Managed hosting is a service wherein a third-party provider is responsible for the administration, problem-solving, and maintenance and organization’s hardware or cloud
computing resources. Usually, the company that provides the managed hosting also provides the dedicated servers or the cloud-hosting environment.
In order to establish a colocation hosting arrangement, the customer must have their own
physical server - one that they own. The customer isn't renting a server from the
hosting provider; rather, they are merely leasing space like they would at a rental
storage company. The customer physically transports the server to the colocation hosting
provider's place of business, typically a data center. The customer only rents space
within the data center or colocation site, but maintains ownership and control of all
hardware and software settings for that server. By communicating with the colocation
hosting provider's team, the customer can quickly upgrade or downgrade features like
bandwidth and rackspace to fit the business needs.
Different managed hosting providers offer different services, and different organizations want various levels of control when it comes to how their servers are managed.
Regardless, here are some of the managed hosting services that come standard from nearly every provider.
Security: One of the top needs of every organization is keeping its systems, processes, and proprietary information safe. Common functions performed
include:
- Firewall configuration
- Spam filtering
- Virus scans
- Operating system upgrades
Monitoring Servers:
Scanning servers to look for errors or potential threats is an important piece of maintaining a
server’s performance and security. The managed host provider does this routinely to catch little
glitches before they become major disruptions. Additionally, intrusion
detection systems or intrusion prevention systems help
mitigate server data breaches or unauthorized access.
Monitoring Servers: Scanning servers to look for errors or
potential threats is an important piece of maintaining a server’s performance and security. The
managed host provider does this routinely to catch little glitches before they become major
disruptions. Additionally, intrusion detection systems or intrusion prevention
systems help mitigate server data breaches or unauthorized access.
Backup and Disaster Recovery: Some companies fail to anticipate the threat of a
business-crippling disaster. According to InvenioIT, 30% of businesses have no
disaster recovery strategy in place. If that statistic doesn’t scare you, a study by Touche Ross
says that 90% of businesses that don’t have a strategy in place will fail.
Hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires all happen every year. A managed host provider can back up
critical information and processes so that your company continues to run smoothly
no matter what happens.
IT Support: This might be the most comforting feature offered by a managed
hosting provider. The more reputable providers have support in the form of telephone
operators, email responders, or live chat agents available 24/7/365.
Server Maintenance: As any IT person can tell you, this is a full-time,
painstaking job. Having a managed hosting provider in charge of your server’s lifecycle
frees up your own IT staff for more on-site functionality.
Benefits of Managed Hosting
The main advantage of managed hosting is easy to see: nearly any mishap that could that befall
your servers and networks are now the responsibility of another party, one that
stakes its branding and reputation on managing servers.
Other benefits are more subtle but can pay off in terms of lower costs and improved efficiency in
the short and long-term for your organization.
Reduced Costs: Hardware and its maintenance and upgrades are expensive, even if
they are tax deductible. The worst part is that when something breaks, you have
to replace it, and replace it fast, which means you can’t wait around for the best bargain. When
someone else is leasing you the equipment and maintaining it, all those costs
are rolled into your monthly fee, and any breakdowns are repaired seamlessly by the managed
hosting company.
Flexibility: No two businesses look alike and have the same needs, but when you
buy your own hardware, you’re might purchase something you won’t use to its full
capabilities. Managed hosting is a solution that embodies flexibility. Your organization’s
individual needs and budget will be factored in to creating a managed hosting
solution that works for you, minimizing waste.
IT Savings: Employing IT professionals can be expensive. Hiring a full-time IT
worker can feel unnecessary when they don’t really have 40 hours of work to do
each week, but when something fails, you’re desperate for their services. Having the built-in IT
services of a managed hosting company gives you the freedom to either give your
in-house IT team different responsibilities, or if there is no other role for IT in the
organization, reduce the position to a part-time or on-call role.
Made and managed in USA. No outsourcing, no finger pointing.
No up-front capital expense. One low monthly price.
