Houston, Texas - (The Hosting News) - April 30, 2008 - Privately held dedicated web hosting company, The Planet, has reported a record first quarter, ending March 30, 2007, as the first such announcement since the company's January relaunch.
The Planet provides quarterly updates to its customers, business partners and prospects with information relative to new initiatives and its progress. With a new corporate moniker, The Planet plans to issue quarterly updates to provide its customers, business partners and prospects with information to validate its progress.
Kevin Klausmeyer, Chief Financial Officer of The Planet noted, ''The Planet posted another record revenue quarter, continuing its inception-to-date string of sequential record quarters. Gross margins also reached a new record level as a result of synergies, increased purchasing power and the leverage within the operating model. EBITDA was strong, coming in at 30 percent. Based on our performance, we expect to grow approximately 20 percent this year, roughly one-third faster than the overall market.''
Douglas J. Erwin , Chairman and CEO of The Planet added, ''We continue to make significant progress in shaping our newly integrated company, and the results are evidence of our success. Delivering a world-class customer experience remains our top priority, and we are investing in virtually every area of the company to deliver on that goal. The quality, reliability and scalability of our data centers deliver extraordinary value to our customers. We will continue to leverage our size and scale to enhance the products and services required to meet the demands of our growing multi-national customer base.''
First Quarter Highlights include:
New Customers, Record Transaction: More than 1,600 new customers leased servers in the company's world-class data centers. The company also signed the two largest transactions in its history, adding Site5 and expanding its relationship with HostGator.
New Web Site: With enhanced navigation that incorporates the best features from the merged companies' previous iterations, the new Web site makes it easier for customers to access its comprehensive portfolio of products and services.
New Product: The company added enterprise-class security and performance for private rack customers with Cisco ASA 5500 Series firewalls and Foundry ServerIronXL load balancers. The server portfolio expanded to include Dell's Clovertown quad-core PowerEdge servers that provide 1.2 Terabytes of storage.
Network Upgrade: Accelerating network performance, the company added Foundry's NetIron XMR to deliver enhanced performance, high 10-Gigabit port density and support for IPV6 and MPLS to enable future advanced IP services for customers.
The company announced a $5 million investment in a new customer contact center and expanded operating facilities designed to enhance customer satisfaction. The expansion includes its first CRM system, a broad range of new servers, additional software, communications tools and an expanded team of trained support representatives.
Data Center Expansions: The Planet expanded its data centers in Houston and Dallas, adding 25,000 square feet to meet the demands of its growing customer base.
Executive Appointments: In its customer-facing organization, the company appointed James P. Treuting as vice president, global sales and managed services. James P. Picone joined the company as vice president, customer contact centers.
Ultimately, The Planet endeavors to provide the following:
- High level of network capacity and speed to deliver peak performance
- Instant scalability to handle even the largest spikes in network traffic
- Parallel, redundant, multi-tiered network routing and switching architecture to assure reliability and stability
- Multiple layer network security that prevents Delayed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks from harming businesses
- Knowledgeable experts with a passion for excellence and a commitment to operate the best networks in the business
Adding to its broad array of awards, The Planet ranked #81 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 list for North America. The annual survey recognizes the 500 fastest-growing technology companies in the nation based on consolidated results from its regional Fast 50 events. The win capped a series of awards during the year, including ranking #12 on the Fast 50 list for Texas; the Computer Reseller News Fast Growth list; and the Inc. 5000 roster.
For more information about The Planet, please visit: www.theplanet.com.
