Raspberry Pi welcomes managed hosting support from leading UK hosting company – Webfusion — as Foundation exceeds expectations
5 March 2012: The Raspberry Pi Foundation, an innovative charitable organisation established to teach youngsters and adults how to program computers will from this week welcome hosting support from Webfusion, one of the UK’s leading web hosting groups.
The overall goal of the Foundation is to improve the quality and quantity of computer science graduates and engineers in the UK. For just $35 (£22), young people and hobbyists are provided with a fully-functional computer, featuring an ARM processor and a GPU, known as a Raspberry Pi, to program.
Since its establishment in May 2011 the popularity of the charity has grown phenomenally. To help cope with the massive demand for downloads of operating system images for the device, Webfusion is providing complimentary managed hosting to the foundation.
Eben Upton, Executive Director of Raspberry Pi Foundation, said: “Despite the fact more people now use PCs, Macs, tablets, smartphones and games consoles, youngsters are no longer exposed to programmable home computers as I and my colleagues were back in the 1980s. This has meant, steadily, the quantity and experience level of students joining universities to read computer science has significantly dropped.
“Now thanks to Raspberry Pi and with the support of invaluable partners such as Webfusion, students and hobbyists now have a device to practice on before they enter further education. As this popularity continues to grow along with our traffic, this incredibly generous managed hosting package will ensure we do not falter along the way.”
Thomas Vollrath, CEO of Webfusion, added: “Eben and his team at the foundation are filling a very real void in the technology industry. We take our corporate social responsibility very seriously, especially when it comes to helping upskill and train the ICT recruits of tomorrow. That is why we are happy to be supporting such a forward-thinking organisation and wish Raspberry Pi every success in the future.”
About Webfusion
Established in 1997, Webfusion is one of the UK’s leading web hosting groups. Offering cost-effective, feature-rich hosting packages for its diverse customer base – including everyone from web developers, designers and hobbyists to businesses with complex e-commerce operations – its customers benefit from market-leading security and service. Features include: 24/7 technical support; managed and cloud hosting; robust Firewall server protection; one click installation; access to FTP accounts and a state-of-the-art data centre.
Webfusion is also part of the Host Europe Group, the largest privately-owned hosting company in Europe, and a Sunday Times Deloitte Buyout Track 100 company. With 4.5 million domains in the group portfolio and over 1 million customers, the Host Europe Group also includes 123-reg, Heart Internet, Host Europe, RedCoruna and dynamic-net AG, and has a strong International market presence in the US, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Spain.
