2014 United Kingdom Infrastructure as a Service Customer Value Leadership Award

2014 United Kingdom Infrastructure as a Service Customer Value Leadership Award

Customer Value Leadership Award Infrastructure as a Service UNITED KINGDOM

Background and Company Performance Industry Challenges Companies that wish to remain competitive in the 21st century realize the importance of an accessible and secure data centre. With headlines consistently reminding us of big companies being hacked by cyber criminals, the Internet proves to be a risky residence for precious company data. Companies are also beginning to discover the advantages of infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and "what-if" is becoming "why-not." However, Frost & Sullivan recognizes that there are grave concerns that not all IaaS solutions will be able to address security needs. Adequate data solutions are critical, so companies are understandably reluctant to place it on an Internet-based cloud IaaS solution. Companies work hard developing and safeguarding data in the Information Age. For this reason, the flexibility to keep data available to the customer creates another challenge. Competitive IaaS providers must provide companies the flexibility, along with security that exceeds the level of security they perceive from keeping data locally in an office. While companies prefer to employ an IT team to maintain solutions, companies are slowly opening up to the idea of IaaS. Cybercrime continues to threaten information security, both now and in the future. Providing top-notch data security, while enabling accessibility for businesses on the information highway, is the ultimate industry challenge. Enter Exponential-e Ltd., a company capable of offering business solutions that are formulated with the future of secure IaaS solutions in mind. Exponential-e Customer Value and Implementation Excellence Total Customer Experience Having constructed a truly impressive 100 GigE (Gigabit Ethernet) network in the heart of major metropolitan areas, Exponential-e is capable of providing IaaS to roughly 90% of the UK's businesses. Over the course of 12 years, Exponential-e developed a state-of-theart high speed fibre network, and was the first company in the UK to offer Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS) technology to the market. Using this sleek fibre network, this company's IaaS with strong cloud computing capabilities is specifically built to support its small and medium enterprise customers. Competitors offer hybrid IaaS solutions managed hosting, cloud, and colocation services that are geared toward their large enterprise customers; however, Frost & Sullivan's research shows that this leaves the smaller, more local enterprises dissatisfied. Exponential-e is a superior IaaS provider for these enterprises, catering for the required flexibility these companies demand In early 2014, Exponential-e launched CloudNet, a pay-as-you-go cloud service with private access via the fibre network. The company provides this innovative service at speeds of 100 or 1,000 megabits per second (mbps). While competitors provide competent hybrid IaaS solutions mixed with various other services for companies of all sizes, Exponential-e gives its small and medium enterprise (SME) customers more options. This gives SMEs the option

to pick and choose from these various services which are normally available only to larger companies. (e.g., private access via a fibre network, at varied speeds) While dealing with SMEs, Exponential-e meets customers needs with a flexible, secure, accessible service at a value that cannot be beaten. Purchase Experience While upselling products and making a profit is important for a company s growth, Exponential-e does things differently. By making sure that the client has the best purchase experience, Exponential-e believes this will increase its reputation through word of mouth. This popularity will in turn increase its customer base, which inevitably increases revenue. Instead of providing generic bundles, which may or may not be best for the customer, Exponential-e offers tailored solutions under a single service level agreement (SLA). While providing the best total customer experience, the à la carte methodology of CloudNet provides a vast range of services and is a prime example of Exponential-e s no-nonsense philosophy of offering flexibility and value to existing and potential clients. Service Experience Having launched London's only comprehensive 100Gig Ethernet VPLS networks in 2006, Frost & Sullivan is certain Exponential-e is positioned to become a top cloud IaaS provider in the UK market. Besides providing a tailored total customer solution, this company is capable of providing the highest speed and lowest latency network transport across the majority of the UK's metropolitan areas. Exponential-e s VPLS is also significantly more secure as it alleviates the risk of having to access cloud services via the Internet. On top of this network is the Virtual Data Centre (VDC) service, which facilitates all the necessary IT operations a company could want. While competitors offer similar IaaS solutions that utilize the Internet, Exponential-e provides excellent quality for such services over its secure VPLS, through the highly configurable CloudNet interface. As of recently, Exponential-e can provide a competitive service to its SME customers in the United Kingdom. Whilst it s larger and more established European competition focus primarily on coverage, Exponential-e specializes in providing the tailored solutions that the UK s SMEs desperately need. Operational Efficiency It is one thing to deploy a state-of-the-art IaaS solution; it is another to actually make sure it is the best fit for the customer. Exponential-e ensures this by sending a team of technicians to right-size the potential customer s existing infrastructure to see what solution is actually feasible. This ensures brand quality and further shows Exponential-e s dedication to its customers. Exponential-e also routinely checks up on the customer to make certain that the solution is working optimally. However, do not just take Exponential-e s word for it. The company is subjected to routine audits and maintains an impressive list of accreditations because it takes company integrity seriously. Ranging from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

