SAVVIS
Encyclopedia
Savvis – A CenturyLink Company is a subsidiary of CenturyLink
, a company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana
. Savvis provides information technology
solutions for enterprises and government agencies. Savvis IT
solutions leverage services including managed hosting, cloud computing
, colocation
, network connectivity, and IT consulting, supported by the company's global data center
and network infrastructure. The company delivers "IT Infrastructure-as-a-Service" by combining cloud technology, a global network and 50 data centers (approximately 1.54 million square feet) in North America
, Europe
, and Asia
, automated management and provisioning systems, and a best practices operations model. Savvis has approximately 2,500 unique business and government customers.
Gary Zimmerman, recruited by Roberts from SBC Communications Inc. to become Vice President of Engineering at Savvis in November 1995, built out Robert's first national network design. The original network design was unique within the industry at the time it became fully operational, and there was significant coverage and discussion in the trade press regarding both the network and its architect, Roberts. In 2001, the last year in which Robert's original design was in use, Savvis was ranked the #1 fastest Backbone Network by Keynote Systems, an independent network ratings service.
Roberts closed a revenue contract with Apple Computer, Inc. as their first large customer, dealing with David Zimmerman and Marty Suzuki at Apple's Cupertino headquarters. By leveraging the Apple Computer customer reference and testimonials, the company was able to close additional large contracts with other industry providers, and it quickly gained wide industry recognition.
During this growth spurt, the company attracted the notice of St. Louis' Gateway Venture Partners, who subsequently invested millions of dollars. After the Gateway investment, Sam Sanderson, former CEO of Rogers Cable, was brought to helm the company. Sanderson brought much needed support to the company, closing substantial contracts and placing the company into an aggressive marketing position. Contemporaneously, Bob Murphy was named to the Chief Financial Officer position (Murphy was previously the CFO of Williams Communications). Murphy in turn attracted additional capital, and a sound financial management team. Savvis then recruited Sam Sanderson, former CEO of Rogers Cable, to helm the company. Sanderson brought much needed support to the company, closing substantial contracts and placing the company into an aggressive marketing position.
which included 15 data centers and the customers of Exodus Communications
, the Tier-1
Internet backbone previously owned by MCI
, the content delivery network
(CDN) from Digital Island
, and a significant professional services organization for $155 million in cash and assumed liabilities of approximately $12.5 million.
. The Gartner report commented on Savvis for its range of quality services. In particular, Gartner noted that Savvis had an above-average customer portal and strong history of delivering utility offerings.
would acquire Savvis’ content delivery network (CDN) services business for $135 million; the deal included network assets, customer contracts and intellectual property used in Savvis’ CDN business.
, increasing its presence in the Asia Pacific region. The following year, it opened a new data center in London
, increasing its services in Europe.
, including data centers in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
for Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service
and Web Hosting (2010 Edition) by Gartner
, an IT research and advisory firm. Savvis is positioned alongside 19 other web hosting providers, including AT&T
, Rackspace
, Verizon Business
, Terremark
, and Sungard
in the measurement of "completeness of vision" and "ability to execute". As well, the company launched its global, cloud-focused Savvis Alliances Program for channel partners.
Savvis also entered into partnership with Bharti Airtel Limited
to launch a major strategic managed hosting and cloud computing initiative in India.
firm CenturyLink, Inc.
and Savvis reached an agreement whereby CenturyLink will acquire Savvis through a buyout of outstanding common shares in cash and stocks, for approximately $2.5 billion USD. This valued Savvis at $40 per share, which represented an 11% premium over Savvis’ closing price on April 26, 2011. Under the agreement, Savvis shareholders are to receive $30 per share in cash and $10 in shares of CenturyLink common stock. In September 2011, Savvis announced facility expansions in existing markets including Atlanta, Boston, and Toronto; as well as the opening of 2 new data centers in Seattle and Piscataway, New Jersey. This adds 100,000 square feet of raised data center floor space in the 5 cities, bringing the total sellable global footprint to 2 million square feet
the Register
, and others. These documents disclosed that Savvis was soliciting the business of spammers and that Savvis was realizing between $200,000 to $2,000,000 in per month from these customers. As a result of the negative media attention, Savvis resumed business using Spamhaus (a worldwide organization of spam fighters) to prevent and resolve customer spam issues. In a joint press release, Steve Linford
, CEO and Founder of the Spamhaus Project was quoted, "Spamhaus has long recognized Savvis as a 'White Hat Network' with exemplary policies and procedures to control the proliferation of spam. We are pleased to work with Savvis to fight against spam and encourage others in the industry to adopt their leadership model."
