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Thruport Technologies, Inc. Interview
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HOSTSEARCH: Tell us a little about yourself and your role with Thruport.Com. DAVID: I've been involved in computer technology for more than twenty years, and have a great desire to make the world a better place through the use of technology. For the last seven years, I've focused on the system and software sides of the business, with a view towards pushing technology to the limit. At Thruport, I direct strategic plans that the company executes to remain competitive in the marketplace, provide leadership to the staff at all levels, and keep an open mind to new and exciting possibilities for the company. HOSTSEARCH: Can you provide us with a brief run-through of Thruport.Com since it was established? DAVID: Thruport Technologies was born from digitalNation, the largest dedicated hosting provider in the country. Bruce Waldack, founder and CEO of digitalNation, sold that company to NTT/Verio at the height of the tech boom in 1999. At that time, Thruport Technologies was spun off as a software development firm, specializing in ad-serving and large-scale e-mail technology, along with a large array of cutting-edge R&D projects. Since then, Thruport has re-entered the hosting market with the same commitment to the core values of customers and world-class service that made digitalNation the #1 company for dedicated hosting. HOSTSEARCH: I see you offer Mac OS X hosting, which doesn't seem popular with other hosting companies. What do you think of this product? Do you see more and more people hosting on Mac OS X? DAVID: Right now, Apple is pushing really hard to get their server lines into enterprises and hosting centers around the world. With the recent supercomputer that Virginia Tech built exclusively using Apple's G5 systems, Apple has increased their prestige in academic circles. This always results in changes in the business world. For companies hosting on the OS X platform and for companies providing OS X hosting services, Apple Computer provides a tremendous customer service experience that is second to none. Also, their products generally suffer fewer security holes than their x86 counterparts. Thruport finds hosting on Mac OS X very refreshing, for it brings a polish to every level of the product experience lacking in other server platforms. HOSTSEARCH: Tell us about HotOffice and AdJuggler. DAVID: The HotOffice and AdJuggler business lines are quite active right now, and both are steadily growing. In HotOffice, our upcoming plans are to focus on a next-generation information synchronization technology for our professional userbase. This is the most-often requested enhancement request we receive from our customers, so we plan to implement this change in the next development cycle. Thruport is very excited to be releasing version 5.0 of its AdJuggler technology this spring. This major upgrade will sport a new look and feel, with a new workflow for our customers, along with powerful reporting features, including ROI reports. The online advertising industry is alive and well and Thruport is positioned to become the de facto standard in the online advertising world. HOSTSEARCH: How do you differentiate your company and products in a highly competitive industry? DAVID: Service, service, service. Thruport prides itself in customer care, and we strive to excel at our mission to be a customer-centric company. Other hosting providers may provide "lip service" on support, but we go the extra mile for the customer. This is the ideal that made digitalNATION so successful, and it is the same ideal Thruport sticks to. Thruport can offer compelling bundled solutions that many other hosting providers cannot compete with at any level, such as low-to-no-cost HotOffice accounts and limited free use of AdJuggler for our hosting customers. This allows us to help our customers do more with less, and this idea to bundle these offerings really gives our customers an edge on their competitors because they are more profitable and productive. HOSTSEARCH: Who do you see as your major competitors? DAVID: Since we have three business lines, we have three sets of competitors. For hosting, our major competitors are Interland, EV1Servers.net, BurstNET and C I Host. For AdJuggler, our major competitors are DoubleClick, Accipiter, 24/7 Real Media and Zedo. For HotOffice, our only real competitor is Intranets.com. HOSTSEARCH: What is the best selling product at Thruport.Com? DAVID: AdJuggler has taken center stage, with our $99 P4 2.4GHz dedicated servers in a very close second place. Customers can get into AdJuggler for as little as $50 per month with no commitment required. HOSTSEARCH: Do you think the size of a web hosting company is important for people looking into hosting services? DAVID: It can be important. If the company is too large, your chances are great that you will not receive personalized service and you'll be treated like a number. If the company is run out of somebody's basement, then your hosting provider's business continuity prospects are not very high. Thruport is right in the sweet spot. We have just enough staff, a world-class data center and the right philosophy to use that staff in the most efficient manner possible to provide the level of service our customers expect. HOSTSEARCH: If I were considering moving my hosting to Thruport.Com and I ask for one reason--just one--what answer would you give? Why should I move to Thruport.Com? DAVID: Affordability: We can offer high-quality services at a lower price than our competitors because we own our facilities outright with no long-term debt. Thruport is very interested in helping our customers to succeed in their mission. HOSTSEARCH: Where do you see Thruport.Com and the industry as a whole in five years time? DAVID: The industry is becoming a commodity and has been somewhat consolidated with bankruptcies and acquisitions. Some of this will continue to occur in the next five years, but specifically, I see the Virtual Dedicated Server market and automation for the provisioning process as key directions for the industry as a whole. Utility computing and distributed utility computing seem the likely destination for the industry overall. Ultimately, there will be wholesale providers of utility computing services that have resellers and affiliates driving the whole process based upon cost and service alone. Thruport will be a major player in this field and will participate at many levels of business opportunities that will avail themselves to us. HOSTSEARCH: One final question: what's the first website you visit when you turn on your computer? DAVID: I visit my HotOffice desktop at http://www.hotoffice.net. At that site, I have access to all the day's events and important messages to take care of. |
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