Why Inter.link will disrupt the network industry

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Marc Korthaus and Theo Voss the two co-founders of Inter.link to learn more about what drove them to create Inter.link. We also talked about their roles, vision, and how Inter.link is evolving to meet some of the biggest challenges of our time. 

The Kernel of an Idea

Like all good stories it’s usually better to start at the beginning. In the late 2010s, Marc Korthaus and Theo Voss, were both working at SysEleven based in Berlin, and they found themselves increasingly frustrated by network services which were available. They pulled together their experiences and decided to build a Berlin fiber ring that would meet not only their needs but also help the network community. They built their own network at carrier neutral data centers in Berlin and gained a better understanding of how to approach problems that would come in handy in the future.

Why Inter.link and Why Now?

 When Marc and Theo crossed paths again a few years later, they quickly came to the realization that it wasn’t just Berlin that needed a shake-up it was the whole network industry in general. The past decade had been good for the industry with increasing profits and general growth and acquisitions. But this had also made the industry complacent. A look at the market showed that there was no one on the market ready to tackle some of the foundational issues that were slowing innovation down.

 One of the biggest obstacles was a network industry that had picked up on the theme of sustainability but wasn’t ready to go all in. There was a real need for a company to not only talk about sustainability but to embrace it and design a network solution around it.

 To make it work, the idea would be to design a company with sustainability included from the start, instead of trying to squeeze it somewhere. This meant building on a greenfield with a hardware solution that had sustainability in mind. Working closely with suppliers throughout the whole product life cycle to keep carbon emissions at a minimum. And embedding into the company values a strong push to move towards net zero in the next few years, not 2040.

 Another stumbling block was the prevalence of hyperscalers who lock-in products and then dictate how business is done for everyone. This had created a general feeling of complacency and resistance to making changes or pushing the envelope. And as these companies grew ever larger with more infrastructure; it became harder and harder for them to change by the day.

 Why should customers have to talk with sales and then go through a lengthy provisioning process just to get IP Transit from one Point of Presence (PoP) to another. Instead, Inter.link decided to lean heavily into automation and transparency. They are busy building a Portal that will allow customers to manage their own accounts, purchase services, make changes, and see clear analytics in one simple place.

Where is Inter.link Going?

 Now that all the building blocks have been put into place, where does Inter.link go from here? The company currently finds itself in the middle of building a robust international carrier network capable of providing connectivity and security to data centers and Enterprises around the world.

 And while this is already an ambitious plan, it’s by no means the end. They are also exploring building products that focus on improving how customers consume connectivity. Such as Firewalls, VPNs, overlay networks, and secure routing, just to name a few of the ideas that are currently being worked on.

 No matter what the final Inter.link product range looks like in five years, the team is focused on finding the stumbling blocks that companies are facing and developing a better solution that what is currently being offered. It’s the Inter.link way