With multiple customers dating back more than 20 years, Datomedia shows that it knows a thing or two about delivering a great service. An Openprovider customer since 2016, Datomedia is also a valued Openprovider Member.
Located in Spain’s Valencia region along the country’s idyllic white-washed Mediterranean coast, this web hoster refuses to conform to the slow-pace of life sold by travel magazines. “Effort has its rewards,” says CEO Xavier Fernandez. “We don’t believe in luck, we believe in hard work.”
Fernandez is immensely proud of his roots and Datomedia’s Mediterranean DNA. “Valencia is passion. If we do something, we go all out and put all our effort into making it something unique.” That passion is visible across its suite of hosting services. And in the case of Xavier, it’s something that has been building since he was a child.
Hands on from day one
“I’ve been connected to computers my entire life,” says Xavier. “It all began when my father bought me a Spectrum computer when I was five or six years old. I remember all those hours waiting for software to load from tapes and my first software transcriptions from magazines to the computer.”
Xavier used the first family PC to build software for a neighbor’s car rental business. He was ten years old. Later, during the mid-nineties, he began accumulating first-hand experience with internet service providers (ISP) and hosting companies, getting a taste for various positions related to computing.
And then came the moment.
But it wasn’t really one moment as such.
“Datomedia was born accidentally,” Xavier says. “It was more an evolution of a personal project I was working on. Like many companies in this sector, we started by reselling services from other providers. First with reseller packages, and later switching to virtual servers. With each little step, we gained more control of the business, and the natural step was to start hosting our own servers.”
The world, at that time, was Datomedia’s oyster. But globalization had ramped up at break-neck speed, turning entire markets upside down in an instant. “Faced with a globalized hosting services market, where large groups control the market,” says Xavier, “we saw the opportunity to offer a proximity-driven service with personalized support that large companies could not offer. There will always be someone bigger or cheaper than you – our local focus guided us to become a major player in our geographic zone by providing a hyper-personalized service.”
Going from being a service reseller to a service vendor was a big deal, and for Datomedia it didn’t come without its challenges and doubts. “We had to trust in ourselves and our own infrastructure,” he says before once again turning to the positives. “Having control of the entire process has allowed us to offer an impeccable service without dependence on third parties.”
The secret to a great service
By taking a local-first approach, Datomedia was able to position itself close to its customers in every sense. “The most common mistake is trying to compete on price with the big players in the industry,” says Xavier. “We have learned that our clients are not with us because we are the cheapest but because we offer a great service. This is a crucial factor behind having a strong retention rate. The cost of customer acquisition in our industry is too high – it’s really easy to lose a customer but we are proud to have customers who go back more than 20 years.”
More than customers, Datomedia sees them as partners. The feeling, it seems, is mutual. “By establishing long-term relationships with our clients we manage to become an extension of their companies.”
The transition to service vendor was a steep learning curve but Xavier underlines the importance of staying true to organizational principles during moments of disruption and flux. “work hard, always listen, and if we ever fail, analyze why and correct it.” Thanks to a laser focus, it quickly found its niche and identified consistency as the roadmap for long-term, sustainable success. “It is not an easy path but in the end you will see the fruits,” he says. “Our growth has always been very steady, without peaks and troughs. For me, this has been one of our greatest achievements because it has allowed us to maintain our essence instead of becoming just another web hoster.”
When speaking to Xavier, it’s clear the importance he places on building partnerships with all stakeholders in Datomedia’s sphere. “With our suppliers, we establish relationships with key companies in the sector that add value to our company,” he says. “In the case of Openprovider, it has allowed us to increase our domain portfolio and not worry about this area in a completely transparent service and non-intrusive with our activity model with excellent technical support.”
The challenges of being an entrepreneur
Reflecting on life as an entrepreneur, Xavier echoes the challenges that most CEOs of small businesses that are growing face. One is delegation. “Until you acquire a certain volume everything goes through you,” he says, “and this dependence on controlling everything makes it difficult to delegate to others.” But Xavier is well aware that growing pains are a sign that a business is heading in the right direction and eventually it becomes impossible for CEOs to control everything. The transition from a do-it-all Superman to efficient delegator requires one key ingredient: people. “Surround yourself with people who know more than you and offer a service as you would like to receive it,” he says. “Our people are vitally important to us. We encourage them to feel part of the company, we make them participate in all the important decisions that are made – we don’t have employees, we have colleagues.”
And with those passionate words, Xavier is ready to get back to work.
