Research and analysis firm Tier1 Research (tier1research.com) kicked off its third annual Hosting Transformation Summit today. The event takes place from September 18 to 19 this week at The Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Attendees started off the day with opening comments from Martin McCarthy - CEO of Tier 1's parent company The 451 Group - who reiterated that the hosting industry is transforming, and that transformation is innovation applied. He also talked about how the event's goal is to accelerate the market and help Web hosts work closer with hardware and software vendors.

The day's program included sessions focused on the next generation of managed hosting, a customer's perspective on Web hosting services and how well or poorly they're being marketed and the explosive growth of content delivery networks. The summit continues tomorrow with panels and sessions about the private equity invasion with relation to hosting and tips on how to make your data center greener.