Laposta
Laposta: At BIT, we can gradually transition to more and more managed services.
In 2011, Stijn van der Ree, along with a partner, launched Laposta: highly privacy-focused and user-friendly email marketing software. For the first few years, they handled everything themselves, from developing the software to maintaining and managing the infrastructure. However, with the company’s current growth – Laposta now has an impressive 40,000 users – this approach is no longer sustainable. At BIT, Laposta can gradually transition to more and more managed services.People Define Service Quality
Laposta sought a new partner after being dissatisfied with their previous data center’s service. From day one, privacy has been a top priority for Laposta. It was a clear decision that the new data center had to be located in the Netherlands and fully compliant with all security and privacy certifications, including ISO 27001. Laposta also had strict requirements regarding the availability and security of the data center. But as Van der Ree points out, “The quality of service is determined by the people who work there. Especially when you plan to use managed services like we do. In that case, you’re investing in more than just power and rack space.”
Combining Own Hardware and Virtual Machines
This is where BIT stood out. We had discussions with four different companies, and BIT was the only one where we immediately sat down with the engineers. It led to a completely different conversation compared to talking only with salespeople. I was able to ask all my questions right from the start. They asked relevant counter-questions and provided real answers,” Van der Ree shares. Laposta had no doubts and chose BIT with confidence. Even after that, the communication remained strong, he says. “Before the move, we developed a plan and decided on a mix of our own hardware, which we purchased through BIT, and virtual machines. I also have admin access to all the machines, allowing me to make changes within our own environment. This level of flexibility is very convenient and quite rare.”
No Compromises on Uptime
What appeals to him most is that BIT always prioritizes availability and reliability, never making any compromises. Van der Ree explains, “I know some data centers push the limits on the number of clients they run on a virtual machine, assuming that not all clients will use the server capacity at the same time. BIT takes the opposite approach, ensuring safety by reasoning: what if all clients did want to use the capacity simultaneously? Will it still perform efficiently?”
Rapid Response Time
Another advantage he appreciates is the quick response time. “When I call or email, I get an immediate response. That’s something we weren’t used to with our previous data center provider, where we’d get a ticket that seemed to disappear into a black hole.”
“Now, we immediately reach someone who knows the ins and outs. It makes a world of difference.”
Located in the Netherlands
For Laposta, it’s crucial that both BIT data centers are based in the Netherlands. “This sets us apart from other email marketing providers like the U.S.-based Mailchimp. We are a processor under the GDPR. Our clients import their contact lists into our environment, and these files cannot leave the EU. While this was mainly a concern for governments and healthcare organizations in the past, we’re noticing that it’s becoming an increasingly important factor for a growing number of organizations.”
Supporting Growth
Van der Ree is pleased with his decision to partner with BIT, especially now that Laposta is growing rapidly. “Aside from word-of-mouth, our main marketing tool is that you can use our software for free with up to 2,000 email addresses. Many volunteers at associations get introduced to Laposta this way. They’re all very satisfied with its user-friendliness: even without design skills or knowledge of a content management system, you can start using the software. When they later seek an email marketing solution for their business, we’re at the top of their shortlist.”
This leads to rapid growth, which in turn increases the need to expand our services with BIT. “We’re in a transition phase, moving from pure colocation to fully managed services. Currently, we’re in a hybrid stage, doing some things ourselves while outsourcing others to BIT. I find it extremely beneficial that BIT is flexible and allows us to transition at our own pace towards fully managed services. I think it’s rare to find other data centers that listen so well and align with their customers’ needs. They more than deliver on the promises made in the initial conversation.”
