Claranet News

Charles Nasser scoops Entrepreneur of the Year award

Posted on by Jay Fearn

Datacentre and Cloud Awards recognise Claranet founder

Claranet Chief Executive Charles Nasser was named Entrepreneur of the Year (international category) last night, taking the title at the sixth annual Datacentre and Cloud Awards in a ceremony at London’s One Whitehall Place.

Nasser, who founded Claranet in 1996 aged 26, has seen the company evolve and grow into the largest provider of cloud services to the European mid-market, with annual revenues of £124 million. In November 2012 Claranet acquired Star. The acquisition saw Claranet expand on its expertise in providing managed networks and hosting services and capitalise on Star’s track record in unified communications, remote desktops, and security, as well as giving it a strong regional network of offices across the UK.

Over the last 17 years, the nature of Claranet’s business has evolved to take advantage of technological developments and the changing demands of its customers, Nasser explained:

When I set up Claranet in 1996, we were providing connectivity to home consumers and small businesses who were looking to get online in their droves in the early days of the Internet. By the turn of the millennium, we had annual revenues of £11 million from a standing start. But I knew we were at risk of being crowded out of the market by bigger players, and so I took the decision to transform the company into a corporate ISP, focusing on business customers. Several years of organic growth, and a number of key acquisitions in the UK and on the Continent, brought revenues of £70 million. Then in 2006 we evolved again into a managed services provider, making an early play on mid-sized corporate customers’ need for secure and reliable cloud services.”

Throughout Claranet’s 17-year history, Nasser has maintained the company’s financial independence, pursuing a policy of organic growth and acquisitions without bringing in funding from institutional investors. Explaining his entrepreneurial approach, Nasser said: “My view has always been that investment cycles and the shorter-term returns demanded by institutional investors and shareholders can inhibit long-term strategy for profitability, product development, and meeting customer needs. Claranet’s growth has been achieved by reinvesting profits or, as in the case of the recent acquisition of Star, through the use of institutional lenders,” he said.

For further information about Claranet and its integrated network, hosting, and communications managed services provision, visit www.claranet.co.uk.

To find out more about the Datacentre and Cloud Awards and the 2013 award winners, visit www.datacentreawards.com.

Find out more:

Cloud migration research shows complex set of influences on IT decision-makers

Posted on by Jay Fearn

Migration of mission-critical IT infrastructure and business applications to the cloud is occurring at slower rates than that of other IT functions, according to new independent research from managed services provider Claranet. This highlights the ongoing complexity that many IT decision-makers are having with cloud adoption as they try to reach the right balance of multi-tenanted cloud, dedicated cloud and in-house solutions.

The research found that one in five organisations (22 per cent) will have migrated their IT infrastructure to a cloud service by the end of Q1 2014. The figures concerning other critical operations were similar: 26 per cent will have migrated the management of their IT operations, while IT asset management services (30 per cent) and accounting and finance applications (32 per cent) are set to remain predominantly in-house.

Our research has already shown that organisations have significant concerns about the security of their data should they adopt cloud services. This is a major factor in the differing rates of migration between business-critical operations and other applications. Many organisations are finding that hybrid solutions that combine dedicated and multi-tenanted cloud services with traditional IT hosting are the best fit for their needs, so addressing such concerns will be crucial,” said Michel Robert, Managing Director at Claranet.

By the end of Q1 2014, half of organisations (51 per cent) will have moved their email to the cloud, 59 per cent will have migrated advertising and online marketing services to the cloud, and 61 per cent will have migrated their e-commerce web apps, while web portals will be cloud-based at two thirds (67 per cent) of organisations.

Robert said that cloud service providers must do more to gain the trust of business decision-makers, and to build confidence in the use of cloud for hosting for IT infrastructure and applications.

“The fact that only 22 per cent of respondents will have moved their IT infrastructure over to a public or private cloud by this time next year is a sign that vendors need to do more to build trust. As cloud service providers, we need to recognise that moving infrastructure to the cloud is a complex process, and that we must reassure customers by demonstrating our capabilities to support migration and integration. We must also acknowledge that mixed private and public cloud services, or hybrid cloud, are essential to meeting diverse business needs.

“The business benefits of adopting cloud services – not only in terms of cost-savings, but also with respect to business efficiency, operational flexibility and staff productivity – are substantial and measurable. For IT decision-makers to have enough trust in cloud providers, those providers will have to get better at conveying the message that a properly designed and managed cloud migration can be effective and secure,” he said.

