It can often be better to pay for what you use rather than what you think you’ll use. For many types of services there are payment options whereby customers can pay what they use rather than an overall service charge.
The obvious example of this is with gas and electricity. These are always paid for according to usage. It wouldn’t work in any other way as it varies depending on the time of year; the heating required is very different in the middle of winter compare to the middle of summer. While gas and electricity has traditionally worked in this way, there are a number of other services that are now available on a pay-as-you-use basis.
Mobile Phones
Mobile phones is one well-known example of a service where you can pay for what you use, rather than paying an on-going fee. With a pay-as-you-go package, the only initial payment is to purchase the phone. Once this has been paid for customers simple top-up their phone with a certain amount, which then runs out once the credit has been used up. Except for emergency calls, no more calls can be made once the credit has been used until it is topped up once more. Topping up a mobile phone has been traditionally done through top-up vouchers purchased from outlets such as newsagents and supermarkets but can now also be done online, over the phone via credit card or debit card or at some ATM’s.
The alternative to pay-as-you-go are contracts with the mobile phone provider. Here, the phone costs less, and is sometimes free, as the provider is tying customers into an on-going contract. A contract requires a customer to make a monthly payment and in exchange they receive a certain amount of call time and text messages without incurring any extra charge. More calls can be made (and more text messages sent) additionally to this but they will cost more.
For those who make a low number of calls or only use it for an emergency the pay-as-you-go option is likely to be more cost-effective. On the other hand, a contract is the better option for those who use it more regularly. A contract can often be tailored to the needs of the customer and it is likely to prove cheaper in the long run.
Web Hosting
Traditionally, web hosting is paid for by paying a monthly fee to a web hosting provider. This will include a particular amount of disk space and bandwidth being dedicated to a website. When deciding on a package or the type of hosting they require, website owners must try to anticipate the amount of traffic the site will attract. This is not always easy and getting it wrong can mean ending up with too little bandwidth (meaning people won’t be able to view the site) or too much (resulting in paying more than is required). Cloud hosting is a solution. It allows customers to pay for the hosting resource that they require at any particular time. When additional resource becomes necessary it is automatically dedicated to a site. This is then charged for, but is only charged for when it is being utilised.
Cloud hosting is a good option for websites that have fluctuating traffic levels. It prevents them from being left short or having to pay for something all year round that is only required during busy periods.
Andrew Marshall ©
No comments:
Post a Comment