. The case involved charges made on McCormick's corporate American Express Card that were reported to be $241,000 at a New York strip club, Scores. While McCormick asserted that the charges were fraudulent, Scores claimed to have fingerprints of McCormick's, used specifically to verify that his large charges were legitimate. In November 2005, after an investigation into the matter by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, Savvis accepted McCormick's resignation. In March 2006, Savvis announced that the litigation brought by American Express against Savvis, McCormick and Scores had been resolved in a negotiated settlement.
[certification] , CardSystems had been improperly and continuously storing unencrypted cardholder data."
CenturyLink
CenturyLink, Inc. is a United States telecommunications firm, headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana. The company, founded as Central Telephone & Electronics Corporation in 1968, later changed its name to Century Telephone Enterprises, Inc. in 1971, and then was called CenturyTel, Inc. from 1999 to 2010...
, a company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Savvis provides information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
solutions for enterprises and government agencies. Savvis IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
solutions leverage services including managed hosting, cloud computing
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
, colocation
Colocation centre
A colocation centre or colocation center , is a type of data centre where equipment space and bandwidth are available for rental to retail customers...
, network connectivity, and IT consulting, supported by the company's global data center
Data center
A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems...
and network infrastructure. The company delivers "IT Infrastructure-as-a-Service" by combining cloud technology, a global network and 50 data centers (approximately 1.54 million square feet) in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, automated management and provisioning systems, and a best practices operations model. Savvis has approximately 2,500 unique business and government customers.
Early History
Savvis was founded in November 1995 under the name DiamondNet by CTO/COO Timothy Munro Roberts and CEO Andrew Gladney. The two had met in the St. Louis area in 1994 where both lived, with Roberts working for a computer store and Gladney a customer. Gladney put up the initial capital ($600,000 or $1 million, according to different sources) for a 75% stake in the startup, with Roberts’ stake the remaining 25%.Gary Zimmerman, recruited by Roberts from SBC Communications Inc. to become Vice President of Engineering at Savvis in November 1995, built out Robert's first national network design. The original network design was unique within the industry at the time it became fully operational, and there was significant coverage and discussion in the trade press regarding both the network and its architect, Roberts. In 2001, the last year in which Robert's original design was in use, Savvis was ranked the #1 fastest Backbone Network by Keynote Systems, an independent network ratings service.
Roberts closed a revenue contract with Apple Computer, Inc. as their first large customer, dealing with David Zimmerman and Marty Suzuki at Apple's Cupertino headquarters. By leveraging the Apple Computer customer reference and testimonials, the company was able to close additional large contracts with other industry providers, and it quickly gained wide industry recognition.
During this growth spurt, the company attracted the notice of St. Louis' Gateway Venture Partners, who subsequently invested millions of dollars. After the Gateway investment, Sam Sanderson, former CEO of Rogers Cable, was brought to helm the company. Sanderson brought much needed support to the company, closing substantial contracts and placing the company into an aggressive marketing position. Contemporaneously, Bob Murphy was named to the Chief Financial Officer position (Murphy was previously the CFO of Williams Communications). Murphy in turn attracted additional capital, and a sound financial management team. Savvis then recruited Sam Sanderson, former CEO of Rogers Cable, to helm the company. Sanderson brought much needed support to the company, closing substantial contracts and placing the company into an aggressive marketing position.
