Offers nt webhosting and iis hosting. Affinity Internet,
however, says it isn't about to jump ship. In fact, based on its recent successes,
the company doubts it will changes its focus, which is geared almost entirely
toward the SME (Small to Medium Enterprise) market, any time soon. "We
see the SME market as being a long-term, steady-growth business for us,"
says John Zdanowski, Affinity's Chief Operating Officer, adding that the SME
sector is "an extremely lucrative and highly fast-growing business for
us at this point." If recent numbers from the company are any indication,
Affinity is certainly squeezing the supposedly saturated shared market for
all its worth. The company's last quarterly report boasted 18% revenue growth
and 8,000 new customers - not a small feat, considering markets have done
little to help most Web companies. "Both quarters (this year)
have exceeded our expectations overall," Zdanowski says. And because
the market is filled with companies gearing their services to SMEs,
competing with other hosts isn't easy. "SME is a tough market,"
Zdanowski says. "You have to operate efficiently, you have to know the
customer... you've got to communicate well." The panelists discussed
the lack of women in executive positions in the industry as well as the business
world.
Shared hosting currently drives almost half of Affinity's revenue, and the
company is signing up new clients at a blazing pace. "We're adding 4,000-plus
new shared customers a month," says Tiffani Bova, Affinity's Director
of Sales and Channel Programs. Of course, SMEs often require services
that go beyond shared accounts. Therefore, Affinity has made sure it customers
can purchase scalable solutions by offering a diverse spectrum of
Web services. With the company adding close to 100 dedicated servers
per month to its roster of clients, high-end services have also become important
to the company. Aside from basic shared and dedicated services, "We'll
offer multi- "Women in Information Technology: Pleasures, Predicaments
and Pitfalls" examined the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated
industry. Panelists included Darci Arnold, vice president of global marketing
at Seagate; Tiffani Bova, director of sales and channel programs at Affinity
Internet; Sharon Habibi, founder, president and CEO of Syscom Technologies;
Gia McNutt, president and CEO of Special Order Systems; Rauline Ochs, vice
president of BEA's worldwide partner initiatives; and Valarie Remmers, vice
president of information technology at PFSweb. Offers nt webhosting and iis
hosting.