Web Hosting Interview - Atlantic.Net July 2011

Web Hosting Interview - Atlantic.Net July 2011

John Rossiter, Director of Channel Development at Atlantic.Net

We talked with John Rossiter, Director of Channel Development at Atlantic.Net. Established in 1994, Atlantic.Net is a market-leading hosting solutions provider renowned for providing exceptional infrastructure as a service and simplifying complex technologies.

  • HOSTSEARCH: Hello there, thanks for being with us today. Can you please introduce yourself and your role as Director of Channel Development at Atlantic.Net?
    JOHN ROSSITER: Hello! I’m John Rossiter, the Director of Channel Development at Atlantic.Net. Basically, I look for mutually beneficial partnerships with outside organizations.
  • HOSTSEARCH: Atlantic.Net has been long in web hosting industry. Can you tell us something about the history of your company?
    JOHN ROSSITER: Atlantic.Net was founded in 1994 as an Internet Service Provider. Over the years, Atlantic.Net grew to become the largest independent ISP in the southeastern United States, making sixteen acquisitions along the way. In 2002, we took over a 25,000 sq. foot data center facility in Orlando, Florida and shifted our focus from web hosting to colocation, dedicated hosting, managed hosting and voice and data services.

    Most recently, we’ve added cloud computing and virtualization to our service portfolio and launched a massively scalable and industrial-grade cloud computing platform.

    Atlantic.Net has always been profitable, cash flow positive, self-funded and operates with little to no debt. Our track record speaks for itself as we have successfully grown and constantly changed, adapting and evolving to become the robust hosting solutions provider we are today!
  • HOSTSEARCH: Could you give us an overview of Atlantic.Net's services?
    JOHN ROSSITER: We are a hosting solutions provider. The core element of our business has always been providing clients with comprehensive hosting solutions that help lower their costs while improving IT efficiency.

    Our hosting solutions include services like virtualization, cloud computing (public, private and hybrid cloud), dedicated hosting, managed hosting, shared web hosting, and managed services.
  • HOSTSEARCH: As you mentioned about Atlantic.Net's Cloud computing solutions - Private Cloud, Hybrid Cloud and Cloud servers. What are the main differences between them?
    JOHN ROSSITER: Well, a public cloud is often referred to as cloud servers. They provide the basic cloud computing service. Cloud servers enable clients to turn up virtual servers instantly, eliminating the need to deploy physical servers. This service is ideal for small to midsize businesses and entrepreneurs who are looking to host their website or email, or use a hosted development environment. Public cloud is a very cost effective cloud computing platform because it lets companies focus on their core business while saving on IT infrastructure costs.

    A private cloud is different in that it is created in a private environment that does not touch other servers. This type of cloud is very beneficial for larger organizations that have to meet certain security and regulatory standards.

    A hybrid cloud is a combination of cloud and traditional services. Cloud services can be combined with on or offsite dedicated servers or colocation services. The end result is an enterprise level customized solution that enables clients to not only get more for less, but also gives the ultimate peace of mind knowing that the best technologies are being used to provide a state of the art custom solution.
  • HOSTSEARCH: I noticed that Atlantic.Net enhanced its Cloud computing features through partnership with cPanel. What are the benefits of this partnership?
    JOHN ROSSITER: Our goal is to provide our clients with greater control and features within their cloud environment, and cPanel is just the right ingredient for that goal. Thanks to our partnership with  cPanel, managing individual servers is both fast and easy, providing our customers with a much superior product. This in turn allows the end user to focus on their core business instead of infrastructure management. I’d also like to say that we’ve been working on creating newer features that are not yet available on the market to even better enhance our product offering. So this is something our clients can look forward to in the very near future.
  • HOSTSEARCH: What technology or hardware and software were used to develop Cloud environment at Atlantic.Net?
    JOHN ROSSITER: We took into consideration what was readily available in the market and created something totally unique. We built our cloud from the ground up by using several solutions as  building blocks: the virtualization platform is based on KVM, the back-end cloud storage leverages QDR InfiniBand technology, and we’ve integrated a server administration tool using cPanel/WHM control panel. We’re very close to releasing Parallels Plesk Control Panel also. Our virtual machines run on a variety of preconfigured operating system images including Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Fedora Linux and Windows Server 2003/2008.

    We actually employee a proprietary stack that provides a more secure environment for our clients.
  • HOSTSEARCH: Can you predict the future of Cloud hosting business for the next 5 years from now?
    JOHN ROSSITER: Well, I can tell you it’s not going away. I think we are going to see a great increase in cloud deployments, especially with the cost savings that goes along with it. Each day more and more companies are getting a firmer grasp on what exactly cloud is and the benefits that it can provide to their organizations, both in the short and long term. As this awareness grows we are going to see more companies look to deploy some form of cloud.
  • HOSTSEARCH: What marketing channel do you use to promote your products and services?
    JOHN ROSSITER: We have always grown by the word of mouth, and most of our business comes from referrals! Over the years, we have used various marketing vehicles to drive business, including online marketing, traditional marketing and most importantly, working with our channel partners.
    We’ve experienced strong growth from our affiliate and channel partner program. We also make our presence known at key events throughout the year with sponsorships of enterprise level events as well as bar camps around the country.

    We also offer a referral channel that pays one of the best referral fees in the industry for organizations that want to supply us with potential hosting clients. Usually, our best source is our current clients who know and appreciate the benefits of a relationship with Atlantic.Net.
  • HOSTSEARCH: Thank you very much for your time John. We look forward to seeing your success.
    JOHN ROSSITER: Thank you!

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