To find out about the future plans of Inter.link (a global NaaS provider) and discover what the key topics were at Capacity Europe 2023, I spoke with Jason Wells, Vice President of Global Sales.
Hi Jason, thank you for speaking with me today. Please can you tell us about your journey with Inter.link and what has been achieved so far?
My journey with Inter.link started 6 months ago. Before I joined there was only one dedicated salesperson. Since then, we have completed the build phase of the commercial team and we are currently focused on the execution stage which involves generating new pipeline, and welcoming new customers and partners.
Since I joined Inter.link, we’ve grown from 7 PoPs to 20 PoPs in a new, fully automated, and sustainable network, and there are even more PoPs coming online in the next 2 months.
We recently launched our Layer2 Multipoint product at the Capacity Europe 2023 event, along with completing over 80 pre-arranged meetings and another 40+ opportunistic interactions. Also tying in with Capacity Europe 2023, we launched 4 new channel partnerships and started the partnership journey with another 10+ network providers.
What were the key topics at Capacity Europe 2023?
Capacity Europe 2023 was filled with presentations and debates around the hot topics of network and telecom. This included automation, security, subsea cables, satellite technology, and much more.
Sustainability
One of the most discussed topics at Capacity Europe 2023 was sustainability. Now this is much more than a ‘nice to have’ vanity subject. A big reason for this is that, as called for in the Paris Agreement, emissions needing to be reduced by 55% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. This has led to dramatic changes in business processes across industries. As such, network providers and their customers are taking sustainability far more seriously.
Cloud Networking
Our CEO and co-founder Theo Voss actually spoke about one of the hottest subjects in a panel session at Capacity Europe 2023: Convergence of Connectivity and Cloud Networks. To capture the value at the cloud and network edge, partnerships between infrastructure providers and cloud companies are more important than ever.
This panel looked at the opportunities for collaboration, and the constraints that network providers should be aware of, such as asking how network providers can offer an alternative to cloud platforms, and how they can build an infrastructure strategy that is in cooperation with the hyperscalers. This panel included representatives from GTT Communications, AWS, Global Cloud Xchange, Legos, Zain Omantel International, Analysys Mason, and NTT.
More Flexible Connectivity Needed
Another key topic was the need for greater flexibility regarding global networking. Enterprise network managers are struggling with architectural and business constraints imposed on them by traditional connectivity services. They want true flexibility both technically and commercially. The approach we’ve taken with our Layer2 service offering ticks both boxes because as a single service it covers multiple use cases including point-to-point and multipoint connections.
What are the next steps for Inter.link?
Rolling Out New Points of Presence
Our US rollout starts soon with APAC following shortly afterward, turning Inter.link into a truly global Network as a Service provider. From a product perspective, we will soon be announcing our infrastructure protection (DDoS) and IP Access to complement our existing IP Transit and Layer2 services.
The Enterprise Market
We are now tackling the enterprise market which involves evaluating our current positioning and messaging. What does ‘enterprise’ mean for us? We currently define this as global companies with presence in more than one city, country, or geography. What makes Inter.link unique in the network space? The short answer is flexibility. Inter.link provides connectivity that flexes for businesses.
To showcase the flexibility of our platform, we are about to announce the release of our Firewall as a Service solution. This is only the beginning of what is possible with network functions. It is a jumping off point from which multiple other services can grow.
Jason will be visiting Bangkok for Telecoms World Asia 2023 in November, and Singapore for Capacity Asia 2023 in December.