Business need1&1 identified an area of potential

growth in its customer base for

high-performance branded servers,

but it needed a partner to provide

the technology.

Solution1&1 acquired around 500 Dell

PowerEdge R630 servers with Intel®

Xeon® processors and optional solid-

state drives.

Benefits• End customers get high-

performance servers with fast

connections for demanding

business applications

• Managed services model gives

customers total flexibility and

scalability

• End customers can upgrade or

change models without costly

hardware refreshes

• Quick configuration means

customers can have services online

within three hours

• Close partnership with Dell ensures

campaigns launch at the same

time, offering mutual benefits

Solutions at a glance• Servers• Enterprise Support

High performance, happy customers1&1 brings a managed server with high performance to its customer base, providing flexibility and scalability on tap

Customer profile

Company 1&1 Internet SE

Industry Hosting Solutions

Country Germany

Employees 7,900

Website www.1and1.com

“Most importantly, we were looking for powerful, reliable hardware from a partner we could trust. Dell offered the better package overall compared to other providers, which is why we chose Dell.” Alexander Vierschrodt, Head of Commercial Management Server, 1&1 Internet SE

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“ We certainly benefit from working with leading partners 1&1 and Dell. We will continue to work with them because we appreciate everything about the offering: the service, flexibility, collaboration and quality of hardware.” Jürgen Hausmann, CEO, EVISCO

The portfolio ranges from hosting to email and unified messaging. In Europe, 1&1 is represented in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the U.K. It also has operations in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.

For certain use cases – such as large corporate websites, databases, media or high-volume storage for ecommerce – developers and hosts require servers with particularly high performance. 1&1 had always developed its own servers, which were built by a partner before being deployed and maintained across its sites. With its goal of constant growth, the company identified a new line of business. 1&1 works with many companies that use Dell technology for their own systems – whether in-house or externally hosted. As there is a broader industry trend towards further externally hosted and managed cloud infrastructures, 1&1 sought to attract its existing Dell user base as well as new customers using Dell technology. The Dell-based offering would integrate with customers’ current infrastructures.

Alexander Vierschrodt, Head of Commercial Management Server at 1&1, says: “We already offered servers for the higher end of the market, but we wanted to expand this segment by working with a known server partner to deliver a branded, high-performance product. We call it our Business Line. This would be a dedicated hosting server which could also be hosted in small or home offices. The difference is that customers no longer need to look after the server physically, freeing them to concentrate on their core businesses.”

Reliable hardware from long-term partner1&1 was already a Dell customer. Most of its internal IT – from laptops to the data centre, as well as some of the servers it uses for external customers – is supplied by Dell. The host looked at other companies, but after intensive testing it decided to stay with its long-term partner. Vierschrodt explains: “We needed reliable devices from a hardware point of view. But most importantly, we were looking for powerful, reliable hardware from a partner we could trust. Dell offered the better package overall compared to other providers, which is why we chose Dell. Furthermore, we wanted a partner that could help us market our offerings. Also, most of our target customers already work with Dell infrastructures, so choosing Dell means that customers will be able to integrate their own applications or workloads.”

It chose the Dell PowerEdge R630, part of Dell’s 13th generation of serversWorking with Dell, 1&1 was able to secure some units before the launch of the latest generation. “Receiving servers before they’re launched means that we can test them in our own infrastructure

1&1 is a leading internet company based in Germany.

It offers broadband and mobile connectivity to consumers,

and hosting applications to consumers and small

businesses. 1&1 Internet SE is the division responsible

for the international hosting segment.

Products & Services

Services

Dell Support Services – Dell ProSupport Flex for

Data Center

Hardware

Dell PowerEdge R630 servers with Intel® Xeon® processors

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and in-house server lab,” says Vierschrodt. “It gives us plenty of time to assess their performance and see how well they fit in our environment and portfolio.” Moreover, receiving the units so close to the Dell launch meant 1&1 was able to capitalise on Dell’s own promotional work and gain competitive advantage by launching its own branded server offering around the same time. The servers are backed up by ProSupport Flex for Data Center, which includes access to a dedicated Technical Account Manager and a team of support and field technicians who know 1&1’s environment. This ensures the best resolutions to meet the company’s needs, whatever the issue.

Customers can log in to the 1&1 web store, select the server they want and have it up and running in around three hours. They can also configure the type of storage with the option of upgrading to solid-state drives. The servers are connected to the internet via a 1 Gigabit Ethernet connection.

Digital media demands high performanceOne such customer is digital media agency EVISCO, based in Munich. It produces, hosts, streams and develops digital video content and related services for its clients. Its partnership with 1&1 goes back to when the agency was founded in 2000. The firm has also been a Dell customer for 10 years.

Jürgen Hausmann, CEO at EVISCO, says: “We host a large part of our services on the Business Line servers from 1&1, especially our live video and web-based services. We need machines that deliver high performance and reliability, as well as an excellent internet connection to our internal data centre.”EVISCO hosts live webcasts of everything from sporting events to classical music concerts. Most tend to have far more than 1,000 simultaneous users. Hausmann says the difference since switching to the Business Line server has been significant. “The new Dell Business Line server by 1&1 has fulfilled our requirements. It’s extremely stable and delivers high-quality services. Our end customers are very happy,” he says.

External management brings flexibilityPreviously, EVISCO would have used an internal server platform, requiring maintenance and management by its five-strong in-house IT staff. Now, with 1&1 taking care of everything, EVISCO can concentrate on delivering media services without worrying about the underlying hardware. Hausmann says: “Buying the server as a service means that we got the desired performance and connection to our backbone. Plus we don’t have to look after the hardware ourselves or provide services for it.”

“ Most of our target customers already work with Dell infrastructures, so choosing Dell means that customers will be able to integrate their own applications or workloads.” Alexander Vierschrodt, Head of Commercial Management Server, 1&1 Internet SE

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Furthermore, if EVISCO requires more – or, indeed less – performance or capacity, 1&1 can adjust the specification accordingly to meet EVISCO’s needs. “If we need additional resources, we can simply scale and quickly add more servers for our services,” says Hausmann.

Free to choose future pathsThe company has freed itself from its in-house infrastructure, while at the same time enable it to stay on top of future technology developments. “The managed services model enables us to exchange or upgrade at any time, based on whichever services we will offer,” says Hausmann. “For example, we could switch to the next generation of servers for our web services as soon as they’re available. The best part is that we pay a predictable monthly fee without incurring large overheads or needing a forklift upgrade.” Hausmann also remarks that keen pricing from 1&1 offers them cost savings, which gives EVISCO a competitive edge.

He summarises EVISCO’s experience so far: “We certainly benefit from working with leading partners 1&1 and Dell. We will continue to work with them because we appreciate everything about the offering: the service, flexibility, collaboration and quality of hardware.”

Dell, the Dell logo, Dell ProSupport and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. Availability and terms of Dell Software, Solutions and Services vary by region. This case study is for informational purposes only. Dell makes no warranties — express or implied — in this case study. Reference Number: 10021139 © September 2015, Dell Inc. All Rights Reserved

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