Across North America, I see a need for a new connectivity model. The Cloud is driving disruption and North American service providers need to be prepared to move faster to serve Cloud, Content and new applications and services.
The US is already the largest Cloud market in the world but I believe there is a lot of room for new growth, services and innovation in the Cloud. Today North America generates more Cloud traffic than any other region in the world and by 2020 it will generate 3.6 zettabytes with a CAGR of 33%, according to Cisco Systems.
What is important is how service providers meet this Cloud demand and ensure that their customers have simple and streamlined access to Cloud. According to Gartner, more than $1 trillion in IT spending will be directly or indirectly affected by the shift to Cloud during the next five years. Cloud, content, mobile, fixed, internet exchanges and enterprise networks are all being affected by this change.
How service providers react and evolve is critical.
Local Presence, Global Platform
In my role at Epsilon, I’m charged with bringing our Cloud-centric networking platform to more customers in the US, and giving more service providers access to on-demand connectivity. Earlier in the year, we acquired Metcom Network Services and that has really kicked off a new phase of our business in North America.
We have had presence in the US for more than a decade but Metcom really accelerates what we can do in the local market and brings us closer to our customers. It positions us to serve the Greater New York metro market and deliver intra-city connectivity across North America.
Metcom gives us dark fibre assets in Greater New York as well as colocation and a interconnect offering in key carrier hotels like 60 Hudson, 75 Broad Street, and PoPs at 111 8th Avenue, 32 Avenue of the Americas. It is a base for us to grow from and makes interconnecting with our on-demand connectivity platform, Infiny by Epsilon, easily accessible and simple.
It is important for us that we make it easy for customers to adopt Infiny by Epsilon and experience a self-service platform that delivers on-demand data connectivity, direct Cloud access via our CloudLX module, SIP trunking and last mile services. Customers that interconnect with Epsilon in New York gain access to port-to-port, port-to-Cloud, port-to-Internet Exchange, SIP Trunking and last mile DIA and SD-WAN services.
It removes the complexity from serving new demand and puts control in the hands of the customer. Infiny by Epsilon is a big step forward especially for service providers that are already serving large Cloud demand. It simplifies every aspect of connecting new services and with click-to-connect provisioning makes managing and scaling services immediate.
An Innovative Alternative
I see our role in New York as offering new model for connectivity that is a true alternative to legacy ways of doing business. It is a competitive market but one that we can see directly benefiting from a self-service Platform as a Service (PaaS) model for networking. Service providers want to differentiate their businesses and we offer a fast, reliable and agile way to serve customers.
We’ve even developed an iOS and Android app for procuring and managing services from tablets or mobile phones. This enables customers to monitor and procure services wherever they might be, matching the speed that business moves in New York and gives customer direct access to their services. There are no barriers or friction.
Customers that choose Epsilon benefit from all that the Infiny by Epsilon platform can offer in terms of agility and control, but they also gain access to global infrastructure that mirrors what we have in New York. By interconnecting with Epsilon in New York, customers can instantly extend their reach around the region and the globe using the same platform. Our more than 220 PoPs and interconnect fabric that includes nearly 700 service providers means New York can be a jumping off point for serving global demand.
Our customers in New York can compete for new and larger contracts because they have access to a broad scope of on-demand connectivity options and interconnect solutions. Even small local providers can scale up and connect sites or partners within the city, regionally and even across European, and Asian Pacific territories. It removes the limits on who can compete for new business. In a competitive market, Infiny by Epsilon gives service providers unique advantages. It is really the simplest and fastest way to deliver connectivity.
Growing Our Culture of Service
In addition to our platform, I see Epsilon bringing its culture of service to the local market. We’ve been simplifying how our customers connect for more than a decade, and a large part of that has been about customer service.
Our global brand has been defined by the responsiveness of our people, our award-winning customer service and the quick delivery of our solutions. That has separated us from other providers around the world and I believe this will be the case in New York and across North America.
We believe in delivering a service that is efficient but personal with support staff that really care about getting the best results for customers. In today’s ICT ecosystem, we understand the importance of trust and being able to deliver what we say we are going to deliver. In the “as a Service” economy that is even more important. We understand the value chain and that our customers’ customers are depending on us to deliver.
Our PaaS model has been designed to give customers control but also offer personal support that ensures the mutual success of every connection and deployment. Across our global footprint, customers believe in our business and that has been one of our keys to success.
My Priorities in 2017
- Talk to as many service providers and data centre operators operating in New York to show them the platform and explain that there is a faster and more agile way to connect their customers
- Build more case studies of local customers being successful and capturing new revenue and market share using Infiny by Epsilon
- Continue to evolve our platform through listening to customers and adding features that improve their experience
- Demonstrate our culture of service in the local market and continue our tradition of customer service excellence
- Get more involved in New York’s booming tech scene and meet the next wave of innovators and start-ups in our local market
- Look at opportunities to grow our presence across North America and expand in new markets
Serving Long-Term Demand
I love New York and I see so much potential for service providers in the local market and in metro markets across the United States (US). In the near term, I’m going to be focused on growing our relationships in New York and demonstrating the power of our platform. This is a great place for us to be and I am excited to be leading the next phase of our business in the US.
From New York, I can see the potential to grow in hubs from Miami to Seattle and everywhere in between. There are opportunities in dense Cloud connectivity markets but also in developing a base of regional and smaller interconnect markets such as St Louis, Houston and maybe even Toronto or Moncton, New Brunswick.
We will go where there is demand and need for agile interconnect and connectivity solutions or where markets are underserved with these solutions. Wherever our customers need it, we will ensure that we serve new and growing demand.
Epsilon has made a long-term commitment to the US market and we see it as a natural fit for our business and our customers. We look forward to growing with our customers and supporting them with local, regional and global Cloud-centric Networking.
