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  1. #1
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    Providers with volume/reseller discount.

    Fellow WHT'ers!

    In your opinion, what are the "best" providers of dedicated servers - with a volume/reseller discount? I do not want to go through a reseller or third party myself, so I'm looking for "tier 1" providers.

    As a company, we're looking at moving into the hosting industry, as well as consolidating our development clients onto our own hosting. Currently, they're spread out over tens (if not hundreds) of different hosts. This is an absolute nightmare maintenance wise. Previously, our customers chose the hosting - we merely managed their application/service.

    Our client base is growing exponentionally, as we are now expanding beyond local/national businesses. We're intending to target the global SME market, as well as going after new start-ups.

    Our current estimates put us with needing roughly 12 - 24 (depending on specification) servers to begin with, with our server base doubling roughly every 3 - 4 months.

    We're looking at sourcing from more than one supplier, so it would be nice to get some recommendations of providers in Europe, the United Kingdom, America - and various other locations. Providers with a trial option would be nice, so we don't have to drop a "bomb" to begin with, only to be burned in the future.

    So, suggestions?
    Current Status: Coming up with ideas for a new SaaS.

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Most of the established providers will be willing to give you a discount. Some have well defined reseller programs, while others have more flexible one tailored to your needs. All in all, you should find a provider you feel good about, and ask them about reseller/volume discounts. I'm sure most will be more than willing to accomodate.

    JoseQ
    TailorMadeServers.Com - Dallas Dedicated Servers since 2003
    joseq@tailormadeservers.com | Skype (TailorMadeServers) | http://twitter.com/tailoredservers

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Houston Texas
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    Quote Originally Posted by fumiNET View Post
    Fellow WHT'ers!

    In your opinion, what are the "best" providers of dedicated servers - with a volume/reseller discount? I do not want to go through a reseller or third party myself, so I'm looking for "tier 1" providers.

    As a company, we're looking at moving into the hosting industry, as well as consolidating our development clients onto our own hosting. Currently, they're spread out over tens (if not hundreds) of different hosts. This is an absolute nightmare maintenance wise. Previously, our customers chose the hosting - we merely managed their application/service.

    Our client base is growing exponentionally, as we are now expanding beyond local/national businesses. We're intending to target the global SME market, as well as going after new start-ups.

    Our current estimates put us with needing roughly 12 - 24 (depending on specification) servers to begin with, with our server base doubling roughly every 3 - 4 months.

    We're looking at sourcing from more than one supplier, so it would be nice to get some recommendations of providers in Europe, the United Kingdom, America - and various other locations. Providers with a trial option would be nice, so we don't have to drop a "bomb" to begin with, only to be burned in the future.

    So, suggestions?

    I would agree that most will give you discounts at predetermined volumes. what are you using as your qualifications for selecting providers?
    Dedicated Servers
    WWW.NETDEPOT.COM
    Since 2000

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by sailor View Post
    I would agree that most will give you discounts at predetermined volumes. what are you using as your qualifications for selecting providers?
    I'll sum it up with a list.

    24/7 emergency support. If it hits the fan, we need to be able to get in touch.
    Discount based upon volume, but not ridiculous volume levels.
    Friendly staff, this is the most important thing. People that are willing to work with us, on both a professional and friendly level.
    No resellers.
    No single homed providers (Cogent vs Telia, anyone?).
    Remote reboot, preferentially with an API (such as Softlayer).
    Reputable company, not some 3 month wonderkids.

    A company that can provide a detailed invoice would be nice, not someone who just throws us a Paypal invoice once a month.

    And before someone asks the inevitable bandwidth question, it doesn't matter too much. Our applications and services are generally resource intensive, but not bandwidth intensive.
    Current Status: Coming up with ideas for a new SaaS.

  5. #5
    Hi Fuminet,

    There are many providers that will meet your demands. I suggest you contact a few companies directly to find out what they can offer. A reseller package is a good option but I strongly feel this is almost a custom solution that needs special attention especially with the growth you indicate.

    Good Luck with your hunt!!!

    <<Signature to be setup in your profile>>
    Last edited by anon-e-mouse; 03-23-2008 at 02:22 AM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
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    Buffalo, NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by fumiNET View Post
    I'll sum it up with a list.

