Mar. 18, 2003 -- It was conceived in the spring of 2000, at the crest of dot-com euphoria. But RagingWire Telecommunications' game plan seems tailor-made for 2003.
"Our business model from day one has focused on large enterprise companies," said Yatish Mishra, President and Chief Technical Officer for RagingWire.
The Sacramento provider has structured its operations to reflect that sense of purpose. With no debt, more than 700 days of consecutive uptime, custom managed service offerings and intense attention to the customer, RagingWire has built a solid base of enterprise clients.
That roster expanded today when NVIDIA, which specializes in advanced graphics and multimedia technology, signed an IT services contract with RagingWire.
Last week RagingWire reported that its revenues rose 475 percent in 2002, adding more than $20 million to its annual revenue stream. Seventy five percent of the company's revenue comes from managed services, according to VP of Sales Doug Adams, with the remaining 25 percent from infrastructure.
"Selling the services is the Holy Grail for most providers," said Adams. "Some (providers) have canned solutions they try to cram down people's throats. Fortune 1000 companies don't want an A, B or C option to choose from. They want solutions that are customized to their needs."
The majority of RagingWire's customers initially contract for disaster recovery or data backup services, according to Mishra. Key selling points for the company are its financial stability, its sturdy data center infrastructure, and its Sacramento location.
RagingWire was founded in May 2000 by Constantine "Deno" Macricostas, George Macricostas and Mishra, who had worked together at Photronics Inc. From the start, the trio understood that financial stability was a key issue for enterprise prospects.
"We're 100 percent self-funded, we have no debt whatsoever, and we maintain a cash reserve to ensure future stability," said Mishra. "If a customer sits down and signs a three year contract, with our financial reserve we can guarantee that we will be here for the duration of that contract."
RagingWire's sole facility spans just over 200,000 square feet, of which 30,000 square feet is finished data center space. The data center can handle power loads in excess of 225 watts per square foot, is located outside the California earthquake zone, and is powered by the Sacramento municipal power company (SMUD) rather than the state's troubled larger utilities.
Perhaps RagingWire's biggest success story is its track record selling additional services to existing customers. The company says every one of its customers have expanded their services within their first nine months working with RagingWire.
“The way we treat our clients before and after a contract is signed sets the tone for our entire business relationship," said George Macricostas, CEO of RagingWire. "Superior customer service builds trust and integrity with our clients and is a critical component to the overall growth of RagingWire, as well as our clients’ businesses.”
Well-trained support staff are critical in that effort. "We have disciplined personnel in all the open standards, and they can do 90-plus percent first-call resolution," said Mishra.
That's built confidence among enterprise customers, who often start a provider relationship with a small deployment and expand as their comfort level grows. "The biggest issue with an enterprise customer and an offsite provider is trust," said Mishra.
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