SuperbHosting.Net - SuperbHosting Web Host Interview

What is your name and position with Superb Internet?

Susan Gillard, Director of Sales & Marketing.

Please tell us the year established and brief history of Superb Internet?

We opened our doors in 1996, making 2006 our 10th Anniversary. We have offices and 24-hour/365-day operations in Washington, DC; McLean, VA; Tukwila, WA; and Vancouver, BC, serving customers in over 150 countries.

As one of the first web hosting companies, we consistently strive to be at the forefront of the hosting industry. We pioneered the shared & dedicated hosting marketplace, and were one of the first companies to introduce high-bandwidth affordable self-managed dedicated servers.

We provide a complete range of both managed and self-managed web hosting services, from virtual hosting through to high-volume, mission-critical dedicated service solutions. Our core focus is customer service, and continuous service improvement, as a central part of our commitment to staying "Ahead of the Rest".

We have four operating divisions providing a wide range of services, each targeted to a specific market segments:
SuperbRegistrar.net- Affordable domain name registration and management services.
SuperbHosting.net - Value-priced shared hosting the way it should be; powerful, feature-rich, and able to grow with you. Perfect for personal and small business use.
SuperbServers.net- The ideal self-managed dedicated server solution.
SuperbEnterprise.net- Personal, white glove service for clients requiring custom or complex Enterprise level solutions for mission critical operations.

What do you offer your customers that are unique to your company?

There are many, such as innovation, total dedication to our customers, relentless pursuit of perfection (in terms of service quality), etc. No service that we provide is ever "good enough" for us, we always keep improving on our support levels and service quality.

What is the most challenging aspect to offering Web Hosting?

The ability to offer competitive pricing without compromising on products and services and the ongoing concern about the amount of unsolicited/bulk email on the Internet . E-mail dependency has grown dramatically over the last 10 years, and often it is the only reason people are accessing the internet. Web hosts have traditionally provided e-mail services as part of the hosting package and so our success as a webhost is intricately tied to our success as an e-mail service provider. Despite a lot of effort by various organizations and governments through policies and laws the amount of unsolicited/bulk email on the Internet continues to be a problem.

What is it that makes Superb Internet a competitive company in the Web Hosting market?

At Superb, we do not cut corners. Quality always comes first. We have long term plans and a company vision set for years ahead. Our customers can rest assured that we are here now, have been for 10 years and will be here for many more years.

We became a world-class web hosting company by persistently focusing on our customers needs. We conduct regular customer surveys and our services and prices reflect customer input. Our customers help make us into the provider they want and need us to be.

Our Network Operations Centers are staffed with dedicated technicians 24x7, no exceptions and our professional System Administrators are constantly monitoring network status to ensure a quality of service that is second-to-none. Our clients rest assured they will continue enjoying lightning fast connectivity due to the fact that we have multiple redundant connections to several backbone providers through OC3 and GigE connections and directly peer with over 200 other networks.

Despite being one of the larger providers around, our customers always receive the personal attention and care associated with small companies.

What new features have Superb Internet added for its customers in the past year?

Our third data center - (SEA2) Network Operations Centre in Tukwila, WA is staffed by highly experienced Systems & Network Admins 24x7x365, and features 3 parallel UPS systems, a 1.5MW diesel generator, and 100s of tons of AC capacity.

What would you say is Superb Internet #1 asset to its customer base?

Our people; We have been always proud of our industry leading customer service and our commitment to exceed our client''s expectations.

Where do you see Superb Internet and the web hosting industry in three years?

Three years is a long time in the web hosting industry making it hard to predict what the future may hold. I can say with certainty that we will continue to expand our positioning in the marketplace, and will continue our plan of managed responsible growth along with constantly improving our products and services.

How many customers do you currently have?

We are currently serving tens of thousands of customers and host hundreds of thousands of unique sites.

Do you own your own datacenter and where are they located?

We own and operate three Network Operations Centers:

1. DCA1 Arvin Singh Memorial advanced Network Operations Centre (NOC) is named in memory of our former VP of Finance & Administration, who greatly contributed to the construction of DCA1 (over 1999 & 2000) before passing away in January of 2001. DCA1 offers premier quality connected services and is located in Washington, DC and is an essential part of our core network. The DCA1 NOC is staffed by highly experienced Systems & Network Administrators 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and features heavy-duty UPS (uninterrupted power) and AC systems.

