Episode 27 of Localogy’s This Week in Local podcast features an engaging conversation on how AI is driving the website creation business forward with Sharon Rowlands, CEO of Newfold Digital.
In this episode (listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube), Rowlands describes leading one of the top three global players in website creation and hosting. And how emerging technologies like AI are transforming the business of helping SMBs build a digital presence.
Much of the discussion between Rowlands and Localogy Senior Analyst Mike Boland focused on how Newfold is using AI to better serve SMBs.
Rowlands readily acknowledges the AI hype early in the interview. She noted that every time she reviews a proposal or pitch deck “AI is in every other sentence.” Rowlands says that AI “is definitely being oversold in some areas and undersold in others.”
Newfold operates several well-known global brands in the site-builder, hosting, and related spaces. These include Web.com, Bluehost, Crazy Domains, HostGator, Register.com, Yoast, and others. Newfold serves more than 7 million customers worldwide, according to Rowlands, with about 6,000 employees. Rowlands said the company generates annual revenues of roughly $1.4 billion.
Rowlands has led Newfold since February 2021. That’s when Newfold emerged from the acquisition of Web.com (which Rowlands had led) by Endurance International. A number of related Web.com and Endurance assets were combined under the Newfold umbrella, including those noted above, creating a single, powerful digital solutions provider for SMBs.
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