Gartner announces latest Magic Quadrant for European Managed Hosting

Managed services provider Claranet has been positioned in the “Leaders” quadrant in Gartner’s latest European Magic Quadrant for European Managed Hosting, published June 19, 2013 by Tiny Haynes et al.

Gartner stated that vendors in the Leaders Quadrant have proved they have staying power in this market, can frequently innovate on their existing products and can be relied on for enterprise-class needs. They have proved their technical competence and ability to deliver services to a wide range of customers. They address multiple use cases with stand-alone or integrated solutions.

Charles Nasser, CEO of Claranet, states that:

Claranet has a strong history of networking and hosting provision, which means that customers have a single line of accountability and that we have a broad understanding across our customers’ IT spectrum.

Secondly, as one of the few European-headquartered providers with a pan-European presence, Claranet is in a strong position as the market continues to mature. Our acquisitions of Star in the UK and Typhon in France have consolidated our position in Europe while maintaining our financial and corporate stability – both enormously important trust factors when storing data with a provider.”

The Gartner Magic Quadrant assessment offers snapshots of markets and their participants. It enables users to map vendor strengths against their current and future needs. Gartner evaluated Claranet’s hosting portfolio on both its completeness of vision and its ability to execute using 15 weighted criteria.

Charles continues:

Our hosting and network solutions offer significant operational cost-savings, enhanced flexibility and scalability, and immediate return on investment (ROI) We believe it is this integrated portfolio, matched with our ability to operate across multiple borders, that has enabled us to enter this Magic Quadrant in the Leaders category at our first attempt. Claranet believes this to be a strong affirmation of our hosting solutions.”

Find out more

• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s communications portfolio, visit communications services.
• For more information about Claranet’s networks portfolio, visit networks services.

Gartner announces latest Magic Quadrant for European Managed Hosting

Managed services provider Claranet has been placed in the “Leaders” category in Gartner’s latest European Magic Quadrant research paper.

The report includes Claranet for the first time, citing key factors: the MSP’s agility in meeting customer demand for more flexible hosting, its strong hosting portfolio combined with network experience, and its investment in creating multiple standard platforms for running families of applications.

Charles Nasser, CEO of Claranet, states that a number of points can be taken from the report’s findings:

“The impact of a well-organised account team on the quality of customer service is highlighted as a key differentiator. Gartner’s praise for Claranet in putting agile process teams in place is a testament to our flexibility to meet customer demands and our ability to proactively anticipate requirements. We also have strong history of networking and hosting provision, which means that customers have a single line of accountability and that we have a broad understanding across our customers’ IT spectrum.

“Secondly, as one of the few European-headquartered providers with a pan-European presence, Claranet is in a strong position as the market continues to mature. Our acquisitions of Star in the UK and Typhon in France have consolidated our position in Europe while maintaining our financial and corporate stability – both enormously important trust factors when storing data with a provider.”

The Gartner Magic Quadrant assessment offers snapshots of markets and their participants. It enables users to map vendor strengths against their current and future needs. Gartner assessed Claranet’s hosting portfolio on both its completeness of vision and its ability to execute using 15 weighted criteria.

Charles continues:

Our hosting and network solutions offer significant operational cost-savings, enhanced flexibility and scalability, and immediate return on investment (ROI) It is this integrated portfolio, matched with our ability to operate across multiple borders, that has enabled us to enter this Magic Quadrant in the Leaders category at our first attempt – a strong affirmation of our hosting solutions.”

Find out more:

• For more information about Claranet’s communications portfolio, visit communications services.
• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s networks portfolio, visit networks services.

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:

• For more information about Claranet’s communications portfolio, visit communications services.
• For more information about Claranet’s hosting portfolio, visit hosting services.
• For more information about Claranet’s networks portfolio, visit networks services.