by Kim Hanson
The Financial Post, Thursday, September 7th, 2000.

Q9 networks: Biometric scanners, bulletproof station are part of secure site

A high-tech startup is building a $15-million state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Toronto's financial district in a bid to corner the Web hosting market, which is expected to be a $2-billion industry by 2006.

Q9 Networks Inc., set to formally launch later this month, is headed by serial entrepreneur Osama Arafat, who is also a partner at J.L. Albright Venture Partners, the venture capital firm that -- along with VenGrowth Funds -- has invested $26-million in the project.

Q9 has spent millions of dollars to construct a 20,000-square-foot facility that will provide a secure environment for customers who depend on their Web servers and other networking applications, such as e-mail, to operate 24 hours a day. In other words, Q9 guarantees it will keep Web sites up and running at all times -- and at all costs.

The elaborate security measures at Q9 resemble a scene from an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.

Helicopters are expected to land on top of the building on Saturday to install two diesel generators that have enough power to keep the building operating days after a city-wide electricity shutdown. Inside, a bulletproof guard station with reinforced walls, anti-hostage entrances and biometric devices that scan a person's thumb before granting entry have also been set up.

Mr. Arafat says such intensive security measures are necessary. Delays caused by technical glitches -- even those that last only a few seconds -- or unexpected events such as fires or floods could cost companies thousands in lost business each day.

"In Canada, nobody has started to address this market need and that's the opportunity Q9 is taking advantage of. We expect other competitors to emerge but we feel we're the first dedicated Canadian player in this market," Mr. Arafat said.

The launch of Q9 comes on the heels of the recent opening of rival Bird On A Wire Networks Inc. of suburban Mississauga, Ont.

Not surprisingly, it is not the first time the entrepreneurs behind the two firms have competed directly with each other.

In the mid-1990s, Bird On A Wire's Matt Harrop owned Interlog Internet Services Inc., an Internet service provider that competed with Inforamp Inc., a company headed by Mr. Arafat. Both firms eventually ended up being controlled by PSINet Inc.

"It's funny how history has a way of repeating itself," said Mr. Arafat, who by coincidence found himself taking flying lessons alongside Mr. Harrop.

Other players include Exodus Communications Inc., a U.S.-based worldwide leader that is now building a 150,000 square-foot facility in Brampton, Ont.