Previder has gone from strength to strength since its 2006 acquisition by the Odin Group, and is now looking to introduce its reputable Datacenter and IT solutions to an international audience.
INTRODUCTION
Previder is striving to make waves on an international scale after securing its position as one of the leading data centre providers in Holland over the past decade.
Opening its doors as Introweb back in 1996 as an internet service provider (ISP), the company as it is currently known and renowned was kickstarted in 2006 following an acquisition from the Odin Group.
The subsequent nine years of rebranding, development, expansion and improvement has made Previder one of the leading business partners of choice within the tech domain in the Netherlands; something which Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Eric Vredeveldt attributes to the transformation of key services being offered following the Odin acquisition.
“The Odin Group of Companies acquired Introweb with the vision of expanding the hosting and ISP services we were already active in, but adding data centre activities as well,” he explains. “We then started planning the build of our brand new data centre, which was 2,500 square metres in size, and we finished that in 2010.”
Named PDC2 (Previder Data Centre 2), it was evident to the company very early on that this concept could be improved upon and Previder soon capitalised on the opportunity to build PDC1, an even larger data centre to provide an overall twin concept to send into the market.
“As of 2010, we were renamed Previder and began pushing that name into the market as a data centre organisation with colocation, cloud and connectivity as the main businesses that we provided.
“PDC1 was then finished in 2013 – 6,000 square metres – giving us two ultra modern facilities designed to world class PUE (power usage effectiveness) standards in the data centre industry of just 1.16 completing the twin data centre concept.”
LOW COST, HIGH QUALITY
Previder used this new business model and core offering to launch the new brand, capitalising not only on this market leading data centre service, but also maintaining its ISP and connectivity expertise alongside this.
As a consequence, the company has been able to unveil a true differentiator to the market at large in the form of a turnkey tech solution, offering a range of high quality services at low cost.
“The added value that we provide to our customers comes from these high quality facilities in a low cost region in the Netherlands, alongside with excellent connectivity to the internet exchanges (AMS-IX and DE-CIX),” Vredeveldt notes. “We expanded on the ISP services we had before to become a real data centre organisation providing colocation, cloud and connectivity services; that’s the three in a box we deliver to the market.
“This broad range of solutions for customers is where we differentiate from the market competition. The total set of solutions being offered by one provider is not something you see very often so that gives us a huge market advantage. We are either able to sell the three in a box as a total solution providing hybrid cloud or to provide the separate services independently like for instance wholesale on colocation services where we sell private rooms.”
Another advantage of Previder’s has been its self sustainability from the offset, building its two data centres up from the ground where numerous market competitors would look towards rebuilds. This allowed for total creative control over the functionality, size and technologies implemented into the final products; especially significant in regards to the energy efficiencies and internet connectivity that have been achieved subsequently.
INTERNATIONAL PROPOSITION
Upon the company’s decision to enter into the data centre space, the majority of the business’s activity has been as a regional service provider, but this influence is on the verge of spreading significantly over the coming months and years as it looks to replicate its successes further afield.
Having worked with international clients moving into Holland, as well as Dutch companies moving abroad, the natural progression is to now form initial links overseas, with the UK and Germany logical areas of potential expansion.
“These two are the closest markets to us, expanding out of the Netherlands which is a data centre land,” says Vredeveldt. “We have the ability to become the hub to mainland Europe through our good connectivity, low pricing, and our advanced experience in using fibre and internet exchanges.
“We have a very good proposition that we can pose to the international market.”
This strategy is all the more achievable given the international nature of the product itself, the necessity for power and energy efficient tech solutions consistent across all regions.
This means that the exact same successful data centre offering can be replicated without any tweaks or amendments as soon as the demand is there.
SPREADING THE WORD
Rest assured that demand will certainly be there too. Having invested a lot of time and effort into not only its products but the levels of customer service, Previder is more than ready to transfer the same overall offering to a wider footprint.
The company’s work with governmental customers on two specific tenders is testament to the reputation that has already been built, while there is an ongoing drive regarding marketing strategies to ensure the strong word of mouth factor is supported by the right promotional functions.
Vredeveldt notes: “Marketing is a key factor in every sales proposition, but for us it is not about doing so in a general sense, but addressing the specific market segments with what we can offer.
“We need to market our name and products to make sure that people want to discuss with us what solutions we can provide.
“It’s all about image building and being in the right magazines and the right media to make sure that people know us. That’s something we’re setting up to reach a broader population who will continue spreading the word.”
COLLABORATIVE SOLUTIONS
Word of mouth has been a pivotal factor in Previder’s growth, the company’s reputation developing with every successful tender attained over the past 10 years.
This growth has been reflected internally too, with Vredeveldt himself overseeing a 50 percent rise in staff members since he joined the company two-and-a-half years’ ago.
“We now have 45 employees and if the company continues to grow at that same rate for the next five years I will be very happy,” the CEO says. “In general, we want to grow at least 20 percent a year organically. Thanks to our very financially strong holding company, we could participate in acquisitions if we wanted to, but we have grown well organically up to this point and we can make the same steps in our international expansion.”
Branching out geographically is the second facet of Previder’s current goals, and this again leverages one of the company’s prize assets in the form of its parent company, The Odin Group.
“We have a huge force within the market between us and our sister companies under our holding company,” concludes Vredeveldt. “Sometimes it’s the case that we cannot provide a certain solution for a customer, but our sister companies will have that solution, and this works both ways.
“The Odin Group is built on a strong and excellent knowledge of IT business and activities and all the companies have a different focus, but together we form a total chain of companies able to provide the best services to our customers.”
