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Xnet demonstrates exceptional growth
Tuesday, August 07 2001
by Kevin O' Brady


With a three-year growth rate of 542 percent, Dublin-based Xnet has been ranked
35th in the Deloitte & Touche UK and Ireland Technology Fast 50.

The Fast 50 programme tracks the growth rates of technology companies in Ireland
and the UK and seeks out companies who have shown high growth in the
telecommunications, hardware, software, and biotechnology markets.



David O'Flanagan, a partner in Deloitte & Touche, said that technology companies
are the key to national economic success and a central part of prosperity in
Ireland. "We are delighted to recognise Xnet as a winner," he added.



In January 2001, Xnet was ranked 5th in the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50.



Smart technology companies should seize the present short-term revenue challenge
as an opportunity to focus on quality, said O'Flanagan. These companies could do
this by improving their management processes and by focusing on product
differentiation and on the quality of people, he added.



"The past year has been an unpredictable one for the Irish technology sector,"
said Aidan Higgins, managing director of Xnet. "In light of that, we are
pleased to be ranked on an international scale and we are delighted, given the
huge number of entrants in the UK and Ireland as a whole, to have ranked 35th in
the Deloitte Fast 50 as well," he said.



Higgins said Xnet was looking forward to additional opportunities in the data
storage industry, which he described as a "niche market." He also said the
rate of growth achieved thus far is within the company's expectations.



"We had aimed to double each year, although the market becomes harder the
bigger you become," he said. Meanwhile, According to Higgins, the company is on
target to reach growth of 66 percent during 2001 and is expecting to increase
employment numbers by between 12 and 20, depending on market conditions.



The ranking bestowed on Xnet by Deloitte & Touche follows the company's recent
opening of a new premises in Bray, Co. Wicklow, in July 2001 which has allowed
the company to double its staff to 30 people.



Among other developments, Xnet has signed an exclusive support and product deal
with Hitachi, and has signed four other agreements to expand its product range,
although the details of these are not available.



In March of this year, IDC predicted that worldwide spending in the storage
service provider (SSP) market would increase at a staggering compound annual
growth rate of 134 percent, from USD153 million in 2000 to USD10.7 billion in
2005. 



Despite the growth, IDC also warned that players in this space must use caution
to avoid pitfalls. "The storage service provider market has entered a critical
phase in its development," said Doug Chandler, manager for IDC's storage and
data management services program. "With the start-up stage over, SSPs must
demonstrate their viability to potential and current investors and concentrate on
market validation. Over the next six to 12 months, it will be critical to this
market that the SSP model becomes more widely accepted by paying customers,
regardless of which SSPs become market leaders." 



Xnet provides data storage solutions and services to Irish and multinational blue
chip companies.



Xnet was established in Dublin in 1995, and currently operates in Dublin and
Belfast.



The company is at http://www.xnet.ie .