Voxel (Internap)

Voxel, founded in 1999 by Raj Dutt, established itself as a provider of scalable internet infrastructure solutions before its acquisition by Internap Network Services (now HorizonIQ) in late 2011. The company navigated the burst of the "dot com" bubble as a self-funded entity, concentrating on delivering managed hosting and solving complex scalability challenges for a loyal client base.

The business operated in the high-demand internet infrastructure market, catering to clients with significant bandwidth and traffic needs, including those in media streaming, online gaming, and financial services. Voxel's revenue was generated through its suite of services, which included on-demand dedicated and virtual cloud servers, a global content delivery network (CDN), and managed services for complex hosting deployments. The company's business model focused on providing a trifecta of reliability, scalability, and responsibility, backed by its own international IP backbone, a distinction from competitors who typically resell bandwidth.

Voxel's core product was its infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) offering, built upon a proprietary automation platform called VoxSTRUCTURE. This platform allowed for the delivery of both physical and virtual cloud servers. Key services included the VoxSERVER line, VoxCLOUD for cloud computing, and the VoxCAST global CDN. A significant feature was the flexibility to create hybrid environments, mixing dedicated physical servers with cloud resources within the same network. This capability, combined with premier datacenter facilities and its own global IP network, allowed Voxel to offer end-to-end performance guarantees. The acquisition by Internap was valued at approximately $30 million in cash, with an additional potential $5 million based on performance objectives. The deal expanded Internap's cloud-computing offerings, customer base, and global footprint, adding Voxel's locations in Amsterdam and Singapore.

Keywords: Voxel, Internap, cloud hosting, managed hosting, content delivery network, CDN, infrastructure-as-a-service, IaaS, dedicated servers, virtual servers, data center, IP backbone, VoxSTRUCTURE, Raj Dutt, scalable hosting, web hosting, network services