Exodus Communications

Exodus Communications

Company type	Public
Industry	Web hosting, Internet service provider
Founded	1994
Founder	BV Jagadeesh, KB Chandrashekar
Defunct	2001
Fate	Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; acquired by Cable & Wireless
Headquarters	Santa Clara, California , United States
Products	Web hosting services, data center operations, server colocation, Internet services, DataVault (storage as a service)

Exodus Communications, once recognized as the leading global provider of web hosting services, focused on data center operations such as retail and commercial server colocation, while also functioning as an Internet service provider catering to dot-com enterprises. Established in 1994 by BV Jagadeesh and KB Chandrashekar, Exodus experienced rapid expansion—averaging 40% quarterly growth over 13 consecutive quarters—and went public in 1998. The company achieved a peak market capitalization near $32 billion by 2000. However, following the collapse of the dot-com bubble, Exodus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2001 and was subsequently acquired by Cable & Wireless.

Exodus was at the forefront of several Internet technology breakthroughs, including launching the first "storage as a service" cloud solution named DataVault, created in partnership with Cisco and Sun Microsystems—this innovation preceded Amazon’s S3 service. The tape backup portion of DataVault was eventually sold to Sanrise Inc. Furthermore, in 1999, Exodus introduced the inaugural global anycast Domain Name System (DNS) utilizing its worldwide BGP autonomous system.

The company broadened its footprint through strategic acquisitions such as American Information Systems, Cohesive, Arca Systems, and Network-1’s professional services division. Under CEO Ellen Hancock’s leadership, Exodus acquired Global OnLine Japan (GOL), Japan’s pioneering ISP, in December 1999. In collaboration with Nomura Research Institute, Exodus inaugurated a Tokyo Internet Data Center (IDC) in April 2000. Later that year, in September 2000, Exodus agreed to acquire GlobalCenter—the web hosting division of Global Crossing—for $6.5 billion in stock; however, by the closing date in January 2001, the stock valuation had declined sharply to $1.95 billion.

In January 2003, Cable & Wireless Japan divested Global OnLine Japan to Fusion Communications, which integrated consumer Internet and VoIP offerings into Fusion Network Services; this entity was eventually absorbed by Rakuten Group. Subsequently, in March 2004, SAVVIS acquired Cable & Wireless America along with Exodus's assets. In February 2005, Cable & Wireless Japan sold its IDC operations to SoftBank Group.

An interview featuring founder BV Jagadeesh offers valuable perspectives on Exodus’s engineering innovation and operational management.