Enabling ISP services.

• Author: Beers, Heather
• Position: Tech Talk

Problem: Over time, a university's colleges and departments develop several subnets with disparate access and authorization infrastructure.

Solution: IKANO Communications integrates the entire system by developing Internet access and services that bear the brand--the logo and identity--of the university. Information security is ensured by a Virtual Private Network that allows students or faculty to enter only authorized areas, University IT labor for Internet services is reduced and the university offers the branded IP services at a nominal mark-up to faculty, alumni and friends.

Over the past decade, more than 250 universities, telecommunications companies, healthcare organizations and others have turned to Salt Lake City-based IKANO for solutions to their IP problems. In the past five years, IKANO has experienced a revenue growth rate of 240 percent. Earlier this year, Inc. magazine ranked IKANO one of the "Inner City 100," a listing of the fastest growing companies located in Americas inner cities.

Henry Smith, IKANO CEO and chairman, says, "We believe we've just scratched the surface."

IKANO started in 1991 as a wide area network integrations solutions company. With the Internet's acceleration in the mid-90s, Smith and co-founders, his wife Doris and CTO Jeff Madison, saw opportunity in offering outsourced ISP services and private-label Internet solutions.

Today, IKANO enables any company, organization or affinity group to become an Internet Service Provider, without investing in expensive hardware or infrastructure. IKANO's comprehensive suite of branded services includes Internet access, web hosting, mail hosting, dynamic portals, instant messaging, proprietary filtering and more. Its business and accounting solutions enable customers to provide seamless end-user registration, credit verification, account billing, money transfer and technical support. IKANO also staffs a large call center where end-users receive branded customer service.

The company's extensive infrastructure includes three network operation centers and...