Everdream
CenterBeam isn't the only full-service, subscription-based tech provider vying for the small-business market. Everdream Corp., based in Mountain View, Calif., is aiming at soloists and small and midsize companies that would normally purchase inexpensive, so-called white-box computers from local resellers. Everdream manufactures and brands its own PCs before shipping them off to customers, who end up paying about $150 a month per computer.
Everdream, like CenterBeam, provides software, hardware, and networking components, as well as Internet access, Web hosting, nightly backup, and round-the-clock online and telephone IT support. In addition, Everdream builds into its machines a simple, commonsense security feature: it divides the hard drives into two parts in an attempt to safeguard business applications from viruses brought in over the Web. One part of the hard drive houses business applications, and the other plays home to programs and games that users download.
It would seem that tech-savvy companies -- especially new dot-coms -- would hardly need outside tech support. Not so, says the Everdream team, which is betting that many high-tech start-ups would rather develop their own technology than worry about day-to-day glitches.
Such is the case of Tom Jones. As CEO of Stratasource Inc., a start-up based in Menlo Park, Calif., that provides automated systems management, Jones wanted his software engineers to spend all their time creating Stratasource products. Sure, the engineers could troubleshoot their own PCs. But the rest of the staff would still need occasional help.
Last October, Jones signed up as a beta tester for one of Everdream's PCs before committing his support staff to the system. This January he became a paying customer. While testing the gear, he hadn't needed much support, but when he did need support, he got it right away. "I was working in Microsoft Word and just got hung up," Jones recalls. When he called Everdream, a technician "entered" his computer remotely -- so that both Jones and the technician were looking at Jones's screen -- and quickly showed the CEO how to solve the problem.
That said, there are a few drawbacks to CenterBeam and Everdream's services. Both companies are subscription based and require long-term contracts. Everdream's customers are obligated for 30 months -- a subscription only slightly shorter than CenterBeam's aforementioned three-year deal.
And then there's the issue of privacy. Both companies tout nightly data-backup services and the ability to enter any subscribed PC through the Internet with permission.
Schilling says that although allowing an outsider full access to his files is troubling, the trade-offs are worth it. "We have more up-to-date methods of communication," he says. "And it's clear to me that CenterBeam can provide us with much better firewalls than what we were going to be able to afford on our own."
Finally, these kinds of standard services may not fill the needs of small-business owners who require custom configurations or who are devoted to particular brands of computers not offered by the service provider. And they certainly don't erase the need for customers to ask for written "service-level agreements," which describe the time frames in which consultants answer service calls, deliver hardware and software, upgrade equipment, and solve problems.
More to Come
CenterBeam and Everdream both call California home and at press time had only just begun to expand nationally. By the time these pioneers provide services nationwide, they could be facing fierce competition from large computer companies like Micron Technology Inc., which already offers a subscription service for small businesses. Meanwhile, a potential rival, Dell Computer, recently invested in CenterBeam's second round of financing, and CenterBeam has an agreement with Dell to supply its customers with the computer manufacturer's PCs.
Competition, of course, usually brings lower prices and better-quality service, which is good news for small companies that until now were unable to afford the kinds of services that their larger counterparts benefited from.
For people like Andy Schilling, Tangent's formerly frustrated president, these new services couldn't have arrived on the scene soon enough.
Anne Marie Borrego is a reporter at Inc.
The Nitty-Gritty
Company: CenterBeam Inc.
Location: Santa Clara, Calif.
Founders: Sheldon Laube, CEO, former CTO of USWeb/CKS; Glenn Ricart, CTO, former CTO of Novell; Marc Epstein, executive vice-president of product management and development, former CTO of Quarterdeck; Thomas Twietmeyer, CFO, former Autodesk executive
Employees: 70
Funding: $55 million in equity financing from Crosspoint Venture Partners, Accel Partners, Microsoft Corp., USWeb/CKS, New Enterprise Associates, Intel Corp., Dell Computer Corp., Impact Venture Partners, and Tangent Fund Management LLC
Buzz: $165 a month per user gets you Dell PCs, printers, high-speed Internet access, E-mail, a wireless LAN, Microsoft Office 2000, regular software upgrades, firewall protection, and 24-hour tech support. Dell recently announced an investment in the company, complementing a deal to supply CenterBeam customers with its own PCs.
Fine print: You have to make a three-year commitment to the service. If you're a hot dot-com, three years probably feels like a lifetime. Also, the CenterBeam monthly cost per user of $165 only applies to companies that need 10 or more machines. Prices are higher for companies with fewer users. Finally, you have to feel comfortable letting other eyes peer into your hard drives.
Company: Everdream Corp.
Location: Mountain View, Calif.
Founders: Russell Rive, CTO, and Lyndon Rive, vice-president of partnership development. The brothers Rive hail from the Republic of South Africa, where Lyndon established a successful catalog business when he was 17. Before founding Everdream with Lyndon, Russell picked up computer and sales experience at Zip2 Corp., an online city guide that Compaq Computer Corp. snapped up last year for about $341 million.
Employees: 70
Funding: $18 million from Canaan Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Ricoh Silicon Valley, and others. Investors include Jack Kuehler, former president and vice-chairman of IBM; and Stanford University.
Buzz: Like CenterBeam, Everdream operates on a subscription basis. Customers pay about $150 a month for their Everdream-branded computer, 24-hour IT support, a choice of dial-up or DSL Internet and E-mail service, business applications like Microsoft Office, nightly backup, online training courses, and virus protection. Everdream splits the hard drive into two parts -- one "locked down" part that handles the business-critical applications and another that's open to Internet downloads.
Fine print: As with CenterBeam, Everdream's technicians will have access, albeit limited, to your hard drives. You have to sign up for a 30-month contract -- that is, if you can get one. The company hasn't rolled out nationally just yet but plans to offer service outside California by the second quarter of 2000.
