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Paul Gudonis, like Elton John before him, is a rocket man. But unlike the pop singer, Gudonis, chairman and chief executive officer of Genuity Inc. isn't going it alone.
The seven-year veteran of the network services provider is riding high on the strength of a $2 billion initial public offering last June and the launch of Genuity's flagship product, Black Rocket, a network services platform designed to get e-businesses up and running in less time than traditional methods.
But this wasn't always the case. The company has gone through quite a few iterations before reaching the launch pad to its current identity last year. Before it stood on its own, Genuity was the Internet service provider arm of GTE, which was formed when the telco acquired BBN Technologies. Each time the company changed hands, its brand identity and focus took another hit, says one analyst.
"Genuity has faced a number of challenges ... it was acquired and was part of a large telco and then on its own again. It has been somewhat ahead of the curve in terms of capabilities but hasn't been more successful than other companies that aren't as advanced," says Joel Yaffe, an industry analyst with Giga Information Group. "They are at a point where they can really break out with Black Rocket."
Gudonis, who is aware that his company may have a bright star on its hands, is hoping the service will be his company's ticket to the moon. Black Rocket is Genuity's first branded product; an integrated network platform that companies can use to build e-commerce sites. The offering includes platform software, managed hosting, content distribution, performance testing, security, access, and transport services. Launched this fall, the service is already getting plenty of buzz because of a high profile ad campaign. But unfortunately, feedback indicates that few people actually know what the ads are hawking, something that could backfire on the product and stall the company's ongoing transformation.
Another millstone could be the company's financials and its sagging stock price: Since last June's IPO the shares have trended downward from a high of $11.25 to around $4, with the latest pounding occurring after Genuity postponed a planned $2 billion debt offering in mid-January.
But Gudonis says word-of-mouth on the service has been strong, and companies such as Black Rocket customers New York Life and BBA Aviation are embracing the service. "We are the largest pure play infrastructure company. With Black Rocket, we add to that because we can offer the fastest installation time with the best (service level agreement)--
99.9 percent uptime and installation and delivery within ten business days," says Gudonis. "We're taking the onus off the customer and taking responsibility for their problems."
So why is Genuity different from all of the other managed service providers in the space? One reason, says Giga's Yaffe, is that Genuity is working with the development community. Sure, other MSPs have assembled pre-formatted platforms, but few are actually courting the application development world. By doing this, Genuity can be sure that new software that ships is automatically compatible, providing a strong upgrade path for customers.
"Interaction with developers that translates into platform-specific products means the customers are going to experience hassle-free uptime and service," Yaffe says. "Black Rocket is basically a series of really well engineered managed offerings that integrate future development."
As he thinks about the future, Gudonis also is planning for applications that will become more important, such as streaming and content delivery. But instead of building their own content distribution network like some MSPs have tried to do, Genuity is focusing on services that it can do well and partnering with other providers to fill in the gaps, says Gudonis.
The company also is trying to differentiate itself by offering IP telephony products to its customers, something available from only a handful of competitors. Genuity is using these types of services to upsell, adding value and revenue to its core hosting products.
It seems to be working. To date, the company is delivering more than one billion minutes of IP service each year, and hopes to cross sell all of its Internet connectivity customers, too, says Gudonis.
Toufic Mobarak, the president of ConeXus started out as a dedicated bandwidth customer, but six months ago, was sold on the IP telephony service. Mobarak started out with two locations but because he's been so pleased with the service using Genuity's IP telephony now in seven locations around the country. "These guys are probably some of the best brains in the industry," says Mobarak. "Our uptime for all the services is excellent and we're really pleased with the amount of money we've been able to save."
In the end, though, Gudonis says all of the new offerings benefit from the company's expertise with its core competencies: Connectivity and bandwidth. Genuity continues to add to its backbone, both here and abroad. Recently, the company bought into several international cabling projects including TAT-14, which links the U.S. to Japan and Americas-II, which links Florida to St. Croix, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Curaçao, Venezuela, Trinidad, French Guyana, and Brazil. Adding the company's other products to its bandwidth capabilities keeps Genuity out of what Gudonis calls a commodity business.
"Nothing we sell is a commodity. You can always differentiate yourself by selling value-added services," he says. Among other products, Genuity also is focusing on firewalls and virtual private networks, security, and DSL service, among others. In the future, Gudonis hopes to work more with cellular carriers and fixed wireless companies, which is fitting for this particular rocket man.
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