The report, part of Claranet’s ongoing research programme, is based on a survey of 250 senior IT decision-makers across a range of small and medium-sized businesses, enterprises and public sector organisations.

The survey – conducted by Vanson Bourne, an independent market research firm – also found that the security concerns arising from the complexity of migrating mission-critical services to the cloud is a major concern for businesses, with these being cited by 66 per cent of respondents.

These findings are supported by statistics published last year (June 2012) by the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF), an association promoting best practice for cloud service providers of which Claranet is a member. CIF found that complexity was the most common difficulty encountered by organisations migrating to the cloud (45 per cent), and that IT decision-makers wanted their providers to help make the migration process easier (35 per cent believing this) and quicker (38 per cent supporting this).

Find out more:

Education key to helping resellers achieve cloud revenue ambitions

Posted on by Jay Fearn

Shortage of sales and support skills and perceived immaturity of cloud market main factors in inhibiting channel

Resellers are sensing an opportunity to grow their revenues by selling cloud services, but concerns over the immaturity of the market and staff skills to sell and support cloud solutions are standing in the way of their ambitions. Vendors must do more to educate and support resellers to bolster their confidence in the cloud services market, Claranet warns today.

The latest statistics from the Cloud Industry Forum (CIF) reveal that almost a third (32 per cent) of resellers expect cloud services to constitute more than 20 per cent of their revenue by 2015, up from 13 per cent in 2012. But while the channel clearly anticipates increasing demand for cloud services over in the coming years, there are signs that resellers do not feel entirely able to take advantage. Nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of resellers are concerned that their staff lack the skills required to support cloud solutions, and 19 per cent think they are missing the skills to sell those same solutions.

Simon Bearne, Sales Director at Claranet, said that unless Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) can up their game and offer the channel the support that it needs, resellers will struggle to address the opportunity:

It’s clear that resellers are keen to take advantage of the cloud, sensing the obvious market opportunities it presents. But the cloud remains a new and relatively unknown frontier for a large contingent within the channel and, while their concerns are by no means insurmountable, they will only be overcome with the help of vendors. CSPs must work with resellers to instil trust in their products and give them full confidence in the skills of their staff to sell and support cloud solutions.

“Cloud providers must do all they can to educate resellers and enable them to overcome the skills shortages that they feel are holding them back from adopting cloud services,” Bearne continued. “But this needs to extend beyond simply providing ‘classroom’ training. The best CSPs will provide channel partners with direct access to their expertise, ‘loaning out’ staff to help with initial sales and to establish the reseller’s knowledge base. Only if resellers understand exactly what they are offering will they be able to smooth out the sales process, support end-user experience of migration and integration, and realise the predicted revenue boom.

“The popularity of hybrid solutions, combining traditional IT hosting with cloud services, can present challenges for resellers who saw the cloud as a good way into the hosting market but who may have little or no experience of traditional hosting. Reselling the cloud is about more than simply providing a well-packaged product – expertise, support, and trust are just as important, and this is where CSPs must step in,” Bearne added. “End-users should look for resellers with established long-term relationships with both vendors and customers – a sure sign of a strong understanding of the technology they are selling and the needs of the organisations they are selling to.”

Cloud services are also perceived as unproven, with 18 per cent of resellers voicing concerns over the immaturity of the market. In response, Bearne suggested that independent accreditation can provide much-needed endorsement of providers’ promises and point to market maturity:

“In an industry such as ours where “cloudwash” is commonplace, it’s easy to bamboozle customers with unfounded claims over security and data protection. The knowledge that an organisation has taken time to ensure its technology is up to scratch and put itself through rigorous auditing and certification processes – such as those for ISO:27000 or PCI DSS – will build up resellers’ trust, giving them confidence that they are looking at a mature market that takes their security concerns seriously,” he concluded.

Find out more:

Hacking and data leaks still top concern for UK CIOs

Posted on by Jay Fearn

Providers need to continue to focus on building trust amongst end-users

Cloud providers must do more to earn the trust of end-users regarding the security of their platforms and services, according to managed services provider Claranet, as it reveals in a recent survey that half of organisations fear exposure of their confidential data.

The research found that 50 per cent of organisations are concerned by the threat posed to well-known cloud providers by hackers. A similar number cited the exposure of confidential customer data (48 per cent), while the release of sensitive data to the general public as a result of a major security breach was also a major worry (45 per cent).

The report, part of Claranet’s annual research programme, is based on a poll of 250 senior IT decision-makers across a range of small and medium-sized businesses, enterprises, and public sector organisations.

