Host Interview - Lyons Digital Media
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Our Interview with - Jonathan Lyons, Principal Designer Lyons Digital Media |
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Tell us about your company and
services:
We design graphics for a number of media including the web. I've been
doing some level of print, CD ROM and web graphics since the late 80s.
Last year, we made what I think was a very exciting move into hosting. We
started by pulling in a number of domains that were hosted through other
service providers. When we were satisfied with system stability we began
contacting existing clients and then finally soliciting clients
exclusively for hosting, even other design studios in our area. I've been
very pleased with the response.
What are your target markets?
As a design studio we serve small businesses and npos
(not-for-profit-organizations). Most of our current clients are
geographically close to us, but our hosting business has already begun to
push those borders. Our customers range from Alaska to Miami and plenty
in-between. Personally, I like working with small businesses and being a
reliable and accessible resource.
What makes you different from other web
hosting companies?
For more than a dozen years we've had to look our clients in the eye,
every day. We know that our clients aren't just domain names or
corporations. They're the people who pay our bills, the people who rely on
us for their livelihood. They have more important things in their lives
than their website hosting. We try to let them get back to their lives.
What would you say is your company's
main strength?
It may sound strange, but our strength is our people. From the people
who answer the phones to our programmers and certainly the customers
themselves. We don't exist without our customers. When everything goes
right, we don't matter. So, more than 99% of the time no cares about us.
When something goes wrong though, from a client losing their password to a
genuine hardware problem, what matters is the people. We assure the
customers that we are here and that things are being handled and we get
the systems running as soon as possible.
In your opinion, what make great
hosting services?
Satisfied customers.
Describe the support services that you
provide:
Free online support is available in one form or another 24 hours a day.
We have weekday phone support for tech and sales from 8:30 am until
10:00pm eastern time and we are looking into 24 hour, 7 day a week phone
support. Beyond that, as a design studio, we offer everything from hosting
only to full site design and custom coding as needed. We will even install
scripts and web applications for customers. Of course, we charge for site
design and application development.
Where do you see the hosting industry
4-5 years from now?
Moore's law says that everything about computers gets faster, cheaper
and has more capacity. I see lots of small shops like mine getting into
the hosting business right now. It's never been easier. The guys who will
be around in 5 or even 20 years, will be the ones who make and keep the
customers happy.
Thank you
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