Czech Republic: Navigating Through the Shared Hosting Market with Albina T., Gransy

The Czech Republic is a unique market because of the country’s history. Having close ties to the Russian-speaking world, the country is now a part of the EU, and it greatly affects how businesses work. This is also true for the shared hosting market, as Albina T., the International marketing coordinator of Gransy.cz shared with us. In the interview below, she shared with us how their company navigates working internationally, having clients and locations in both the EU, and the Russian-speaking world, and what were the developments so far.

Czech Republic and Sales Strategies

Gransy.cz and What It Does

In the words of Albina, Gransy.cz is a worldwide domain registration company, and it was the first hosting company in the Czech republic to be accredited by ICANN. However, it’s not just one company: under a single name, they represent different companies and services, with each company aiming for a different audience. Here are the main companies:

Regnames.ua is the latest addition to the family of the companies. 'Regnames was for us a door to Russian-speaking markets. It allowed us to start in Ukraine, and then expand into neighboring countries. Russian-speaking markets are different to European markets, and we got a chance to understand them better,' says Albina.

The company also provides a white labeling system for resellers, which allows them to become full-service provider registrars under their own brands. The company now has AnyCast DNS available in every continent, even in Africa.

Launching Into the Czech Market

Becoming a registrar in the Czech Republic is different from what many post-Soviet countries are used to, in that it’s more similar to the processes in the EU. The process doesn’t require as much paperwork and is considerably easier. For example, only 5 years ago, in Ukraine, to register a hosting business, the companies needed to go through tedious paperwork, and the digital version was not available: everything should’ve been done in hard copies, and delivered by post. 'However, they are restructuring now, which simplifies the work both for companies and the clients, and the process is much faster,' mentions Albina.

This lack of bureaucracy also allows for automation. Every service is automated, which means clients can buy a domain. and prolong it in a matter of minutes. It simplifies the process for the company, the support team, and the clients. Same the transfers and other operations.

Catering for Clients: Gransy Experience

When it comes to customer-facing operations, many things depend on the customers. For example, the company provides support in Czech, Russian, Ukrainian, and English. In the case of Gransy, it’s hard to say which language people prefer more: Russian-speaking markets prefer to have support in Russian or Ukrainian, and the international market prefers English, while in the Czech Republic it varies. Czech and Slovak clients both are good with the support in Czech, but younger people know English increasingly better and are equally willing to use it when contacting support. People support companies having 24/7 support even on weekends, and even use social media for support as well. It’s common for people to text the company on Facebook or Instagram asking for solutions to their problems, and they usually expect a swift reply.

Czech Hosting Market Prospects

According to Albina, the Czech hosting market is growing and hasn’t reached its potential yet. Currently, there are more than 300,000 registered .cz domains as businesses increasingly use the local TLD. People buy hosting both in the Czech Republic, and other countries, because they don’t differentiate between the EU countries much. 'Whether they host their website in the Czech Republic or in Germany, they know that it’s still EU, and it’s still safe, so there is not much difference for clients,' tells Albina.

Many hosting companies operating in the country go international, but mainly to Russian markets. The reason behind this is often the language barrier they have with EU countries.

Payment Methods

The currency of the country is the Czech Koruna, and it’s offered as one of the default payment methods, alongside euros and dollars, which are mainly used by international clients. Bank transfers, credit card payments, and PayPal are equally popular payment methods in the country. Gransy also offers options to pay by cryptocurrencies, however, they are not very popular. The average price for the service is around 50 Korunas, with different price points available, and are equally popular. Some clients are ready to pay any money to get a quality service, while others are willing to sacrifice the quality and some functionalities for a cheaper service.

Website Builders

According to Albina, website builders are very popular in the Czech Republic. 'Because not everyone has the skills to create a website, and many don’t have the resources to hire professional developers, website builders are a popular tool among businesses and individuals both the Czech Republic and EU general.'

Final Thoughts

Standing at the intersection of the Russian-speaking and European hosting markets, the Czech Republic is a unique market in many respects. Benefitting from the easy processes and speed of the EU, it gives companies access to many countries, giving a glimpse of the business processes there during the process. So if you are looking for a new market for your hosting business, the Czech Republic may be one of the best places to start.