Wave2Wave Solution Corp. Wants Data Center Users to Get Off the Rack

By Jon Xavier
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal

July 8, 2011

David Wang, president of Wave2Wave Solution Corp., has an ambitious goal. He wants to grow his company from about $10 million in annual revenue to $100 million within five years.

A key to that plan is to expand from Wave2Wave's traditional focus on high-end networking cables and cable organization products to an entirely new product category — portable, modular containers for networking equipment. They are essentially a full data center in a self-contained, weatherproof box that can be placed anywhere from a closet to a parking lot.
Ramping up revenue that fast might seem like a tall order, but Wave2Wave has proven it can manage impressive growth in its core products. Revenue has shot up 50 percent year-over-year, even given the recession. The company has built a reputation as an innovator with a strong emphasis on quality and customer service, said Val Sokolov, senior manager of engineering lab services at Brocade Communications Systems Inc. , a Wave2Wave customer.

"This is a very innovative company," Sokolov said. "They give any (customer), and particularly a fast-growing company, the confidence that they'll be getting the best and the newest thing on the market without much digging around. They're not only keeping up, but they're innovating on their own."

Wang hopes to capitalize on that reputation as he launches into a new and relatively untested space.
"It's a very interesting time," he said. "The last six to 12 months, we were able to imagine some new products, some new partnerships and relationships. Now is the time that we have that capability and a bigger ambition. We want to start doing that hockey stick growth at this point."

Wang said modular data centers are poised to grow for a number of reasons, foremost among them the increased drive toward energy savings in the data center industry. Because Wave2Wave's modular data centers are essentially a self-contained box, it enables users to be smarter about their air conditioning, cooling just the servers and not the surrounding space. This can reduce the cost of energy to run those servers by up to 50 percent, Wang said.

A modular data center also eliminates much of the upfront cost of building out a data center facility — the boxes can be put anywhere without having to build out special features like raised floors. Because they're sealed against the elements, they can even be deployed outside, allowing companies to make use of otherwise wasted space in parking lots or on rooftops. And because the data centers are portable, it's much easier for them to scale. Companies can install as many as they need and add more later. This is a better fit for the current market, Wang said, where even smaller companies that can't afford to build a dedicated server facility need some IT infrastructure.

It's also ideal for use in new mobile networks because modular data centers can be connected to cell towers with a minimum of fuss, Wang said. He predicts the overhaul of the nation's existing mobile internet infrastructure as carriers retrofit their networks will be a big driver of growth.

With so much growth potential, the challenge will be managing it in a sustainable way, Wang said. Although he wants the company to scale very quickly, it's important that the company not lose sight of customer service, he said.
That's important because when IT companies choose vendors, they need a partner, said Ty Flowers, application engineer at Promise.com, a network storage company that uses Wave2Wave's cabling products. Flowers said he has introduced every company he's worked at to Wave2Wave.

Flowers said his first experience with the company was at Brocade Communications Systems Inc. in 2005, when the networking giant began using Wave2Wave's products to clean up its cables. And while Flowers has moved on, Wave2Wave hasn't. Brocade still uses its products in its laboratories worldwide because the two companies have been able to cultivate a close partnership, Sokolov said. That hasn't changed, even as Wave2Wave has grown, he said.

"From the very beginning, the flexibility, the responsiveness, the readiness to match our abrupt and dynamic requirements, and the willingness to go the extra mile, that has enabled them to establish a relationship with us," he said. "We have the comfort that they're always there and they always will go that extra mile when needed."

WAVE2WAVE SOLUTION CORP.

Headquarters: Milpitas
President: David Wang
Expected 2011 revenue: Around $10 million
Founded: 2003
Employees: 200
Website: www.wave-2-wave.com
Phone: 877.223.2296