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July 28, 2003 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- SERVER4YOU (server4you.com), a subsidiary of German communications firm intergenia AG, officially launched its new U.S.-based operation today with a service offering that includes a $49 dedicated server.
The offer is not a promotion, but a reflection of intergenia's business strategy. Better known for SERVER4FREE, its popular European brand, intergenia believes in a "least cost" business model that offers low dedicated hosting plans through automation and process management. The company currently hosts 6,500 machines and 380,000 domains, making it one of Europe's largest Web hosting companies.
SERVER4YOU's U.S. operation consists of 20 employees, all of whom are based in St. Louis. The company leases 10,000 square feet in a local data center, with an option to lease additional space. SERVER4YOU is renting local dark fiber between its two POPs from NetLabs, a local ISP, and its POPs are connected by the company's own 10 Gbps fiber ring. SERVER4YOU's network houses direct gigabit-level cross connects with Level 3, MCI, Allegiance and AT&T.
The offering is positioned to go head to head with $99 a month dedicated servers currently offered by companies like ServerBeach, Rackshack and ServePath. Although priced at $49 a month, SERVER4YOU feels its dedicated server offering is accompanied by the same features as its competitors, and executives are confident they can win over clients with their low prices and experience.
"The difference here is that we were the first provider to start offering budget dedicated hosting in 1997," said Thomas Strohe, SERVER4YOU's vice president of marketing and business development. The company hopes to reach the 400-server level within its first couple of months of operation.
SERVER4YOU executives do not expect its U.S.-based competitors will cut prices in half in response to SERVER4YOU's new offering, as doing so could be costly and alienating to thousands of existing customers if they did not receive similar discounts. The company also feels its staffing and network investment levels are unique factors that help it lower costs.
Aside from U.S. competition, SERVER4YOU also anticipates competition from 1und1, another one of Europe's largest Web hosting firms. 1und1 is also planning a U.S. launch, and has appointed a U.S. vice president of sales. 1und1 declined to comment on the matter.
SERVER4YOU executives have anticipated the move, and welcome the competition. "We are used to fighting with 1und1 and we like each other as competitors," Strohe said.
Read Back Issues of WHIR Magazine
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July 2009 - What am I Worth?
One of the interesting luxuries of working on a project like the printed WHIR magazine is that it allows us to play with things like our point of view from one issue to the next. In recent months we've been giving added attention to the kind of practical and applicable advice aimed at smaller hosts and resellers. This issue carries on with that point of view, asking, in our cover story, "what am I worth?" It's a complicated question without a clear-cut answer.
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May 2009 - The Blueprint for a Small Web Host
I was a little surprised by how difficult it became to see this idea through. We set out to assemble a blueprint for a small hosting business, but butted up pretty quickly against the general impossibility of covering all the territory that was out there to be covered. The basic constraints of a printed magazine, and the less-than-infinite amount of time we had available forced us to face the fact that we could never produce an exhaustive guide to starting a hosting company.
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