to a VMware partnership, Exponential-e is one of the most globally accredited IaaS providers in the UK. It is able to flawlessly maintain this high level of operational efficiency through these accreditations and the integrity the company demands of not only its business relationships but also of its product. Frost & Sullivan firmly believes that these practices for product integrity management demonstrate and underwrite Exponential-e s ability to operate smoothly and efficiently. Technological Sophistication In the past, IaaS providers only offered fixed solutions (i.e., one size fits all approach) that were not very flexible for customers. Frost & Sullivan's competitive analysis reveals that Exponential-e offers the most flexible solutions, where its customers truly feel the same security and control as if the infrastructure resided locally. Exponential-e s technological sophistication allows customers to have ultimate control of the IaaS, with the ability to easily make real-time alterations to their IaaS solution by adjusting their bandwidth and other options (e.g. speed) as needed-on the fly. Customers also retain full control of their VDC through root access. The cloud IaaS solution resides away from the Internet, further minimizing risk to customers. Customers have access to their VDCs through the 100 GigE VPLS, bypassing the risk of exposing themselves to cyber criminals on the Internet. Exponential-e s combination of carrier-class fibre network, VDC integration, and customer experience (that is both highly flexible and empowering) surpasses the level of technical sophistication that most IaaS providers offer the SMEs in the UK market. Company Culture Exponential-e s company culture goes beyond the typical customer first model, which is already an industry standard. The company never forgets its bootstrapping beginnings and ability to think outside the box. This same culture translates into providing the customer with exceptional solutions at best possible value. The no-nonsense approach to developing customer solutions is part of the core company culture at Exponential-e. Frost & Sullivan notes that product integrity and logical customer solutions provided by Exponential-e resulted in it receiving a 96% referral rate amongst its customers while maintaining a high customer retention rate. The company is driven to fully understand the challenges that its current and future SME clients face; investing time and money in innovation to offer solutions that address these challenges. While its competitors professionally address these concerns as well, Exponential-e goes a step further by working to capture and understand needs with customers face-to-face. It is one thing to deploy a professional IaaS solution; it is Exponential-e s goal to ensure it is the right solution for its customers and target markets. Conclusion Possessing an IT infrastructure that is secure, high performing, with maximum uptime, is an invaluable asset to businesses navigating the 21 st century. Having the ability to easily access company data in a secure environment is not an advantage; it is a necessity. Frost

& Sullivan's independent analysis of the Infrastructure as a Service market clearly shows that Exponential-e has developed innovative solutions at values that surpass its competition. The Virtual Private LAN Service is the cyber highway of the UK Infrastructure as a Service market, and being the first VPLS provider in the UK, Exponential-e has established a benchmark in providing the ultimate in customer value in the IaaS industry. For these reasons, Exponential-e has emerged as the worthy recipient of the 2014 Frost & Sullivan Customer Value Leadership Award for Infrastructure as a Service. Understanding Customer Value Leadership Ultimately, growth in any organization depends upon customers purchasing from your company, and then making the decision to return time and again. In a sense, then, everything is truly about the customer and making those customers happy is the cornerstone of any long-term successful growth strategy. To achieve these dual goals (customer engagement and growth), an organization must be best-in-class in three key areas: understanding demand, nurturing the brand, differentiating from the competition. This three-fold approach to delivering customer value is explored further below.

Key Benchmarking Criteria For the Customer Value Leadership Award, Frost & Sullivan has evaluated the total client experience and strategy implementation excellence according to the criteria detailed below. Customer Value Excellence Criterion 1: Total Customer Experience Criterion 2: Product/Service Value Criterion 3: Purchase Experience Criterion 4: Ownership Experience Criterion 5: Service Experience Implementation Excellence Criterion 1: Vision Alignment Criterion 2: Process Design Criterion 3: Operational Efficiency Criterion 4: Technological Sophistication Criterion 5: Company Culture The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards Research Methodology Frost & Sullivan s 360-degree research methodology represents the analytical rigour of our research process. It offers a 360-degree-view of industry challenges, trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of Frost & Sullivan's research methodologies. Too often, companies make important growth decisions based on a narrow understanding of their environment, leading to errors of both omission and commission. Successful growth strategies are founded on a thorough understanding of market, technical, economic, financial, customer, best practices, and demographic analyses. The integration of these research disciplines into the 360-degree research methodology provides an evaluation platform for benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at bestin-class levels. 360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN THE CHAOS

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