsmen, have made The Planet's new offices an incredible workplace for our employees. They've all worked long hours to meet deadlines, and we appreciate their dedication," Erwin concluded.