DiamondNet Becomes Savvis
In 1996, DiamondNet to changed it's name to Savvis Communications Corporation.Founders Part With Savvis
In 1997, Roberts left the company, and Gladney left his position as CEO to become vice chairman. Gladney's relationship with Savvis ended shortly thereafter in 1999. By the time of the company's IPO (in 2000), Gladney's stake was 1% of the outstanding shares, and he cashed out in 2001 for $150,000.Growth and Acquisitions
In 1999 Savvis was acquired by Bridge Information Systems. After a year as a Bridge Company, Savvis was spun off by Bridge as a public company. Savvis' February 2000 [initial public offering] (IPO) was listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange as "SVVS". Since it’s IPO, Savvis has grown both organically and through strategic acquisitions. In 2002, Savvis purchased WAM!NET, a content management and media application service, followed in 2003 by a purchase of the hosting operation and customers of Intel Online Services. In 2004 the company purchased the assets of Cable & Wireless AmericaCable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
which included 15 data centers and the customers of Exodus Communications
Exodus Communications
Exodus Communications was an Internet hosting service and Internet service provider to dot-com businesses. It went broke, along with many of its customers, during the bursting of the dot-com bubble. It declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001 and was purchased by Cable and Wireless in November...
, the Tier-1
Tier 1 network
A tier 1 network is an Internet Protocol network that participates in the Internet solely via settlement-free interconnection, also known as settlement-free peering.-Definition:...
Internet backbone previously owned by MCI
MCI Inc.
MCI, Inc. is an American telecommunications subsidiary of Verizon Communications that is headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia...
, the content delivery network
Content Delivery Network
A content delivery network or content distribution network is a system of computers containing copies of data placed at various nodes of a network....
(CDN) from Digital Island
Digital Island
Digital Island Communications is a 100% Kiwi owned business telecommunications provider based in Auckland, New Zealand. Winners of the Deloitte Fast 50 awards for "Fastest growing technology company" in 2008, and "Fastest growing telecommunications business" in 2007, Digital Island also placed...
, and a significant professional services organization for $155 million in cash and assumed liabilities of approximately $12.5 million.
Name Change
In 2005, Savvis announced a change in its name from Savvis Communications Corporation to Savvis, Inc. to reflect company expansion from network services to Global IT services.Gartner Magic Quadrant
Savvis was well positioned in the "Magic Quadrant for Hosting" published by GartnerGartner
Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001....
. The Gartner report commented on Savvis for its range of quality services. In particular, Gartner noted that Savvis had an above-average customer portal and strong history of delivering utility offerings.
Content Delivery Network Divestitures
In 2006, Savvis announced that Level 3 CommunicationsLevel 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications is a telecommunications and Internet service provider headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado.It operates a Tier 1 network. The company provides core transport, IP, voice, video and content delivery for most of the medium to large Internet carriers in North America and Europe...
would acquire Savvis’ content delivery network (CDN) services business for $135 million; the deal included network assets, customer contracts and intellectual property used in Savvis’ CDN business.
Expanding EMEA Presence
In 2007, Savvis opened a data center in SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, increasing its presence in the Asia Pacific region. The following year, it opened a new data center in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, increasing its services in Europe.
Savvis Acquires Fusepoint
In June 2010, Savvis acquired Canadian technology firm FusepointFusepoint Managed Services
Fusepoint Managed Services is a provider of managed IT solutions for companies throughout North America. Founded in 1999, Fusepoint has within 5 years grown by over 1,400% and in 2008 was ranked 46th by in a list of Canada's 100 fastest-growing companies. Fusepoint is currently ranked as the ...
, including data centers in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
Recovery
In January 2011, Savvis was positioned in the Leaders quadrant of the Magic QuadrantMagic Quadrant
The Gartner Magic Quadrant is a proprietary research tool developed by Gartner Inc., a US based research and advisory firm. According to Gartner, the Magic Quadrant aims to provide a qualitative analysis into a market and its direction, maturity and participants, thus possibly enabling a company...
for Cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network ....
and Web Hosting (2010 Edition) by Gartner
Gartner
Gartner, Inc. is an information technology research and advisory firm headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, United States. It was known as GartnerGroup until 2001....
, an IT research and advisory firm. Savvis is positioned alongside 19 other web hosting providers, including AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, Rackspace
Rackspace
Rackspace US, Inc. is an IT hosting company based in San Antonio, Texas. The company also has offices in Australia, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Hong Kong, and data centers operating in Texas, Illinois, Virginia, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong in late 2008...