However, the survey also found that while security remains a significant concern, organisations do understand the importance and potential of cloud services. Only ten per cent of respondents believe that the cloud is not yet a proven technology, while just four percent labelled it mere marketing hype.

Claranet’s UK Managing Director, Michel Robert, said that the findings point to low levels of confidence in service providers over data handling and storage in the cloud.

It is encouraging to see that more than ninety percent of organisations recognise that cloud-based services are a proven approach to technology and more than just a marketing buzzword,” Robert said.

“However, the fact that half of organisations still harbour concerns about the security of their data in a cloud environment is a clear sign that more work needs to be done. Cloud service providers need to be completely transparent over where and how they store customers’ data, ideally offering in-country data centres to allay sovereignty concerns. They also need to take responsibility for overall service availability, including network uptime. Cloud providers that lack their own network will need to work far more closely with network operators so that they can provide a completely integrated service that is secure and reliable.”

Find out more:

Press coverage:

Cyber pact with India highlights data sovereignty risk, says Claranet

Posted on by Jay Fearn

Cyber pact with India highlights data sovereignty risk, says Claranet Cloud concerns about data sovereignty and security remain high

David Cameron’s pact with India to secure UK data stored on the subcontinent will do little to reassure the large contingent of cloud users concerned about data sovereignty and security. According to Product Director Martin Saunders, the deal should remind end users of the questions that they need to ask their Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) if they are able to protect their sensitive information and prevent their data from being stored in undesirable jurisdictions.

David Cameron is to sign a cyber security deal with India in response to fears that British personal and business data stored on Indian servers are vulnerable to attack. According to Downing Street, the pact marks “an unprecedented level of co-operation with India on [computer] security issues”.

Saunders said that although the deal is a positive development in the global fight against cyber threats, cloud users should still seek contractual clarity and reassurance from their CSPs to understand how the service is delivered, where data is stored and ultimately who has access to their data.

“Cameron is right to highlight the risks associated with hosting data in jurisdictions which are perhaps not as well protected as at home. We’re all for tightening up security around the world, but the issue here is whether or not businesses are comfortable with their data being stored in India, even with these additional safeguards. Indeed it might come as a surprise to many to find that their data is even being held in the subcontinent. It’s important that cloud users equip themselves with enough knowledge to be able to ask the right questions of their CSP to ensure that their data is properly protected.”

In late 2012, Claranet polled 250 IT decision-makers from a range of small and medium-sized businesses, enterprises and public sector organisations, roughly half (47 percent) of respondents identified data sovereignty as a key security concern. In addition, 45 percent of respondents were concerned about security breaches resulting in the release of data.

Saunders continued: “Claranet’s own research into end user concerns about cloud services found that data sovereignty is one of the key concerns for organisations when moving to the cloud. Moving data to a cloud service can often mean it is hosted in another country and therefore subject to different data laws. If users have no visibility or control over where their data resides, they are risking the security of their data, their customers and even their own business’ survival.”

Find out more:

Press coverage:

Four in five enterprises say there is more to cloud than ROI

Posted on by Jay Fearn

Claranet research report highlights need to calculate wider business benefits of cloud adoption

Less than 20 per cent of respondents say ROI calculations are the primary way to support the case for cloud adoption, according to new independent research from managed services provider Claranet.

The research also found that three quarters (73 per cent) of organisations believe that cost-based ROI is only one factor in their decision to migrate their IT into the cloud. The findings raise the important question of which other benefits organisations are considering, and whether decision-makers are calculating the ROI of these wider benefits to their business as a whole.

The report, The ROI for Adopting Cloud, is based on Claranet’s annual survey of cloud adoption and trends, which polled 250 senior IT decision-makers across a range of small and medium-sized businesses, enterprises and public sector organisations.

According to the independent research, conducted by Vanson Bourne, 93 per cent of all organisations that have adopted cloud services calculated the predicted ROI for adopting cloud services, largely against cost-savings made by the IT department. The research found that only around half of respondents were calculating the wider benefits to the business, such as better business performance (55 per cent) and improved employee productivity (49 per cent), when examining the ROI for cloud adoption.

Claranet’s UK Managing Director, Michel Robert, said that the cloud industry needed to ensure that it can clearly demonstrate the wider benefits of cloud services to help support the case for adoption within end-user organisations.

“It is very encouraging that so many organisations are making efforts to predict and to quantify the benefits of cloud adoption, but our research shows that there is significant scope for refining and improving these calculations,” said Robert.

