PEER 1

Robert Miggins, SVP Business Development

Q: Who are your customers and what do you do for them?

A:  We have a range of customers, mainly in web-centric markets such as SaaS, gaming or web services. We provide fully scalable hosting, from dedicated hosting, to fully managed solutions, as well as collocation. Our goal is to help our customers solve and manage the problems of the internet. This way they can focus on the possibilities of the internet and what they know best: their core business.     

Q: As a Microsoft partner, how can you take advantage of its S+S strategy?

A:   We take advantage of S+S in many ways.  In addition to the SPLA, where we offer our world class service of Microsoft software, there are some new programs.  For instance, PEER 1 is a member of the BizSpark program, which caters to startups and ISVs.  We have seen a lot of potential with these programs and have been able to not only reach new customers, but also provide resources to current customers.

Q: In your view, what challenges do you see for the hosting industry, and more specifically your business in the next two years?

A: With the global economy today, our challenge is to properly explain the cost savings and logic of outsourcing.  It lets you do much more with a fixed, or shrinking, IT budget.  It’s really a huge opportunity, actually.  By outsourcing IT, companies not only can save costs and headcount, they can improve other areas of their business because they don’t have to take time to focus on IT issues.

Q: What role does Microsoft play in the industry and how do you work with them as a partner?

A:  Microsoft has several roles – the most important of which is their product lineup for hosting (Windows Server 2008, IIS, Microsoft SQL, etc)   We work very closely with our account manager, Suren Singh, to stay abreast of the latest releases for our products as well as keeping our sales and support teams properly informed and trained.  In addition, we look for ways to participate in co-marketing programs with Microsoft to help drive lead generation for our Microsoft products. 

Q: What are your goals for attending the Hosting Summit this year?

A:  Staying current with Microsoft’s product roadmap and vision for hosting.  Secondly, it’s a great chance to mingle with other leaders in the hosting industry.