In April, I became the newest product manager at The Planet. As you can see from other newbie Planeteer posts this year, we are hiring. The combination of the people I met during the interview process, the job description and the benefits made it an easy choice. I knew this was the right opportunity … The Planet’s gravitational pull was strong.

In my short tenure, these are the things that stand out most so far:

• There are a lot of people here with a TON of experience in hosting. As someone who has worked in roles in engineering and product management across various tech sectors, ranging from semiconductors (processors and memory) to network and cable test equipment, this is exactly the kind of environment I needed to learn about the industry. As I learn the subtle industry differences, I hope to provide value by applying product management concepts to our products and services to create solutions to meet our customers’ needs.
• People here are passionate about their work. I see it in everyone from engineers who drop by my cubicle to make a case for various technologies and vendors to Kevin and Tomy engaging with customers in the wild world of social media.

So, about the move …

After spending all of my life as a Northerner and living mostly in cities known for being rainy – yes, the last city was Seattle – or cold, I packed my bags and ventured down to Houston. It’s amazing how huge this country is and how different life can be in other regions. It remains to be seen whether I’m fully prepared for a Texas summer.

The move wasn’t as simple as packing bags, and I reached Houston later than The Planet’s gravitational pull (g=9.8m/s²) would have predicted. I considered various movers with widely varying reputations to get my furniture and vehicle from one side of the country to the other. I also evaluated hundreds of possible places to live without really knowing the Houston neighborhoods yet. As you’d expect, I spent more than my fair share of time hunkered over a search engine to get reviews, and my soon-to-be-coworkers were happy to provide feedback.

We make a lot of choices and have a lot of options available in life that affect our future.

For me, my choices affected the security of my possessions and where I’d live in this city. For you as a hosting customer, we know your choices are around your site’s security and how your hosted environment can affect the success of your business. As a product manager here, one of my personal goals is to give you reasons to love your decision to host with The Planet – which you’ll have the ability to share with your peers.

As I continue learning the ins and outs of hosting, I’m looking forward to chatting with our customers and potential customers about the kinds of products we can provide to create a better hosting experience. If we’re missing a product or service you think we should have, drop it in a comment below!

-Subrata