When Chris Edington opened the doors of his web hosting company, he knew he was entering a saturated market. But smart thinking and an eye on international trends enabled him to quickly find a niche and establish a unique and differentiated offering.
Get Green offers carbon-neutral web hosting to green-conscious individuals, businesses and organisations throughout South Africa. “I did some research internationally and discovered that there were a number of green data centres. There was nothing like it in South Africa and I knew I’d found a gap,” says the Cape Town-based entrepreneur. The company houses its server in a Texas-based data centre that uses renewable wind and solar energy to power and cool the servers.
As the green revolution has grown in South Africa, so too has Get Green’s business. “We have definitely seen an escalation in demand as more and more companies seek to be environmentally conscious and sustainable. People are looking for ways to make a difference to the environment,” says Edington.
Get Green makes sure it’s easy for companies to go green, offering free domain, data, email and database transfers from their current web hosting provider. As a GreenPop partner the company is also able to pledge to plant at least one tree for every new customer that signs up. “Customers also get a ‘Gone Green’ badge to display on their website. Earth-aware consumers, who are seeking out green-conscious businesses, will be able to identify companies that have opted to have their websites powered by a renewable energy source through Get Green,” Edington explains.
But the company doesn’t only rely on its green credentials to compete. “We offer a highly professional hosting service that includes automated daily back-ups and dedicated account managers to provide clients with a single point of contact 24 hours a day, seven days a week via live chat or email,” he says.
Vital Stats
Player: Chris Edington
Company: Get Green
Started in: 2009
Contact:
+27 (0)21 422 0736;www.getgreen.co.za