The fact that 73 per cent of respondents say that cost-based ROI is only one consideration in the decision to adopt cloud services shows that organisations recognise that there are other important benefits to consider. Despite this, many are still not calculating the ROI of factors such as business efficiency, operational flexibility and staff productivity. These areas can all potentially be measured, and the challenge for the industry in 2013 is to help end-users understand these wider benefits, and to help them evaluate them in building their case for adopting cloud services, as well as to measure their ROI post-migration.

Robert is presenting the findings of the research at Cloud Expo, where he will be giving a keynote presentation on the ROI for adopting the cloud. Claranet customer Channel 5 will also be taking part in the presentation, which takes place in the keynote theatre at 3pm on Wednesday 30th January.

Find out more:

Cloud adoption driven by greater trust in public and hybrid services

Posted on by Jay Fearn

Majority say cloud is as secure as on-premises IT, finds Claranet’s 2nd annual adoption survey

The continued adoption of cloud computing is being driven by greater public trust, Claranet’s second annual cloud adoption survey has found. The report, released today, finds that more than half (54 per cent) of respondents believe that cloud computing is as secure, or more secure than on-premises IT. In last year’s survey the same proportion said that Cloud was riskier than in-house IT, suggesting that 2012 was the turning point for public trust and acceptance of cloud computing.

The survey, which polled 250 IT decision-makers from a range of small and medium-sized businesses, enterprises and public sector organisations, found that almost two thirds (62 per cent) were using some form of cloud service, which tallies with similar recent research from the Cloud Industry Forum. Significantly however, Claranet’s research found markedly greater acceptance of public and hybrid cloud services in 2012.

A quarter of respondents (25 per cent) in this year’s research reported using public cloud infrastructure, as compared to only 15 per cent in 2011. Meanwhile, almost one in three (29 per cent) said that they used a public-private hybrid, an increase of 21 per cent over the last twelve months.

Claranet’s UK Managing Director, Michel Robert, said that the results showed that the industry was making significant progress to allay the public’s legitimate concerns over security, which has traditionally been one of the main barriers to adoption.

In late 2011, more than half of respondents said that cloud computing services posed a greater security risk than in-house infrastructure, with only a third saying that it was an equivalent risk,” said Robert. “Those figures are now 46 per cent and 44 per cent respectively, which shows a narrowing of the gap on trust. These figures are supported by the significant growth in the take-up of hybrid and public cloud infrastructure. This suggests that the industry is growing more successful in reassuring customers about their main worries over public cloud, which last year’s research found to be reliability, data security and ease of migration.

“While these figures are encouraging for the industry there is, however, work to be done,” continued Robert. “Significant numbers of respondents said they had security concerns about cloud computing, with four of the most-cited worries being third-party access to data and issues with data migration, technical issues beyond their control, and data location. These match closely with the factors identified from 2011, signalling to the industry that more needs to be done to address these concerns.”

Robert said that providers who met these worries head-on would reap the benefits from customers, current and future, pointing to the success of Claranet’s own Infrastructure-as-a-Service offering, the Virtual Data Centre (VDC).

“Last month marked the first anniversary of Claranet’s VDC, and we have won a number of major awards for the service,” said Robert. “The service has been judged by panels of industry experts, analysts and end-users, and has been consistently praised not just for its capabilities, but also because it was specifically designed to address the legitimate concerns of end-users. This needs to be the philosophy of any cloud service provider and I think that we, as an industry, are making progress away from the days of ‘cloudwash’, into an era of greater transparency and better service.”

Find out more:

Claranet showcases expanded product portfolio at Cloud Expo Europe

Posted on by Jay Fearn

Managed services provider adds VDI and Unified Comms following acquisition of Star Technology Services

Claranet, one of Europe’s leading managed service providers, will be showcasing its expanded product portfolio at Cloud Expo Europe next week. Cloud Expo is the company’s first UK event since it acquired Star Technology Services late in 2012, creating Europe’s largest mid-tier provider of integrated hosting and network services.

Visitors to the show will find an integrated offering, encompassing Star’s unified communications and hosted desktop services into Claranet’s existing portfolio of managed hosting, network and application services – including Claranet’s multi-award winning Virtual Data Centre service.

Claranet will also speak on two of the hot topics of cloud computing during the show. Michel Robert, Claranet’s UK Managing Director, will be giving a presentation on Return On Investment for Cloud in the keynote theatre at 3pm on 30th January. Robert will discuss how the value of cloud services can be measured across a business, highlighting key findings from Claranet’s second annual survey into cloud adoption and trends. Meanwhile Clive Malcher, Head of Product Development & Technology at Channel 5 will discuss the broadcaster’s approach to ROI and how it assesses the value of their investment in cloud.

