At Blacknight we’ve always made much of being Irish. Partly, that’s because we operate internationally; you notice your nationality more when abroad. It’s also because we’re proud of our culture and heritage.
We’re especially proud to have built a world-class domains, hosting and cloud services company in the rich countryside of South-East Ireland. We’re proud to own and manage our own network and infrastructure, and that all our servers are on Irish soil (and protected by EU law).
And we’re especially proud to have created more than 4o jobs, which sustain Irish families and contribute to the economy.
Being ‘Guaranteed Irish’ is nothing new for us – we’ve always been that way. And as the Guaranteed Irish symbol was relaunched and rebranded recently, we decided it was time to make it official. We’re delighted to join an organisation of companies that provide quality jobs, support local communities and are committed to Irish provenance.
We’ve issued a press release to mark the announcement. Full details are below.
Blacknight Web Hosting Gets ‘Guaranteed Irish’ Recognition
“Truly Irish web hosting, with servers in Ireland, supporting jobs in Ireland”
Ireland’s leading web host and domain name registrar, Blacknight, has been awarded the Guaranteed Irish symbol, in recognition of its role as an Irish-owned business providing quality Irish jobs.
Founded 15 years ago by Michele Neylon and Paul Kelly, the company has grown to employ more than 40 people in Carlow, Wexford and Dublin, and is now the largest Irish-owned web hosting and domains company.
Blacknight hosts more websites than any other Irish company, and it is also a leader in domain name registrations, especially for .IE, the country-code domain for Ireland.
Today they serve more than 84,000 customers in 130 countries, with Windows and Linux-based shared hosting plans, dedicated servers and colocation, email, backup, security and digital marketing tools, and an easy-to-use website builder for customers who want a DIY website.
In 2014 the company opened its own data centre in Carlow, and it also manages hosting facilities in Dublin, satisfying the geographical diversity needs of clients with disaster-recovery requirements.
Since then, they’ve moved to position themselves as a one-stop-shop for SMEs, especially with the addition of services like Office 365. The company is a Tier One provider for Microsoft Cloud Services, and a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner.
The proposition is attractive for many SMEs who don’t have the resources to maintain their own dedicated IT teams. Blacknight’s call centre in Carlow provides technical support and advice across the full range of their services.
“Many companies offer cloud-based services which seem like great value until you need to talk to someone”, explains Michele Neylon. “We learned early on that customers appreciate real contact with a dedicated support person – and it’s been a key differentiator for us”.
The strategy has resulted in an extraordinary level of loyalty from customers, many of whom enthusiastically recommend Blacknight in social forums and discussions about web hosting services. The company encourages customers to share their honest reviews on a site called Trustpilot, where it maintains a consistent five-star average.
Neylon points out that the focus on customer service is underpinned by a strong commitment to technological excellence.
“We’ve worked hard to have the fundamentals right from day one”, he says. “We own and manage all our infrastructure and network, peering directly at multiple points of presence and internet exchanges. Our Information Security Management System is certified to ISO 27001”.
So why did Blacknight seek Guaranteed Irish certification? “Guaranteed Irish is an essential mark for us actually”, says Neylon. “Irishness has always been an important hallmark of our brand. Ireland is a symbol of quality in the Internet industry, whether it is because of the leading role played by Irish technology pioneers, or the success of multinationals who have made their homes here, or the assurance of EU data-protection legislation. And as an indigenous Irish SME which has built its business organically, our message to customers is that we understand Irish business, and we can help”.
Brid O’Connell, CEO of Guaranteed Irish, has welcomed Blacknight.
“I am delighted to welcome Blacknight, the largest Irish-owned web hosting and domains company, to Guaranteed Irish. The company has gone from strength-to-strength and their success story has had so many positive effects for Irish jobs as well as Ireland’s reputation in Internet technology”.
“The reason we’ve chosen to join Guaranteed Irish is simple”, added Michele Neylon. “We offer truly Irish web hosting, with servers in Ireland, supporting jobs in Ireland. We think that’s something to be proud of”.
ENDS
About the Author: Conn Ó Muíneacháin
