Systemsfusion's Evolutionware 2.0 Upgrade Transforms xSPs to ASPs

How did a South African Linux integrator become a global ASP enabler? The ISP-Planet staff investigates.

by the ISP-Planet Staff
[October 31, 2000]

We first covered Systemsfusion in May (ISP to ASP: One Easy Way to Go ) in which we noted that Systemsfusion's Evolutionware appeared to offer "the prospect of a new product line — application services — with no muss or fuss and almost no investment."

Later, we described a Systemsfusion-enabled product, Kurant's StoreSense, in greater detail (Kurant's StoreSense 4.0 ). StoreSense is an automated e-commerce solution; it helps Web hosting ISPs offer higher level e-commerce services.

Today, we're taking a look at Systemsfusion as a company after speaking with the man responsible for making this Web-friendly environment that lets service providers aggregate, provision, and distribute an unlimited number of IP-based applications.

Humble beginnings
Nevo Hadas, Systemsfusion's president, described the company's humble origins adjacent to a cattle-crossing on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa. Hadas said when staff members were not in fear for their lives from a stampede of Rhodesian Brahman, they were busy operating as a Linux integrator and Web hosting provider.

After successfully developing a firewall program for South Africa's defense department, Systemsfusion used the same technology to develop the country's domain registration services, which eventually provided Network Solutions-like services for South Africa's ISPs.

Hadas said  it became clear that in order to grow the business the company would have to expand overseas. After a fruitful meeting with Sun Microsystems at a trade show in 1999, Systemsfusion received much-needed backing from Sun.

With an infusion of capital and Sun equipment, Systemsfusion opened up shop in Silicon Valley in March of this year, and established its headquarters in Denver, Colorado. The company has grown from about 20 employees at the beginning of the year to more than 80 staff members worldwide.

Partnerships make it possible
According to Hadas, the ASP business is all about partnerships. Systemsfusion allows providers to expand services and tap into new streams of revenue, through a single, simple Web interface.

What the company does, essentially, is extend to service providers the capabilities of its partners — Sun, Cable & Wireless, Corel, Microsoft, IBM, Compaq, Citrix, Tarantella, and Evoke — allowing them, in turn, to create customized application offerings for their customers.

Ideal customers
To date, Systemsfusion's customers have mostly been global service providers with significant business revenue, whether they're Cable + Wireless' European network, Web2You for its virtual ISP products, or PureSource which is a business ISP serving New York and New Jersey.

But Hadas said that the latest Evolutionware upgrade changes the scale and scope of Systemsfusion's target market. The company is now setting its sights on service providers that already specialize in dedicated access to the Internet, be they ISPs, CLECs, Carriers or ASPs. A typical ISP customer would have several hundred active business customers and a robust network infrastructure. What it is
Systemsfusion's flagship Evolutionware suite aggregates ASPs (ultimate providers of the applications) and ISPs (ultimate sellers thereof) into a larger provider network.

A modest amount of tooling between provider and Evolutionware sets the stage for automated, real-time, browser-based provisioning of services on the ISP/reseller end. All you need to add is customers.

Resellers can draw up a menu containing any or all of the full complement of Evolutionware-enabled applications. End-user customers simply order what they want, and Evolutionware serves 'em up.

A centralized authentication facility, known as the "Global System" operation center, takes care of security and access issues.

What it does
From DNS setup and e-mail authentication, to e-commerce Web hosting and outsourced software — Evolutionware allows providers to deliver services for as little as $5,000 in startup fees. (Systemsfusion is currently studying other pricing models, however.)

As a distribution company, Systemsfusion makes its money on the margin, acting like a broker between its partners and a service provider.

Naturally, security to the transaction clearinghouse is tight. Systemsfusion's CORBA-based provisioning layer allows network administrators to directly manage and configure specific server applications from a third party through a single web interface.

What you do
All a provider has to do is add a Systemsfusion box to its server rack and load Evolutionware agents on each of its servers, regardless of the platform or operating system.

From there, Systemsfusion agents do everything from set up DNS on a NT Web server to tracking order numbers for e-commerce transactions on a UNIX box — while it keeps a tab on billing, too.

Systemsfusion monitors its NOC 24x7 and can track a trouble ticket down to the root of its source in seconds, as well as upgrade agents on your servers and add new applications in real-time.

What it will be
In the near future, Hadas hopes to take Evolutionware to the next logical step and share applications among its smaller service provider customers to drive costs down further.

Then again, Systemsfusion takes an active role in training its ISP customers in marketing strategies for successfully selling services to end-users. This additional level of partnering tends to ensure a relationship that continues through time, to everybody's satisfaction.

Hadas boldly dubbed Systemsfusion's Evolutionware Distribution Network EDeN — because it just may be the application paradise your business needs to come into being a full-service ASP.

—End