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BURLINGTON, Mass. (August 06, 2002) InvisibleHand Networks, Inc. today announced that ClearBlue Technologies, Ltd. will use the Merkato™ software platform to introduce Europe’s first bandwidth-on-demand marketplace for IP service providers, content providers and enterprises to buy and sell IP capacity. IP bandwidth users will be able to acquire capacity based on need, real-time demand, and dynamic market pricing, thus avoiding long-term committed rate contracts and 95th percentile billing.
ClearBlue Technologies, an emerging global managed services provider, will use InvisibleHand’s Merkato™ software platform to create a dynamic marketplace, giving their customers the ability to purchase IP bandwidth with complete flexibility and granularity by purchasing bandwidth in as little as 5 minute increments, creating significant advantages in a highly competitive market. Select content providers and enterprises will participate in the first phase of implementation now underway. The second phase will include Tier-1 IP bandwidth service providers as seller participants and will increase the number of buying participants. This will enable both service provider-to-service provider and service provider-to-enterprise transactions.
The marketplace will deliver significant and immediate benefits for both buyers and sellers:
- Buyers will purchase IP capacity as they need it at an optimal price that is dictated by the dynamics of supply and demand. As a result, buyers reduce overall transit costs by being able to buy on a granular basis while gaining the flexibility to meet unanticipated bandwidth needs due to sudden spikes in user demand.
- Bandwidth providers will be able to sell IP capacity at dynamic market prices within minutes, increasing revenues by squeezing efficiency from under-utilized capacity.
ClearBlue expects to leverage the offering to increase its market share by providing attractive bandwidth pricing to its enterprise customers and efficient delivery for its carrier clients, while maintaining its carrier-neutral stance.
“We are dramatically changing how bandwidth is bought and sold by creating a real-time market that’s more profitable for carriers and more economical for customers,” said Gabriel Ruhan, CEO of ClearBlue. “The demand-based pricing model immediately makes all transactions more efficient and flexible– both carrier-to-carrier, and carrier-to-enterprise. With Merkato, ClearBlue customers get more choice and control."
InvisibleHand’s Merkato software platform enables a demand-based marketplace that automates price discovery and negotiation, leveraging economic theory and patented market mechanisms. Transactions can be made manually or automatically through intelligent software agents, according to each customer’s needs. IP capacity is allocated in real-time in as little as 5-minute increments. The software is easily integrated with major network elements and billing systems.
Implementation begins immediately in London, England where ClearBlue’s European operations are based. The company also operates carrier-neutral data center facilities in 20 cities throughout the US. ClearBlue’s customers include large Tier-1 carriers, regional ISPs, technology-based businesses, corporate enterprises and investment banks and financial services companies, which count on ClearBlue to manage and support a broad range of data services.
“Customers are demanding flexible solutions for bandwidth needs that are rapidly growing, but remain highly unpredictable and bursty,” said Jim Brown, president and CEO of InvisibleHand Networks. “At the same time, service providers are seeking new ways to drive revenue using the networks they’ve spent billions of dollars constructing. This new liquid IP exchange meets both groups’ needs for revenue, cost-effectiveness and flexibility, and positions ClearBlue at the forefront of an emerging market.”
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InvisibleHand Networks, the InvisibleHand Networks logo and Merkato, are registered trademarks of InvisibleHand Networks, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Founded in 1998, InvisibleHand Networks is changing the way bandwidth is bought and sold. InvisibleHand’s innovative software platform, Merkato, enables customers to dynamically price, sell and allocate bandwidth, creating “bandwidth-on-demand” services coupled with real-time market pricing and instant delivery.
InvisibleHand participates in the Cisco sponsored Service Provider Solutions Ecosystem Program, which helps speed time-to-market of service providers and their solutions. The company is backed by Polaris Venture Partners and the Community Technology Fund at Boston University. InvisibleHand Networks, Inc. is based in Burlington, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit http://www.invisiblehand.net/
ClearBlue Technologies Inc. is a privately-held managed services provider based in San Francisco, California. Through its broad portfolio of carrier-neutral data centers in the US and UK, the company provides a comprehensive and fully integrated suite of hosting, IT security and professional services. For additional information about the company, visit www.clearblue.com
Company contact:
Kristi Williams
InvisibleHand Networks, Inc.
(781) 743-0363
kristi@invisiblehand.net
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