Managed hosting removes the complexity of building and managing the entire IT ecosystem. Specialist managed service providers take responsibility for the entire IT operation, such as procurement, server monitoring and management, and day-to-day business operations.
Building a suitable data center and hosting environment requires teams of expert personnel, engineers, and analysts capable of designing, building, and managing every component that makes up the IT platform. Trying to do all this in-house is a complex and challenging task, and that is why managed cloud server hosting is so important.
In this article, we’ll break down what managed hosting is, how it stacks up against unmanaged hosting, and give you the info you need to choose the best service for your business.
The Key Benefits of Managed Hosting Services
First, let’s look at some of the key reasons business leaders choose managed hosting:
#1: Enhanced Security
Cybersecurity is one of the most important and challenging aspects of modern business. Security must be a top priority for any business that has any form of online presence or relies on any cloud or server-based services.
Cyber challenges and the threat landscape are constantly changing. Data breaches and security vulnerabilities have the potential to cripple businesses, leading to financial losses, reputational damage, and legal repercussions.
Managed hosting can step in to deploy proven security measures that ensure your network infrastructure remains protected at all times. Here are some of the core security protections you should expect from your managed hosting partner:
Firewalls: Advanced firewalls filter incoming and outgoing network traffic, blocking unauthorized access attempts and potential threats at the network perimeter. For your web-based applications, it’s highly recommended to also invest in a Web Application Firewall (WAF), typically a software-based firewall that can be dynamically updated to respond to changes in the threat landscape.
Intrusion Protection Systems (IPS): An IPS actively monitors network activity, identifying suspicious patterns and potential intrusions, allowing for swift response and mitigation. An IPS works seamlessly with SIEM platforms to alert the relevant support personnel if a security baseline is breached.
Regular Security Audits: It’s highly recommended to complete thorough risk assessments, security audits, and complete vulnerability scanning at least once every 6 to 12 months. Additionally, it’s essential to implement any necessary improvements, ensuring your systems remain up-to-date and protected against the latest threats.
Data Encryption: Sensitive data must be encrypted both at rest and in transit. We recommend a minimum of AES256 encryption standards to add an extra layer of protection in case of an unauthorized access breach, plus SSL certificates to validate your ecommerce sites. Remember, Atlantic.Net offers free SSL certificates with our Managed WordPress hosting!
DDoS Protection: Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks can overwhelm your servers and disrupt your business operations. Managed hosting employs DDoS mitigation integration to absorb and deflect such attacks, ensuring your services remain available to your customers.
Patch Management: Regular update scans will identify potential hotfixes for your systems. Manufacturers and software vendors frequently release security patches and updates to improve application protection. Ensure these updates are applied on a regular, and ideally scheduled basis.
Compliance Assistance: If your business operates in a regulated industry (e.g., healthcare, finance), a managed hosting services can help to ensure that you meet the necessary compliance standards, such as HIPAA or PCI DSS.
#2: Server Maintenance and Monitoring
Another major benefit of choosing managed hosting is server management. Maintaining optimal server performance requires constant attention and technical expertise. Managed hosting takes on the responsibility of server monitoring and maintenance, ensuring your systems operate at peak efficiency 24/7.
Managed Hosting providers like Atlantic.Net offer a service wraparound that includes alert response to common system alerts such as low disk space, high CPU, or low memory warnings. Managed services exist that enhance the service; our engineers can be involved as much (or as little) as you want.
Other popular server maintenance tasks include:
Hardware and Software Updates: Regularly updating server hardware and software is essential for optimal performance and security. Managed hosting handles these updates seamlessly, minimizing downtime and ensuring compatibility. Remember that the underlying infrastructure is also entirely managed by the hosting provider.
Server Backups: Data loss can be catastrophic for businesses. Managed hosting implements reliable backup strategies for your systems. This ensures that your critical data is protected and can be easily restored in case of unforeseen events.
Proactive Issue Resolution: With continuous server monitoring, potential issues are identified and addressed before they escalate into major problems, minimizing downtime and disruptions to your business. Analysis of regular issues helps improve overall server performance and improves reliability.
Load Balancing: As your business grows, traffic to your applications and services may increase. Managed hosting can implement application load-balancing techniques to distribute traffic evenly across multiple servers, ensuring optimal performance and responsiveness even during peak periods.
Performance Optimization: Hosting management experts can fine-tune your server configurations and optimize resource allocation to enhance performance and speed.