    24/7 emergency support. If it hits the fan, we need to be able to get in touch.
    Discount based upon volume, but not ridiculous volume levels.
    Friendly staff, this is the most important thing. People that are willing to work with us, on both a professional and friendly level.
    No resellers.
    No single homed providers (Cogent vs Telia, anyone?).
    Remote reboot, preferentially with an API (such as Softlayer).
    Reputable company, not some 3 month wonderkids.

    A company that can provide a detailed invoice would be nice, not someone who just throws us a Paypal invoice once a month.

    And before someone asks the inevitable bandwidth question, it doesn't matter too much. Our applications and services are generally resource intensive, but not bandwidth intensive.
    Corenetworks seems to meet all of those except one. They don't provide bulk/reseller discounts, but their prices are certainly lower than just about any other provider's reseller price.

    For me atleast, they do not provide me an invoice, but their panel says X amount of days until each server is due (paid automatically via CC). They do have 24/7 support, for emergencies (they prioritize tickets, so general inquires/sales questions probably won't be answered until business hours).

    Whatever you choose, I would recommend to do a search on these forums, never know what (good/bad) you can find!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    Houston Texas
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    Quote Originally Posted by fumiNET View Post
    I'll sum it up with a list.

    24/7 emergency support. If it hits the fan, we need to be able to get in touch.
    Discount based upon volume, but not ridiculous volume levels.
    Friendly staff, this is the most important thing. People that are willing to work with us, on both a professional and friendly level.
    No resellers.
    No single homed providers (Cogent vs Telia, anyone?).
    Remote reboot, preferentially with an API (such as Softlayer).
    Reputable company, not some 3 month wonderkids.

    A company that can provide a detailed invoice would be nice, not someone who just throws us a Paypal invoice once a month.

    And before someone asks the inevitable bandwidth question, it doesn't matter too much. Our applications and services are generally resource intensive, but not bandwidth intensive.
    most will tell you they have 24x7 - do you mean that they are staffed onsite with people 24x7 ?

    most are not single homed any more - even the smaller companies -does the number and quality of providers matter?

    on the remote reboot - most have this as well - you say an api - does this mean you want to write code to be able to use it on your own portal for your own customers or you mean you want remote reboot available through a portal?

    reputable - you say not 3 month wonder kids - can you post more detail on what you mean by reputable - like length of time in business / profitable vs not profitable / management backgrounds / primary line of business vs if this is a sideline to them / controls their building / etc ?
    Dedicated Servers
    WWW.NETDEPOT.COM
    Since 2000

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    London
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    Quote Originally Posted by fumiNET View Post
    (...)
    Remote reboot, preferentially with an API (such as Softlayer).
    why dont you just go with Softlayer?
    Ditlev Bredahl. CEO,
    OnApp.com + Cloud.net & CDN.net

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    1,027
    Softlayer have pretty good discounts available, you need 5 servers at full price before you're allowed onto their discounts and you cant under cut their prices.

    But all standard stuff! And they have a great API you can use to intergrate their automated system into you own product
    Damien

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    UK.
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    For me atleast, they do not provide me an invoice, but their panel says X amount of days until each server is due (paid automatically via CC).
    An invoice is essential for us. Makes the book-keeping so much easier.

    ----------

    most will tell you they have 24x7 - do you mean that they are staffed onsite with people 24x7 ?
    Yes.

    most are not single homed any more - even the smaller companies -does the number and quality of providers matter?
    I'm not too fussed about the numbers (if they have a good network uptime record) - but we'd definitely prefer a higher quality of provider.

    on the remote reboot - most have this as well - you say an api - does this mean you want to write code to be able to use it on your own portal for your own customers or you mean you want remote reboot available through a portal?
    For usage on our own portal. Also for usage on our auto-monitoring system.

    reputable - you say not 3 month wonder kids - can you post more detail on what you mean by reputable - like length of time in business / profitable vs not profitable / management backgrounds / primary line of business vs if this is a sideline to them / controls their building / etc ?
    1) Length of time in business, over a year.
    2) Profitable. I don't want to throw money into a dying company.
    3) As for the background, no people like Chris Gotzmann!
    4) Preferentially a company that has this as their primary line of business.
    5) I'm not too fussed whether they own the building or not, but it would be a nice bonus.

    ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by eming View Post
    why dont you just go with Softlayer?
    Since it would be nice to look at the alternatives?
    Current Status: Coming up with ideas for a new SaaS.

  11. #11
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    Dec 2001
    Location
    Houston Texas
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    Quote Originally Posted by fumiNET View Post
    An invoice is essential for us. Makes the book-keeping so much easier.

    ----------



    Yes.



    I'm not too fussed about the numbers (if they have a good network uptime record) - but we'd definitely prefer a higher quality of provider.

    easiest thing here is look for someone that displays their backbone mrtg graphs publicly and you can see who they have and what the link utilizations are and how they are distributing the traffic on their backbones. it will give you an indication of the quality and diversity of the network they run and how they are running it - ie are they sharing amongst all the providers or shoving everything out the cheapest provider etc.
    For usage on our own portal. Also for usage on our auto-monitoring system.

    I think softlayer is the only one with that. There are other options- you would have to ask specifically what they are from different providers.

    1) Length of time in business, over a year.

    Most will meet this hurdle. that is not too difficult to meet. the 5 year mark is more significant as 80% of companies that can make it 5 years will survive.

    2) Profitable. I don't want to throw money into a dying company.

    This will be difficult to find as well - especially among large providers as I think there are still a lot that are losing money. your best bet here may be in a mid sized provider that has been around a while. you will have to solicit specific providers to post here if they are profitable or not to get that information. you will need to ask for net income and not some funny money numbers like ebitda or other things.

    3) As for the background, no people like Chris Gotzmann!

    no comment


    4) Preferentially a company that has this as their primary line of business.

    5) I'm not too fussed whether they own the building or not, but it would be a nice bonus.

    this just signifies that they have complete control if their server business gets tight they can weather the storm because they control the dirt and hence the rent on the server space. I know the planet and liquid web and a few others own their buildings sp you dont really worry about them evicting themselves or upping their own rent to the point its no longer viable. I think this is important as well.


    I hope this helps.
    Last edited by sailor; 03-23-2008 at 08:10 PM.
    Dedicated Servers
    WWW.NETDEPOT.COM
    Since 2000

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
    Posts
    366
    I wish more providers would state their volume / reseller discounts.

    Nocster says they give a straight 25% discount on most everything for resellers. No public info on volume discounts.

    I'm a volume buyer needing around 50 servers. Not sure what discount I should be able to get from softlayer and the like.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Buffalo, NY
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    Quote Originally Posted by digdugdog View Post
    I wish more providers would state their volume / reseller discounts.

    Nocster says they give a straight 25% discount on most everything for resellers. No public info on volume discounts.

    I'm a volume buyer needing around 50 servers. Not sure what discount I should be able to get from softlayer and the like.
    Maybe the don't post it so they don't want reseller's customers finding out what the profit margin is, and trying to bark the price down? Just a thought.

  14. #14
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    Sep 2005
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    fumiNet,

    Check out Gnax/AtlantaNAP which Jeff (aka sailor) runs. We have a few servers there and they have been a pleasure to work with these past several years. They do provide discounts and the staff is always extremely helpful and friendly.
    AYKsolutions.com - High Bandwidth Specialists - 10Gbps/20Gbps+ Unmetered & DDOS Protected
    Over 20+ Global Locations - Asia (Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo), Mexico, Brazil, India, Australia, US, CA, EU - Bare Metal and Virtual Cloud. All Managed.
    We are Professional. Painless. Polite.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by ayksolutions View Post
    fumiNet,

    Check out Gnax/AtlantaNAP which Jeff (aka sailor) runs. We have a few servers there and they have been a pleasure to work with these past several years. They do provide discounts and the staff is always extremely helpful and friendly.
    I was planning on shooting them an email in the morning.
    Current Status: Coming up with ideas for a new SaaS.

  16. #16
    Would you be purchasing the initial 12 or so servers all on day one? I am sure you can find someone to jump at this opportunity if that is the case.
    Steve Eschweiler - Hivelocity.net - Since 2002
    The Bare Metal Cloud Co.
    Instantly Deploy Dedicated Servers in 30 Data Centers on 4 Continents
    24/7/365 World Class Phone, Chat and Ticket Technical Support

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