HostReview.com Web Hosting Interviews

An Interview with
Michael Yablonowitz, President and CEO of Uplinkearth

By Milena Sotirova
Editor DevStart, Inc.

July 28, 2004

Tell me something about yourself and your position in the company. What were you doing before working for uplinkearth? What were the major milestones in your life that contributed to your success with uplinkearth?

My name is Mike Yablonowitz. I'm President and CEO of Uplinkearth. Prior to uplinkearth, I worked in a variety of Telco-related sales positions through the New York and New Jersery area. I'd like to think these positions helped me achieve success, but nothing prepares you for the day-to-day operations of a web hosting company. I have a "To Do" list with 500 things to accomplish. It sits on my desk in front of me and I stare at it every day. I'm obsessed with completing that list and making uplinkearth the world's best web hosting service. Until I finish that list, I have no milestone in my life that even gets close to competing with it.

Please provide us a brief history of uplinkearth? What is the company's core focus?
I founded uplinkearth on the belief that I could bring a richer, more robust product to small-to medium-sized companies than was currently offered in the marketplace. The cornerstone of this service is an award winning customer and technical support group that have a similar passion. We also strive every day to improve reliability and security. We are obsessed with bringing new products, such as Urchin and Charity Link, that will change the way our customers do business. If they succeed, so do we.

What is the main secret for improving of the customer support services you have reached, and what are you doing for the customer retention to grow in future.
If I gave up my secret, I'd just be helping my competitors. Suffice it to say, that better than half of my "To Do" list is focused specifically on these issues. Our customers know we work hard for every penny that comes in the door and they trust we will grow with them. Again, if they succeed, so do we.

Why should a site owner choose uplinkearth over another hosting company?
Wow! That is the 64 thousand dollar question. And I ask myself the same question every day. Seriously, I don't think this is a one-size fits all proposition. Choosing a web hosting company is really up to the needs of our customer. Do they want a flexible monthly plan? Do they want marketing services? Are they a power user with extreme needs? I think uplinkearth is flexible to these needs and prepared to grow with each company that chooses us.

Today's fast development of the web hosting industry makes some experts saying that this trend will continue at least for the next 25 years. How do you see your company expanding its present position in the present favorable global environment?
The challenge in this business is to grow at a steady rate without compromising the service to our existing customers. To me, success is seeing our current customers enter the Forbes 500 rather than have five million small customers getting mediocre service. That said, we are constantly expanding our global reach and we are very aware of the market opportunity to become a global player in the web-hosting arena. My commitment to our customers is that we take one day at a time and not get to big for our britches.

What makes uplinkearth different from other web hosting companies?
Time and time again, we hear it's all about our customer support. If you use a free hosting company, you get what you pay for. With uplinkearth, our customers know what they get for their monthly fee. Top-notch phone and online support. From the FAQs to our new Instant Response service, we are constantly looking for ways to improve customer support.

Describe what uplinkearth is doing to anticipate the next year of web hosting industry events?
We have two priorities - reliability and security. Over the last year, we have made several "back end" investments to ensure that our customers never lose a minute on the net. Does that mean we are free from down time? Heck no. Technology is not perfect. I like to think that with every technical issue we have, my team learns and improves our responsiveness. So, looking out a year or two, I would say we could face just about any issue (short of Nuclear Winter) and be able to respond efficiently and with the least amount of downtime.

How many hosting customers do you currently serve?
Sorry, that's a company secret.

What advice would you give to anyone starting his or her own webhosting company?
Three things - 1) Be prepared to work non-stop seven days a week, 365 days a year. 2) Surround yourself with smart people. 3) Don't ever lose touch with your customers (As busy as I am, I still find time to talk them everyday.)

What additional services or solutions does uplinkearth deliver?
Covered in questions above

And finally, what was the most recent book you have read?"Why CEO's Fail" Its about major CEO failures and what attributed to there failure. Like technology, nobody is perfect and we can all learn from others footsteps.

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