, Verizon Business
Verizon Business
Verizon Business is one of three operating units of Verizon Communications It was created in 2006 when Verizon Communications closed on its merger with MCI, Inc..Verizon Business has over 30,000 employees with 321 offices in 75 countries...
, Terremark
Terremark
Terremark is a provider of information technology services. With data centers in the United States, Europe and Latin America and access to massive and diverse network connectivity, Terremark Worldwide, Inc. delivers customers services which include managed hosting, colocation, disaster recovery,...
, and Sungard
SunGard
SunGard is a multinational company based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, which provides software and services to education, financial services, and public sector organizations. It was formed in 1983, as a spin-off of the computer services division of Sun Oil Company, during a period of low crude oil...
in the measurement of "completeness of vision" and "ability to execute". As well, the company launched its global, cloud-focused Savvis Alliances Program for channel partners.
Savvis also entered into partnership with Bharti Airtel Limited
Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel Limited , commonly known as Airtel, is an Indian telecommunications company that operates in 20 countries across South Asia, Africa and the Channel Islands. It operates a GSM network in all countries, providing 2G or 3G services depending upon the country of operation...
to launch a major strategic managed hosting and cloud computing initiative in India.
CenturyLink Acquires Savvis
On April 27, 2011, telecommunicationsCommunications in the United States
The primary regulator of communications in the United States is the Federal Communications Commission. It closely regulates all of the industries mentioned below with the exception of newspapers and the Internet service provider industry.- Press :...
firm CenturyLink, Inc.
CenturyLink
CenturyLink, Inc. is a United States telecommunications firm, headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana. The company, founded as Central Telephone & Electronics Corporation in 1968, later changed its name to Century Telephone Enterprises, Inc. in 1971, and then was called CenturyTel, Inc. from 1999 to 2010...
and Savvis reached an agreement whereby CenturyLink will acquire Savvis through a buyout of outstanding common shares in cash and stocks, for approximately $2.5 billion USD. This valued Savvis at $40 per share, which represented an 11% premium over Savvis’ closing price on April 26, 2011. Under the agreement, Savvis shareholders are to receive $30 per share in cash and $10 in shares of CenturyLink common stock. In September 2011, Savvis announced facility expansions in existing markets including Atlanta, Boston, and Toronto; as well as the opening of 2 new data centers in Seattle and Piscataway, New Jersey. This adds 100,000 square feet of raised data center floor space in the 5 cities, bringing the total sellable global footprint to 2 million square feet
Spam Support Allegations
On 8 September 2004, Savvis' Operations Security Manager, Alif Terranson, left his position and went public with internal Savvis documents, releasing them to media outlets including the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
the Register
The Register
The Register is a British technology news and opinion website. It was founded by John Lettice, Mike Magee and Ross Alderson in 1994 as a newsletter called "Chip Connection", initially as an email service...
, and others. These documents disclosed that Savvis was soliciting the business of spammers and that Savvis was realizing between $200,000 to $2,000,000 in per month from these customers. As a result of the negative media attention, Savvis resumed business using Spamhaus (a worldwide organization of spam fighters) to prevent and resolve customer spam issues. In a joint press release, Steve Linford
Steve Linford
Steve Linford is a British anti-spam campaigner best known for founding The Spamhaus Project.-Biography:Linford was born in London, England in 1956. His family moved to Rome, Italy where Steve attended Rome's St. George's British International School...
, CEO and Founder of the Spamhaus Project was quoted, "Spamhaus has long recognized Savvis as a 'White Hat Network' with exemplary policies and procedures to control the proliferation of spam. We are pleased to work with Savvis to fight against spam and encourage others in the industry to adopt their leadership model."
American Express Lawsuit
In October 2005, then CEO Robert McCormick and Savvis were listed as defendants in a claim brought by American ExpressAmerican Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
. The case involved charges made on McCormick's corporate American Express Card that were reported to be $241,000 at a New York strip club, Scores. While McCormick asserted that the charges were fraudulent, Scores claimed to have fingerprints of McCormick's, used specifically to verify that his large charges were legitimate. In November 2005, after an investigation into the matter by the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, Savvis accepted McCormick's resignation. In March 2006, Savvis announced that the litigation brought by American Express against Savvis, McCormick and Scores had been resolved in a negotiated settlement.