#3: Cost Savings
Managed hosting introduces significant cost savings because it eliminates the need for expense outlays on hardware procurement, licensing, support, and data center costs. Managed hosting offers predictable monthly hosting plan fees by using a pay-as-you-go model, allowing for better budget planning and eliminating unexpected expenses associated with purchasing hardware, maintenance contracts, and engineer visits to fix problems.
You can also purchase long-term usage plans, typically from 1 to 3 years. This introduces further cost savings because the rate you pay is much lower than the pay-as-you-go price. This is a fantastic option if you know what hardware you need for the foreseeable future. Extended payment plans are popular for database servers which remain online 24×7 and are rarely decommissioned.
Additionally, managed hosting eliminates the need to hire in-house system admins to manage the server environment. This can lead to significant cost savings for businesses and is one of the major benefits of managed hosting to senior management.
#4: Scalability
Business needs change over time, and as your business grows, your managed web hosting solution should scale to accommodate increased traffic, data storage requirements, and application demands.
Managed hosting service providers offer flexible plans that allow you to easily upgrade your hosting resources to accommodate additional resource demands. Scalability ensures optimal performance and responsiveness even during peak trading periods such as Black Friday and Christmas.
#5: Expert Support
Technical issues can happen at any time, potentially disrupting your business operations and causing frustration to employees and customers. Managed hosting offers round-the-clock technical support, ensuring expert assistance is always at your fingertips.
Providers are expected to offer dedicated 24×7 support teams that are trained to troubleshoot a wide range of server-related problems, providing timely solutions and minimizing downtime. Professional support means you have access to a knowledgeable team whenever you need them.
#6: Focus on Core Business Goals
From the feedback we get from our customers, one of the most popular benefits of managed hosting is that it gives the business back the opportunity to focus on running their business. Customers are no longer fighting with their IT systems or struggling to get things working because Atlantic.Net’s experts now manage the systems, giving the customers their precious time back to focus on what’s important to them.
By offloading day-to-day business operations and server management, businesses can dedicate their valuable time to helping their customers and driving innovation.
#7: Access to the Latest Technologies
Technology in IT is constantly changing, with new software, hardware, and security protocols emerging all the time. Keeping up with these advancements can be challenging (and expensive), especially for businesses with limited IT resources.
Managed hosting partners with hardware technologists to get access to the latest technology, plus they have the required capital to invest in the latest hardware, ensuring your infrastructure is always up-to-date and equipped to handle the demands of modern business applications.
#8: Improved Website Performance
Website owners know that speed and performance are crucial for user experience and search engine rankings. Popular services like managed WordPress hosting are available too.
Managed hosting providers use various techniques to optimize website performance, such as:
Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): Edge network services like CDNs distribute website content across multiple content servers (caching) around the world, ensuring fast loading times for visitors regardless of their location.
Server-Side Optimization: Managed hosting can fine-tune server configurations and optimize code to enhance website performance.
High Performance Server Hardware: VPS servers with SSD storage and advanced Intel processors offer excellent performance for your web server.
#9: Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Unforeseen events such as natural disasters, hardware failures, or cyberattacks can disrupt your business operations and lead to significant downtime. Having a reliable web hosting provider that can offer managed disaster recovery capabilities is essential, especially if you need compliance hosting (such as HIPAA) where Disaster Recovery is a required part of compliance.
Redundant Infrastructure: Data is often stored across multiple cloud servers in various locations, ensuring that even if one server fails, your data remains safe and accessible. Having redundant server infrastructure means that if one of your servers fails, a like-for-like server is available to automatically pick up the workload
This also applies to backups where the hosting company keeps copies of your data safe in different locations, essential if you are hit by a disaster where your online store or e-commerce sites are taken offline.
Failover Systems: In the event of a server failure, traffic is automatically redirected to a secondary server, minimizing downtime and ensuring business continuity.
Regular Testing: Managed hosting providers regularly test their disaster recovery plans to ensure they are effective and can be executed swiftly in a crisis.
#10: Customization and Flexibility
Managed hosting providers like Atlantic.Net understand that businesses have unique needs and requirements. We know that one size does not fit all, and because of this, we offer a range of customizable solutions, allowing you to tailor the hosting environment to your specific needs.
This can include:
Choice of Operating Systems: Select the operating system that best suits your applications and workloads. Our VPS servers are available with a choice of Windows Server or Linux Operating Systems. Or if you opt for our co-location hosting you can use whatever operating system you want, Hyper-V, VMware, AIX, I-Series – it doesn’t matter.
