Complex Hosting: A Look at Managed, Enterprise and Application Web Hosts
Not all Web hosting solutions are created equal. Shared or dedicated Web hosting is suitable for fairly simple requirements, but there's an entire market for solutions that require additional support, resources and availability. Three of the most popular options are managed Web hosting, enterprise hosting, and application hosting.
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Managed Web Hosting
Managed Web hosting is a step above typical dedicated server hosting; it is a dedicated server with additional technical support. It's ideal for companies who only need a dedicated server (or a slightly more complex setup) but don't have the in-house resources to handle server administration. Instead of having to worry about managing the server, customers rely on dedicated account managers to provide technical support and conduct administrative tasks on their behalf (managing the server).
Because it's a step above dedicated Web hosting, managed Web hosting service starts at under $200 monthly. However, prices vary greatly depending on the hardware, network and support configurations required. Companies evaluating managed Web hosting services often require more than one server.
Enterprise Web Hosting
When a company's Web hosting requirements expand beyond a server or two, they begin to become complex. At this point, companies typically investigate enterprise-level Web hosting solutions.
Enterprise Web hosting environments are designed to be high-capacity, redundant hosting solutions. As such, they require more than a dedicated server. They are comprised of multiple servers that are load balanced, connected to large-scale databases, backed by security appliances and generally are developed by network architects.
Application Service Providers (ASPs)
Like enterprise hosting, application hosting (generally provided by application service providers, also known as ASPs) is a vague term. Salesforce.com, for example, is an ASP, but only for a specific line of proprietary hosted software. Some companies use ASPs to host standardized applications like Microsoft Exchange, and benefit from not having to manage software updates; others use them to host their own software developed in-house.
Regardless of what applications they opt to host, all ASPs have one commonality: they have all opted to provide a service based around offering an application online. As a result, like enterprise hosts, they back their applications with high-availability networks and redundant systems.
Evaluating an enterprise host or application host
As a company's Web hosting requirements become more complex, they become more difficult to compare solely on price. While price can certainly be a factor, it's important to also consider the following when evaluating a managed, enterprise or application host:
· Does the hosting company offer a stringent service level agreement? For example, a Web hosting company may promise 100 percent uptime, but what is their definition of "uptime?" Does that exclude 10 hours a month for maintenance windows? · Is technical support offered 24 hours a day, seven days a week? Enterprise and application hosting solutions are almost always mission critical; if you need support in the middle of the night, you should be able to get it. Downtime typically equates to lost revenue for companies that rely on enterprise or application Web hosting. · Not all data centers and networks are created equal; many enterprise and application hosts don't own their data centers. They lease space from other providers. Make sure your hosting configuration will be placed in a top-tier data center with redundant connections, backup generators, cooling systems and disaster recovery procedures. · Beware of companies masquerading as enterprise hosts or ASPs when they are, in fact, low-end shared or dedicated hosting companies. Enterprise or application hosting should not cost $5.95 a month.
Once your Web hosting requirements move beyond the solutions that shared or dedicated Web hosting can provide, you should have advanced expectations: reliability, availability and support. All reputable managed, enterprise and application hosts will guarantee a reasonable level of each; don't put your mission-critical hosting requirements in the hands of a company that won't.
