USi Chooses Xevo

Infrastructure ISV Xevo Corp. today announced that enterprise ASP USinternetworking Inc. will use the XevoWorks service management platform for provisioning, metering and backup for its hosted Microsoft Exchange 2000 service.

XevoWorks is an XML-based service management solution that provides automatic application provisioning, metering and packaging. It is designed for three types of customers: xSPs with an existing network infrastructure who want to add value for their customer base; vertical service providers who want to serve industry-specific applications, and next-generation Internet infrastructure providers who do not want to make service management a core competency.

“We had spoken to USi many years ago, but at that time, there was more outsourcing going on, and their Exchange business wasn’t as high-volume. Our value proposition is most compelling with high volume or when multiple applications are deployed within an enterprise,” Xevo Chairman and CEO Hal Chapel told InternetNews. “When we heard they were doing more Exchange, we called them up and they started the evaluation process. One of the reasons they chose us is that we offer a platform, not just a point solution.”

Chapel said this is a significant selling point with many of its customers. XevoWorks becomes a central gatekeeper between the back end and front end. It also makes it easy to start small and grow without worrying about scalability.

According to Chapel, today’s customers are much more savvy about Software as a Service (SaaS) than they were during the early “bandwagon days” of the ASP industry. “A year or two ago, everyone loved the idea of Software as a Service, but they didn’t understand the requirements. Now people are much smarter.”

Today’s customers also understand that can’t take on every part of the delivery chain. “In traditional models, no company does every part,” he said. “There are two things you have to ask an xSP: The first is ‘What’s your core competency; the functionality you’re going to deliver?’, and the next is ‘Who are you going to partner with to get the other functions?'”

XevoWorks will be implemented in USi’s Internet Managed Application Provider (iMAP) Portfolio environment which includes packaged software applications and custom hosting solutions for critical business functions such as enterprise messaging.

“Xevo offers a complete service management solution that provides USi with easy and reliable support for our Exchange 2000 or enterprise messaging iMAP application,” said Nick Magliato, senior vice president, Global Services Platform Technology, USi. “Xevo’s multi-application support and its proven ability to rapidly deploy and scale with Microsoft Exchange 2000 will allow us to successfully meet growing market demands.”

By leveraging the Smart Provisioning, Smart Metering and Reporting and Web-based Delegated Administration functionality of the XevoWorks solution, USi can leverage information to support a variety of progressive pricing and billing options as well as respond directly to customer demands for end-user control and management of service packaging.

In the initial phase, which begins immediately, USi will provision Microsoft Exchange 2000 for its end users. Other applications will be added in later phases.