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Contents 
Introduction
Gaining traction
Risking it all
Picking your cards
The key that fits
Case study: WebCentral |
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WebCentral started up as a small Web hosting company in 1997, offering set up, monitoring and Web site maintenance. Now it hosts e-mail, Web and content fitlering and domain-name management for Education Queensland and the state schools under it.
WebCentral CEO Andrew Spicer says WebCentral has seen the market shift considerably from its small business base to a point where AU$20 million-contracts are not unheard of. He says he believes the confidence won over in the small business market has lead to larger companies considering ASPs.
"We are now seeing realestate.coms, banks, travel companies and sporting institutions all taking up the Web site challenge," he says.
"As a result, the whole industry is growing, and security systems are being put in place. Providers are realising the importance of having 99.99 percent up-time for information, and ensuring information is kept secure, and many people are careful not to sign contracts with a company until they have checked around."
Spicer says as the market has grown, the "outlaws" have started to diminish. "Suppliers are becoming a lot more reputable and disasters are starting to reduce but there is still a lot of fear out there," he says.
"As more and more people do their homework and check out these comapnies properly before signing with them, the disaster rate will become even smaller.
This article was first published in Technology & Business magazine.
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