Web hosting company ReadySpace has grown bigger, stronger, and has recently launched its latest service, ReadySpace Cloud.
Contributed By Jamie Lim
Loke (in white) with director Poh Yong Hwang. CN PHOTO: Daniel Poh.
A long way from its humble start in 1998, ReadySpace today boasts an impressive multi-national client portfolio. Recently it got ahead of the IT curve by launching its latest service, ReadySpace Cloud, at a time when the benefits of cloud computing are only beginning to appeal to companies and individuals.
In addition to the clients in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, ReadySpace has now ventured into China, Australia and Indonesia. To date, ReadySpace serves approximately 80,000 clients in just the latter three markets. Due to its extensive coverage in Asia, it has also caught the attention of many customers from Europe.
Being in the server business is not easy, as technology advances quickly and a firm like ReadySpace has to catch up in order to remain competitive. For David Loke, who co-founded ReadySpace, the toughest part is transfering knowledge to his staff so that they can keep up with standards to support their customers.
“There is so much to learn in a short period of time. And if information within the organization does not flow smoothly, there will be miscommunication, which affects the customers’ experience,” he explains.
There is no room for mistakes in this fast-moving and fast-changing industry. Any mistake, no matter how small, can cause customers to defect and never return to ReadySpace again. Constant upgrading on the part of ReadySpace is also necessary for the company to remain competitive. Thus, investments have to be made to regularly upgrade to the latest technology, and to carry out training for the staff.
Obviously, the cost of building and sustaining a team of employees is very high. On top of all that, it’s not the technology alone that attracts customers—an IT company’s creativity is also vital in attracting and keeping clients.
It’s hard work, but satisfied customers often return and provide word-of-mouth referrals to other customers. Due to the fast pace nature of the industry, there is always something new that ReadySpace can offer to its customers. Loke describes their customers as mostly early adopters, who are always interested and open to new ideas and services.
A KINDER, GENTLER BUSINESS
While financial profits are an important goal to Loke, “building businesses that will impact society with the right values” and raising the standard of living are also part of ReadySpace’s business mandate.
Over the year, business units under ReadySpace Group have contributed financially to City Harvest Community Services Association and other various charity organizations. The staff members of ReadySpace are also regular volunteers at charity activities, providing hands-on participation in addition to financial support.
As a business, ReadySpace adopts a similar “hands-on” approach to its clients, paying special attention to the needs of its customers by providing a community portal and feedback channels to facilitate the addressing of customer concerns. This sends the message that ReadySpace is always open to ideas and complaints so as to improve its business and product offerings. Furthermore, its customer service department has extended its services to 24 hours, and promises a response within one hour. This communicates that ReadySpace is not only concerned about the business clients bring, but that they genuinely care about their needs and problems.
ReadySpace also provides solutions that help businesses become more competitive in the market. The company provides free online webinars to share on how businesses can make use of ReadySpace Cloud Services to increase revenue by saving costs.
Even the staff of ReadySpace enjoy the benefits of a people-centered business. Employees are now allowed to work from home, and need not come in during fixed office hours. By making use of ReadySpace services like “Online Collaboration,” “Online Project Management” and “Online File Storage,” employees are able to be more efficient, accomplishing their tasks in a shorter period of time.
BUSINESS IN THE CLOUDS
Most recently, the company introduced its latest service, ReadySpace Cloud Computing, which the firm has been working on since 2010.
Cloud computing is a new way of delivering information technology services. It is easily available online, and customers only pay for what they use. As technology has become more utility-based, and on-demand, cloud computing is most suitable for businesses. While there are many cloud services available in the market today, each type of service serves a different purpose and targets a different audience. ReadySpace’s cloud services are most suited for small and medium enterprises that have up to 100 computer users. This is the company’s unique selling point.
Moreover, customers only pay for what they use, and are able to use the service immediately once the system is installed. ReadySpace provides trials and free services, to allow customers to sample before purchase. It also offers solutions to problems that might surface: as cloud technology is not new and has been designed for other types of businesses before, problems encountered in the past have already been rectified in this offering of ReadySpace.
If there is a downside, it is that Internet connectivity is required in order for ReadySpace cloud services to work. Like many other technology services, this also involves an initial learning curve for the customer before he or she is able to use the service properly. Being too “smart” has its disadvantages too: the ReadySpace cloud service shuts down if payments are not made on time. At the moment, the service does not meet certain specific security requirements since it is easily available online. Hence, companies that face strict requirements on security and compliances may have problems using it. Also, the service is only available in English language, and few variations are provided in other languages such as Mandarin. This, however, will be changed in the next five years as ReadySpace plans to include Mandarin in its services.
While more and more consumers are turning to tablet devices such as the iPad, and smartphones like Blackberry and the iPhone to surf the web and access the Internet, ReadySpace is constantly on its toes, ready to adapt to the customers’ preferences and needs. Such flexibility is definitely a must in IT services.
SME owners and department heads have much to look forward to, as ReadySpace continually introduces new improvements, along with the advancement of technology. The owners envisage this company to be the one that provides the best customer service in the industry, with a 24-hour hotline that offers solutions to customers’ problems any hour of the day, and a 24-hour auto renewal service, to prevent any suspension of services. It also plans to penetrate the Chinese and Australian markets more intensively, with a goal to achieve S$100 million revenue in the next five years.
Visit www.readyspace.com for more details.
