SG.GS: 25 Years of Connectivity

Twenty-five years is a long time in technology. In 2000, email hosting was exotic, websites were built with inline styles, and most people were still writing cheques to pay for services. The goal back then was simple: bring enterprise-grade email and web hosting to Singaporean businesses that didn’t even have their own domain names yet. 

What began as a small hosting venture grew into SG.GS – a global network carrier connecting hundreds of networks across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America. Our story has always been about more than cables and data centres. It's about people: customers who rely on us and the team that has built, managed, and grown SG.GS over the last 25 years.

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2000–2005: Enterprise Hosting Pioneers

The business started as a web hosting and email company: HostSG. We built a niche serving enterprise clients and a reputation for hands-on support. This wasn’t “submit a ticket and wait” like we so often see in business these days. It was “I’ll come to your office, set up your email client, and make sure it works before I leave.” Our entire rationale was to be present for our clients – a mantra that stays strong to this day.

Within a few years, HostSG developed and quickly evolved into what would become SG.GS as we know it today. Importantly, the network business was formally separated from HostSG – HostSG remained focused on enterprise hosting, while SG.GS specialised in building and operating networks.

That human touch has kept many customers with us for decades. We’ve always taken the time to understand their business needs, adapt to their unique challenges, and deliver reliable solutions they can count on.

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2006–2015: Building Resilient Networks (anti-DDoS to carrier backbone)

Fifteen years ago, DDoS attacks were hammering the hosting world. Our solution was unconventional at the time: build a global network to filter malicious traffic before it reached Singapore.

What began as a defence for our hosting customers quickly evolved into the backbone of SG.GS as a network carrier. We shifted from hosting to providing resilient connectivity, opening our network to others who needed protection and performance.

This was also the era when Shawn Ang, SG.GS' Managing Director, and our commercial team joined. Together, we built a regionally focused business that hired people who understood their markets – in their language, and on their terms.

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2016–2025: Expanding across APAC and beyond 

The years that followed marked SG.GS’ breakout from its Singapore focus. Instead of staying bound to one market, we pushed into emerging markets across APAC, laying down a presence in places often overlooked by larger carriers. This regional expertise – built by people who understood their regions – allowed us to deliver connectivity where others couldn’t. Or wouldn’t.

At the same time, we gained access to key Western hubs. London, Marseille, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles – SG.GS began interconnecting in some of the world’s most important data crossroads. In 2022, we sharpened our direction with a rebrand that aligned our technical depth with a refined international strategy. Today, in 2025, that expansion has continued, with increased network density in North America strengthening our global footprint.

Looking ahead, we see opportunity in Africa and Australia – two regions that, like APAC a decade ago, are on the cusp of explosive growth. Our approach remains the same: build ahead of demand, stay nimble, and keep people at the core of the network.

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People at the Core

Many of our technical team have been with us for 10–15 years, some since the very beginning. My philosophy has always been simple: hire people who are great at what they do, then trust them to do it.

That’s why you’ll still find me carrying network equipment through a data centre rather than sitting behind a desk all day. I’ve always been a technologist first, and I believe leadership means standing alongside the team, not above them.

This people-first philosophy extends to our customers. Unlike big telcos, where downtime often drags on while contracts are debated, SG.GS can reroute traffic instantly because we’ve built our network carefully with resilience as standard. And as a privately owned business, we put customer needs ahead of shareholder demands, investing in infrastructure ahead of time so our customers are always ready for what’s next.

From day one, we’ve been a remote-first company. We hire for trust and expertise, not proximity to an HQ. That means we don’t have Friday beers, but we do have an international culture built on trust, independence, and mutual respect. That flexibility has allowed us to attract and retain exceptional people, no matter where they live.

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Looking Ahead

Being agile has always been SG.GS' strength. We can deploy a new PoP or route in a month, not a year. We can act on what our customers tell us today, not what a five-year roadmap says.

The next 25 years will build on the same principles that brought us here: stay close to our customers, stay resilient, and put people at the core of everything. 

In the end, SG.GS isn't just about networks. It’s about the people who build them, manage them, and rely on them.

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To explore how SG.GS can support your regional infrastructure needs, talk to our team.