Hetzner, South Africa`s largest specialist Web hosting company, was singled out as one of six finalists to receive the Minister`s Award for Overall Technology Excellence (small enterprise), at the National Technology Top 100 Awards Banquet held at the Emperor`s Palace on Wednesday night.
The Technology Top 100 awards programme is hosted by the Department of Science and Technology and enjoys the highest level of government recognition.
Up against fierce competition, Hetzner was acknowledged for its innovative use of technology to develop and enhance existing business practices through its proprietary control panel, known as konsoleH.
Hetzner helped to pioneer the Web hosting market in South Africa, launching its services in 1999. Today the company hosts over 32 000 active domains with fully-equipped data centres in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Hans Wencke, Hetzner`s managing director, commented that it was an honour to be included on the list of the country`s top technology companies in their first year of entering the TT100 Awards and expects to be a fixture on the list for years to come.
"Recognition such as this from the TT100 adjudicators means a great deal to us. Our success is a direct result of our very narrow business focus and client-centric approach, which gives us the vision to develop our own fully integrated systems that assist us to service our clients with efficiency and speed. We believe that with konsoleH, we are poised to capitalise on the growing demand for reliable Web hosting with our proven service record and unparalleled local support."
KonsoleH T was developed by a top team of Hetzner systems engineers with the view to empower customers with greater control and easy access to a wide range of tools and systems to manage their Web hosting account.
"Through the development of Hetzner`s customised control panel, we have made certain services more accessible to our clients, translating a very technical procedure into an intuitive, automated click through process. KonsoleH empowers our clients to manage their own hosting account, while at the same time eliminating the need for them to contact the call centre for administrative queries and tasks," said Wencke.
Rather than using a third party control panel that can be costly due to licence fees, Hetzner took the route of developing its own control panel, giving the company the freedom to roll-out its hosting service to a wider customer base speedily and cost-effectively.
"We also have access to the source codes allowing us to make fundamental changes to suit specific business requirements, while making the control panel more competitive within our particular market," adds Wencke.
"Since launching the first version to our fully managed server clients in April, we have received overwhelming positive feedback, with our clients taking an active interest in KonsoleH, giving us suggestions on how to make further improvements and enhancements," concludes Wencke.
The key benefits of konsoleH:
* All services are now accessible from a central point of access.
* KonsoleH places total control of the hosting account into the customers` hands.
* It enables customers as well as technically illiterate staff to perform complicated tasks with ease.
* KonsoleH caters for the automated sign-up of new services.
* It provides an infrastructure and mechanism which enables Hetzner to provide a hosting service to different markets in different locations.
* KonsoleH lays a good architectural foundation for future enhancements and feature-rich additions.
Hetzner`s full suite of services includes shared hosting, co-location and fully-managed servers, backed by efficient and friendly technical support together with a reliable hosting infrastructure.
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Hetzner is a leading player in the South African Web hosting environment. Established in 1999, the company has grown in stature and expertise, currently servicing over 32 000 active domains. It was founded with the vision of providing reliable and robust web hosting solutions coupled with outstanding customer support to the SMME and mid-corporate markets.
By consistently delivering exemplary customer service and cost-effective shared, co-location and dedicated hosting packages, Hetzner has exponentially grown its market share making it the largest company to specialise in Web hosting in South Africa.
Hetzner is financially stable and has been profitable since 2000, with profits continually reinvested into the further growth of the business. Through its affiliation with German-based Hetzner Online AG, the company also benefits from shared systems and skills expertise.
Hetzner has been named a Top 300 National Company for the second consecutive year by Top Companies Publishing (PTY) Ltd in association with the Department of Trade and Industry. The company has also been named a top ICTe (Information, Communication, Technology and Electronics) company for the period 2003/04 & 2005/06 by the Corporate Research Foundation (CRF).
Additional information is available at www.hetzner.co.za.
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