I look around different websites and forums and I see thousands and thousands of hosting companies sprouting up out of nowhere. My question to all of you is, do you think the hosting business is going downhill? Do you think there is room for more or do you think there should be no more companies made?

There is always room for quality hosting companies.
This question has been asked for the last 10 years.

There will always be kiddies and sleazy operators out there. That will not change and the growing reseller market hasn't helped.

But, at the end of the day, there will always be room for a quality business.

I think that the hosting empire is going down, and loosing its value, it's not as big or as needed as 1-4 years ago, because there are so many companies trying to get the customers, it just isn't working.

If you're looking to make easy money, then yes, hosting is a less fertile sea in which to cast your net. Hosting is a little more familiar to more people, more of them have an idea of what is "too good to be true" and "too high a price", and more people are more savvy (or less gullible) about how to do business on the web.

If you're looking for a business, hosting is no better or worse than any reselling or franchising business. The service is needed.

Individuals and businesses will continue to need hosting services. The specifics of what they need will continue to evolve, as will the cost of providing these services. People with the ability to forsee their clients' needs, the ability and willingness to meet those needs, and the ability and willingness to provide quality customer service - that isn't going anywhere.

I disagree.
How could website hosting "lose it's value"?
A website online can be the only value a company has.
Quality web hosting is not only holding value it is increasing in value.

Don't let the fact that the industry seems saturated kid you into thinking that there is no market for real, quality hosting.

But the thinks people do, to get customers and what not. Now that a lot of people are starting hosting companies, they will do anything they can do to get customers, and hosting itself is starting to loose value. Dropping Prices, and overselling just to get peoples money.

I dont think that hosting may be so much loosing its value, but it just isn't what it used to be in my opinion.

You say that like it's a bad thing. (Or a good thing.)

It's change. It's inevitable.

Personally, I'd be very concerned if the hosting market *hadn't* changed - even in the relatively-short five years I've been involved as a web host. If things don't change, how can they get better?

Change isn't always for the better though.

The hosting industry is evolving, as it should.

There is an old saying in the real estate business.
The top three rules of real estate are: Location Location Location

I think that a similar montra can be said about the hosting business.
The top three rules of the hosting business are: Customer Service Customer Service Customer Service

If we can remember this rule we don't have to worry about the little fly by night hosts that come and go.

Blue is right. I've seen this argument throughout the years in the hosting industry and the answer has yet to change. The niche markets are out there, you just have to find them out and then exploit them. It comes down to this - in niche markets, more research and often better service is needed in order to operate properly. These fly-by-night operations that we see all target the same pool; the clients out there looking for the best deal.

Believe me when I say there are still a lot of small town businesses out there that have yet to get online. There is only one way for the hosting industry to go and that way is up. That's not to say it won't evolve, because it has already done so and will continue to do so.

I cannot stress enough how important this statement is.

The vast majority of hosting businesses can exist on local clients.

We get hung up on the "International Market" with wide eyes and visions of huge profits, but we forget the local market.

Pay attention to your base. Provide a local service first and the rest should fall into place.

The thing to keep in mind is this...

Regardless of our bad the industry may seem to you, it's not. Every industry has it's hacks, and shady dealers.

The thing is however, shady business typically don't last long. We can see this happen everyday in the hosting industry. It's an easy industry to get into, thus kids see this as an opportunity to "get rich". The problem arises when they don't get rich quick, and realize that there is a lot of work involved in running a business, and worse...they have no idea what they are doing, when it comes to business.

What happens? Well, when these "businesses" go out of business, it's because customers have learned their lesson, at least a little. This means the customer is a bit smarter now, when it comes to hosting.

This ultimately opens the door wide for legit businesses.

As far as the value of hosting. Remember that the Internet in it's current form, or any foreseeable form, could not exist without hosting or the hosting industry.

I don't think it's going down, it's just becoming more competitive. Requiring more strategic plans for the hosting companies around. As long as quality service is provided, there shouldn't be any reason a hosting company can't make it.

I wouldn't say it's going down, I'd say there's a lot more competition nowadays specially between shared hosting companies. Competition should actually drive companies to perform even better to rise above competitors

The web hosting market is over-saturated, but the more competition the better. The only problem is there is a huge influx of cheap providers which are cheap, but are overselling, thus the overall quality of the web hosting industry is going downhill.