Later in the afternoon at 3.35pm, Claranet’s Senior Product Manager, Ben Crouch, will present on delivering desktops and applications successfully in the cloud, in the Cloud Service Providers & Ecosystem theatre, including a customer case study.

Cloud providers are working harder to demonstrate the business value of their services and to provide solutions to real-world problems and pressures, such as security and the Bring Your Own Device phenomenon. With the acquisition of Star, Claranet has added a very valuable product set that will enable us to better meet the unique demands of our customers.”

If you would like to arrange a briefing with Michel Robert following his presentation, or if you’d like to meet with Claranet to discuss its new product strategy, please contact the press office.

For additional information, or to request an interview with Claranet’s spokespeople, please contact the press office:

Rob Jessel / Ed Dodge
Spreckley Partners Public Relations
E: [email protected]
T: +44 (0)20 7388 9988
www.spreckley.co.uk

Find out more:

RNIB unifies its national IT network

Posted on by Jay Fearn

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) has selected Claranet, the managed services provider, to supply and upgrade its wide area network (WAN)

This upgrade has brought together all of the charity’s thirty sites across the UK and now provides a high-performance resilient network. This will allow RNIB to provide blind and partially sighted people better on-line access to the charity’s full range of services.

Claranet has provided RNIB with a brand new WAN to keep essential applications performing and will enable the charity to ensure that it can provide greater access to online services and content in RNIB’s National Library, which includes the charity’s flagship service, Talking Books.

Jon Curry, Head of Information Technology at RNIB said, “Each day a large number of people rely on RNIB’s services including our helpline, library service, online support and access to information about sight loss. Although our existing network had served us well in the past, it could no longer meet increasing demands for real-time, communication, collaboration and access to data and applications.

Our new network enables us to run our internal systems to a level of performance that will enable us to continue to provide the highest level of support to those with sight loss. Not only has Claranet met our needs, they’ve provided us with a comprehensive technical package, tailored to our specifications, and all at a competitive price.”

Michel Robert, Managing Director, Claranet UK says: “We understand the importance of RNIB’s work and want to supply them with a network that meets their exact business needs. With the new WAN service from Claranet, RNIB will be provided with an ultra-reliable network infrastructure that will support current and future internal and external communications, application and service delivery needs.”

Find out more:

  • For more information about RNIB, visit RNIB
  • For more information about Claranet’s managed network services, visit managed networks
  • For more information about Claranet’s connectivity services, visit connectivity services

Claranet swoops on Typhon

Posted on by Jay Fearn

British-based managed services provider continues ambitious growth strategy to consolidate market position with third acquisition in 6 months

Claranet, one of Europe’s leading managed services providers, has acquired the French hosting company Typhon, for a total consideration of £3.4m.

The acquisition of Typhon follows acquisitions earlier this year of Star Technology Services (in November) in a deal valued at £55m; and Portuguese hosting service provider CGEST (in July). This latest acquisition further confirms Claranet’s position as the largest mid-tier provider of integrated hosting and network services in the UK and continental Europe.

Founded in 2005 and based in Paris, Typhon is recognised as a specialist in web and open source hosting services. The acquisition broadens still further Claranet’s existing service portfolio, and sees the Claranet Group grow to over 700 employees, with over 4,700 customers and operations in six European markets. The new combined Group will have annual revenues of over £124m.

Charles Nasser, CEO and Founder of the Claranet Group, stated:

This announcement confirms our ambition to become the clear leader for managed services across Europe, while the acquisition of Typhon also positions Claranet as the leading provider for web hosting and applications in France.”

“Claranet’s mission is to provide services that help its customers make the most of internet-enabled technology, and to achieve the benefits this can deliver for their business. The three acquisitions this year move Claranet a major step forward in terms of our growth and capabilities, which would otherwise have taken us many years to achieve organically,” he added.

“Becoming part of the Claranet Group will create new opportunities for our customers, partners and employees, and they will all benefit from Claranet’s pan-European operations, its strong financial footing and the expanded services portfolio,” stated Jules Vo Dinh, MD and co-founder of Typhon.

The acquisitions have been funded through debt and supported by Claranet’s partnerships with The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Ares Capital Europe and Abry Partners, which demonstrate their confidence in Claranet’s growth strategy.

Find out more:

  • For more information about Claranet visit Claranet
  • For more information about Typhon, visit Typhon