Software Installation and Configuration: Managed hosting providers can help install and configure the software you need to run your business. We are partnered with all of the major software and hardware vendors, and we can offer competitive licensing options. Just get in touch to learn more about how managed hosting works.
Resource Allocation: Customize your shared and dedicated hosting server resources, such as CPU, RAM, and storage, to match your specific requirements. All of our servers use SuperMicro Servers with genuine Intel CPUs, all our storage is at a minimum SSD with NVMe options available. We even have dedicated hosts if you need extra power.
Managed Services: Choose from a variety of managed services, such as database management, security monitoring, and application optimization, to further enhance your IT infrastructure.
What Is the Difference Between Managed vs. Unmanaged Hosting Services?
Now you know what Managed Hosting offers you. But did you know that with Atlantic.Net you can also go down the Unmanaged Hosting route? Understanding the key distinctions between managed and unmanaged hosting is crucial in selecting the right solution for your business.
Unmanaged Hosting: The DIY Approach
DIY Server Management
You have complete control over your dedicated server or cloud servers, meaning you get to decide how it’s set up, maintained, and secured. This level of control is ideal if you want to fine-tune every aspect of your server environment to match your exact needs.
Hybrid Technical Support
Atlantic.Net support teams are always available, even for our unmanaged hosting clients. We know that some of our customers have teams of IT experts in-house, so we are more than happy for you to handle any technical concerns; just remember, we are here if you need us.
Cost
Unmanaged hosting typically comes with a lower price tag, making it an attractive option for businesses on a tight budget or those who want to maximize their resources. You only pay for the server itself, without any additional fees for management services. It can eliminate some costs associated with managed hosting.
Flexibility and Customization
With unmanaged hosting, you’re not bound by any pre-defined configurations or restrictions. You can install any software you need, configure the server to your liking, and experiment with different setups without having to seek approval or assistance.
Overall, unmanaged hosting is a good option for businesses or individuals who:
Value Control: Want complete control over their server environment.
Have Technical Expertise: Possess the technical skills to manage a server effectively, including things like running backups, software upgrades, and basic security measures.
Seek Cost Savings: Want to minimize hosting costs.
Need Flexibility: Require a high degree of customization and freedom to experiment.
While unmanaged hosting offers many benefits, it’s essential to be realistic about your technical capabilities and time commitment. If you’re not comfortable managing a server or don’t have the resources to dedicate to it, managed hosting might be a more suitable choice, especially if you value things like 24/7 support, customer data protection, and having a hosting company handle the technical side so you can focus on your core business and customer relationships.
Remember, whether you choose unmanaged hosting, managed VPS hosting, managed WordPress hosting, or even shared hosting, the key is to select the hosting service that best aligns with your needs and resources.
Why Choose Atlantic.Net Managed Hosting?
We know that selecting a reliable managed hosting provider is a critical decision that can impact your IT infrastructure’s performance, security, and overall efficiency. When you choose us for your hosting, you get so much more:
Performance and Uptime
Our platform is architected durably and robustly. Our engineers have spent years perfecting our platform. We are that confident in the service that we offer class-leading 100% uptime SLA.
Security Features
Security is key with Atlantic.Net. With our managed hosting you get access to security measures such as firewalls, intrusion protection systems, data encryption, multi-factor authentication, Network Edge protection, and more to protect your critical business information.
Scalability
With Atlantic.Net, your business can grow and scale as needed. All our services can scale up as needed to provide greater performance, and more storage, of a bigger hosting plan. We have flexible plans that can easily scale to accommodate your business growth.
Technical Support
Our support teams are all based in the United States. We offer around-the-clock support, every day of the year. The team is available via phone and email. We also offer professional support services for your next project.
Customer Reviews and Reputation
Atlantic.Net’s hosting platforms are award-winning. Don’t just take our word for it; check out what our customers say.
Pricing and Value
Compare our pricing plans with different providers, and you will see that we are competitively priced and offer more bang for your buck.
Multiple Hosting Choices
Consider whether you need to opt for shared hosting, dedicated servers, dedicated hosting, virtual private server (VPS) hosting, or cloud hosting, depending on your traffic levels, resource requirements, and budget.
Atlantic.Net: Your Trusted Managed Hosting Partner
At Atlantic.Net, we offer a range of award-winning managed hosting solutions tailored to your unique requirements. Our team of experts is dedicated to providing exceptional service, ensuring your network remains secure, performs optimally, and scales seamlessly with your business.
Contact us today for a free consultation and discover how we can help you achieve your IT goals with a customized managed hosting solution.
