DBN Corp – it stood for digital broadcast network – has changed its name to Intira, opened a data center in New York City and announced the birth of a new market: netsourcing. Executives say netsourcing is more than just web hosting or application service provision. It’s more like full-service application hosting, where Intira provides the server, database, automated backup and private network, and all customers have to supply is the application code. As VP of product development Jeff Condon put is, netsourcing is: The marriage of the network with the glasshouse.
Research firm The Yankee Group believes the netsourcing market will be worth $20bn by 2003. Right now, Condon says that market belongs to Intira and IBM Corp, with Exodus Communications Inc and Qwest Communications International Inc tackling smaller customers as an adjunct to their network services business. Intira’s strength, he says, is that netsourcing is the only business it’s in. The company plans to keep it that way, and to form partnerships with ASPs and systems integrators rather than attempting to compete with them. Seven such partnerships have already been formed, with HP, Metamor, Computron, e.Clips, WorldStream, Cyber Radio and Network Alchemy.
The company started building its network two years ago, establishing 35 points of presence in the US and three in Canada. Right now the service is limited to North America, but Intira plans to tackle Europe next year. It’s capable of hosting two kinds of applications: transactional programs involving database access or e-commerce; and streaming media. The price of entry is $5-10,000 per month, although the average monthly bill for the existing 40 customers is $30,000 and rising. The business is attractive enough to have persuaded Lucent, Chase Capital Partners Mayfield Fund, Spectrum Equity and HP to front a collective $100m in funding. Expect an IPO in 2000.
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