Sphera Unveils New Suite For Web Hosting Solution Providers

Called ResellerDirector, the offering encompasses billing packages, account setup, domain-name registration, trouble ticketing, server management, reporting and other services accessible via a centralized Reseller Control Panel.

Companies such as Web-hosting and domain-name registration provider Jumpline.com are beta-testing ResellerDirector with plans to roll it out to its channel of resellers,typically Web-design firms, smaller VARs and systems integrators. "We'll be able to give them the same functionality from Sphera that we've been using to automate our hosting business," said Marc Hardgrove, co-founder of Jumpline.com, Grove City, Ohio. "Billing in particular is something that smaller resellers have been struggling with. Now they have automated billing and support and a control panel brandable in their name."

Until now, Jumpline.com was not able to share access to its proprietary domain-name registration services, but Sphera built in automated domain-name registration,a tool Jumpline.com partners were asking for.

Hardgrove said Jumpline.com acted as somewhat of a research-and-development shop by providing Boston-based Sphera with a list of more than 15 features it wanted incorporated into Sphera's next release.

"We were trying to build our own automated hosting management system, but Sphera came to us and said, 'We will build it exactly the way you want [because if it fits your needs, it will fit the needs of other hosting providers,' " Hardgrove said.

Jumpline.com, which had 500 customers in 1997, now supports 30,000 on Sphera's platform.

Sphera is also rolling out a self-provisioning system called ServerManagement Director for Web hosting customers and resellers. It gives access to a control panel that lets customers change configurations, install new applications and add Web site content. "What we're doing is eliminating support costs by putting more control in the hands of customers and resellers of Web-hosting providers," said Tamar Naor, CEO of Sphera. "Web-hosting providers can still set parameters as to how much control is given to the customer."

Both ResellerDirector and ServerManagement Director were designed with ease of use in mind. The control panel includes wizards that walk solution providers through setup tasks such as creating and changing e-mail accounts, for example.

The architecture behind Sphera's offering is open and highly customizable. "We learned from our customer base that a rigid, fixed architecture couldn't grow with the reseller business, and so in turn, it limited revenue potential for both [reseller and hosting provider," Naor said.