2. DCA2 advanced Network Operations Centre (NOC) in McLean, Virginia, , and also features heavy-duty UPS (uninterrupted power), diesel generator, and AC systems. DCA2 offers both premium and value transit services.

3. Our latest addition is our SEA2 advanced Network Operations Centre (NOC) in Tukwila, Washington. As with our other NOC''s the SEA2 NOC is staffed by highly experienced Systems & Network Administrators 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It features three (3) parallel N+1 500KVA UPS systems with maximum battery life, a 1.5MW diesel generator, and 100s of tons of AC capacity. SEA2 offers both premium and value transit services.

What kind of back up power do you have?

We operate a dual power grid with UPS power backup and diesel generators at our Data Center.

Do you have multiple backbone connections?

Yes. The Superb Network Operations Centers are all multi-homed. Also of note is our industry-leading list of peers, currently at over 200 other networks.

What connections do you have?

We have OC3 to GigE connections providing fast, reliable connectivity.

Our fully redundant core network and backbone connectivity is unsurpassed in its efficiency and performance. With nine separate sites, located in six different states on both coasts and central US, our network offers extremely low latency, no packet loss, and, best of all, direct connectivity to all major global tier 1 backbones and other major networks & ISPs. This unique combination provides a superior network infrastructure with an unmatched quality of service.

Our core network:

DCA1 - our Arvin Singh Memorial Network Operations & Data Centre, providing top-quality, premium service since 1999; located in distinguished Georgetown, Washington, DC

DCA2 - our second state-of-the-art data centre, including advanced features such as premium and value transit services, US military / NSA standards compliant "tempest room," Looking Glass Networks, AboveNet (MFN), MCI, Verizon, and others'' fibre POPs on site, multiple Gigabit transit & peering capacity, and numerous advanced geographically dispersed hosting options; located in prestigious Tyson''s Corner, McLean, Virginia

IAD1 - network presence for peering with major networks/backbones, ISPs, cable geographically dispersed hosting options; located in prestigious Tyson''s Corner, McLean, Virginia

NYC1 - network presence at NYIIX, for peering with major networks/backbones, ISPs, cable and DSL providers; especially many European networks are located at NYIIX; located at Telehouse in New York, New York

NYC2 - further network presence in New York for peering; located at 111 8th Ave. in New York, New York

CHI1 - network presence for peering with major networks/backbones, ISPs, cable and DSL providers; especially many Canadian networks are located at Equinix Chicago; located at Equinix in Chicago, Illinois

PAO1 - network presence at PAIX, for peering with major networks/backbones, ISPs, cable and DSL providers; especially many Asian networks are located at PAIX; also for transit sales and direct commercial transit connections; located at Switch & Data in Palo Alto, California

SEA1 - network presence at SIX & PAIX, for peering with major networks/backbones, ISPs, cable and DSL providers; also for transit sales and direct commercial transit connections; located at the Westin Building in Seattle, Washington

SEA2 - our third state-of-the-art data centre, offering premium and value transit services, OnFiber, ELI, Level 3 and AboveNet (MFN) PoPs on site, and many others nearby, multiple

Do you offer 24/7 support?

Yes. Superb Internet''s award-winning support team is one of the reasons that we have been consistently ranked as one of the industry''s number one web hosting companies. We provide support via our web-based ticket system, 1-888 telephone and email.

Do you have technicians present 24/7 or 9-5 M-F?

We provide 24x7x365 live tech support, all locations are professionally manned by experienced network and server administrators. This attention to detail guarantees that no matter when the issue arises especially since many of our customers are around the globe, we have expert personnel available to deal with it in a prompt fashion.

What is your average turn-around time on a support ticket?

Our clients can expect a reply to their support tickets usually within minutes, and no more than 30 minutes.

Do you charge your clients for support? If so, please explain.

We provide both managed shared and dedicated services, as well as catering to the market that prefers to manage their own servers for which they pay for support. For support which is payment-based, we have a number of attractive support packages.

Do you offer a money back guarantee?

Yes in fact Superb Internet has led the marketplace in offering industry-leading service level agreements in addition to our FULL 30 day money back guarantee. Our network comes with a 100% uptime guarantee and our hardware support guarantee is one of the best in the industry.

Thank you!

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