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The RFP Proposed Solution Unabridged Response

Frontier did a super job convincing us that it has the infrastructure, the skilled people and the processes in place to build a complete, high-performing outsourced hosting solution for Widgets R Us. The service provider bolstered its dependability claims by citing an impressive roster of existing clients, including Yahoo!, e-Toys, Playboy, USAToday and The Washington Post.

Additionally, Frontier owns and operates a fiber optic network of more than 20,000 route miles operating at speeds of up to OC-48 (2.5 Gbps). The company promised to assign every customer at least one technical account manager with a minimum of three years' experience in designing and maintaining sites as a sort of "personal Webmaster." Frontier claimed expertise in seven operating systems, a wide variety of network protocols, security solutions, management tools and databases. The company is clearly proud of its "bullet-proof class" data centers, featuring laser sniffers and lead-lined data tape vaults.

However, you'd need deep corporate pockets to foot Frontier's bill. And you'd have to take a lot of its promises on faith. The service provider fudged a little on the proposal by not providing specifics on an e-commerce solution. And sorely missing from Frontier's proposal was an SLA.

Frontier GlobalCenter, Frontier Communications, (408) 328-6000; fax (408) 328-4806. www.globalcenter.net

Cable & Wireless

The RFP Proposed Solution

For load-balancing, Cable & Wireless also recommended F5's Big/ip. Optional services included a managed firewall running Check Point Software Technologies software on Nokia hardware to prevent unauthorized access to business data and an IP-based VPN operating at 256 Kbps.

With 256-Kbps guaranteed bandwidth, around-the-clock monitoring, maintenance and optional support, plus five hours of technical support, the hardware and software package carried a price tag of $5,750 per month, plus a setup fee of $3,000.

Cable & Wireless may be the hosting company to watch. The company recently acquired MCI WorldCom's Internet business. And it is busy with an ambitious plan to build a new Internet network in the United States that includes two state-of-the art data centers.

As a Tier 1 Internet provider, Cable & Wireless claims a capacity of 2.4 GB per second and operating speeds of up to 622 MB per second. When a link averages 70 percent usage, Cable & Wireless implements a new link under its "no congestion" policy. Cable & Wireless' network management and service-management center are ISO-certified.

The proposal located the server at one data center (in Washington), rather than dispersing redundant servers across the country, which the other respondents suggested. Also, Cable & Wireless didn't give us a clear upgrade path or clearly indicate that it could give us advice on handling e-commerce. Finally, if you're squeamish about relying on a business partner in the midst of major changes, you might look elsewhere because this company is in the middle of a growth spurt.

Cable & Wireless Web Hosting Solutions, Cable & Wireless, (800) 955-5210; fax (703) 341-4616. www.cwusa.com