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NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: JEB BOLDING on
APPLICATION SERVICE PROVIDERS 01/30/02 Today's focus: How much is too much? Dear Wincenty Kaminski, In this issue: * Inflow finds that smaller is better * Links related to ASPs * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter sponsored by VeriSign - The Value of Trust Do you need to encrypt all your online transactions? Secure corporate intranets? Authenticate your Web site? Whatever security your site needs, you'll find the perfect solution in this FREE Guide from VeriSign, "Securing Your Web site for Business." Get your copy today to learn the facts! http://nww1.com/go/3860213a.html _______________________________________________________________ MANAGING APPLICATIONS AND INTERNET TRAFFIC GIVING YOU A HEADACHE? See what industry leaders are doing to get relief when you watch the "Smart & Secure Application Traffic Management" webcast. Sponsored by F5 Networks and produced by ITworld.com and Network World. http://nww1.com/go/0128F5_06.html _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: How much is too much? By Jeb Bolding In October I talked about Relera, which at that time, announced that it was getting out of the managed-services business. Before it made the announcement I visited its Internet data center in Denver and what comes to my mind when I think about the discussion I had with its CEO, and my impression of the facilities is one word: scale. Everything was about having the best partners, the biggest data center, massive systems redundancy rates, etc. No doubt, there is a place for that corporate mentality, and Relera's focus on scale should be a comfort to many enterprise companies. Relera may have just been unfortunate with its timing in the market and it may yet be successful with its focus. As a counterpoint, yesterday I visited another local Internet data center provider, Inflow. Like Relera, Inflow is headquartered in Denver, and like Relera, it is focused at second-tier cities such as Nashville and Minneapolis, though it does have some first-tier city locations. The similarities, in my opinion, end there. Inflow's corporate esprit de corps seems to revolve around "smaller is better." As an example, the data centers are smaller, somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 square feet. Not only does this bring data center profitability sooner based upon allocated space, but it also gives, in the words of Inflow executives, a more personal touch to the relationship between the data-center managers and Inflow's customers. Further to this point, instead of effectively building its own substations, Inflow ensures that each of its data centers (there are three in Denver) are located on different power grids. While this may not put you in complete control over your own destiny, it's a reasonable, and cost-efficient solution based upon the statistical likelihood of a disaster. While Inflow's costs are considerably less, the features of its facilities do not appear to be diminished. All data centers are mirror images of one another (other than the square footage), so that a customer walking into a Nashville facility will be just as at home in a Denver center. All the services, from simple co-location, to managed security services and monitoring, are replicated similarly across the various locations. And your single operational account representative is your focal service point regardless of how many Inflow data centers you're in. Management is fully integrated between the data centers so that your customer representative does not have to be local to your issues in order to solve them. No doubt, there is a place in the business world for Relera and Inflow. Inflow may have just lucked out that its focus on costs will help the company better weather a long downturn. _______________________________________________________________ To contact Jeb Bolding: Jeb Bolding is senior consultant with Enterprise Management Associates in Boulder, Colo., an analyst and market research firm focusing exclusively on enterprise management. Bolding has 10 years of experience in the network systems industry, most recently with eCollege.com, an ASP for higher education, where he was director of product development. He can be reached at mailto:jbolding@enterprisemanagement.com. _______________________________________________________________ Get your wireless service from the carrier ranked #1 by Forbes magazine. Now get Unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes, plus up to $165 in savings when you activate on select calling plans and purchase a Nokia 3360 or 8260 from AT&T Wireless. To learn more go to http://nww1.com/go/ad207.html _______________________________________________________________ RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS Relera pulls out of MSP market Network World ASP Newsletter, 10/15/01 http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/asp/2001/01052526.html EDS exploits shifts in hosting arena Network World, 01/28/02 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2002/128045_01-28-2002.html AT&T spells out international strategy Network World, 01/28/02 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2002/129527_01-28-2002.html Breaking ASP news from Network World, updated daily: http://www.nwfusion.com/topics/asp.html Archive of the ASP newsletter: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/asp/index.html ______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE Network World Fusion's The Edge site Network World Fusion's The Edge is a resource devoted to the advances in service-provider networks that are shaking up the old telecom order. In classic Network World fashion, we focus on the hardware, software and services coming to market - but this time from the vendors targeting legacy carriers, new alternative local carriers, ISPs and application service providers. http://www.nwfusion.com/edge/index.html _______________________________________________________________ May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. Apply today at http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/nl _______________________________________________________________ SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail newsletters, go to: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/news/scripts/notprinteditnews.asp To unsubscribe from promotional e-mail go to: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/ep To change your e-mail address, go to: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/news/scripts/changeemail.asp Subscription questions? Contact Customer Service by replying to this message. Have editorial comments? Write Jeff Caruso, Newsletter Editor, at: mailto:jcaruso@nww.com For advertising information, write Jamie Kalbach, Director of Online Sales, at: mailto:jkalbach@nww.com Copyright Network World, Inc., 2002 ------------------------ This message was sent to: vkamins@enron.com
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