Choosing a Managed Hosting Provider

When choosing a managed hosting provider there are many things to consider. Different people have differing criteria as to what constitutes a good host, and different areas of hosting will be important to each prospective client.

There are many different types of managed hosting. Some are fully managed with everything taken care of for clients, while others are only partly managed. This means some parts of the hosting are managed while others are not. It is therefore important that you know what you are getting for your money. You don’t want to think that you are getting a fully managed service only to realise that you have to perform a lot of the hosting tasks yourself. People and companies have different interpretations on the definition of managed hosting so make sure you don’t assume something is included without having it confirmed.

When choosing a managed hosting provider it is best to focus on the areas that are most important to you. Everyone’s requirements are different so you need to find a host that performs well in the areas that suit your specific needs.

Bandwidth is one of the most important factors to many. Not having enough bandwidth could be problematic for large sites or if you have many visitors. So you need to be sure you have enough bandwidth for your needs. At the same time you don’t want to pay for unnecessary bandwidth as this will obviously drive up the costs. Of course you want some extra bandwidth in case it is needed unexpectedly. It is a similar principle when it comes to support. Not enough support could be an issue if you come into problems but you don’t want to pay for support that you are unlikely to use. If you have knowledge in hosting you may not want certain areas covered, but then you might not want the hassle of this. It may be important that the servers are monitored so any problems can be spotted.

You might want to consider the expertise of the managed hosting provider’s staff. After all, they are looking after the hosting of your website so they should know what they are doing. The experience of the host might also be something to consider, for example how long they have been in the business and how many clients they have had.

Price is inevitably a consideration. The saying, “you get what you pay for”, has often been used, and that can sometimes be the case. It isn’t always though and you can get deals from good quality hosts. The cheapest option is unlikely to be the best but that doesn’t mean you should use the most expensive. Price is one of many areas that can come into the decision of where to take your managed hosting.

It is always good to look at reviews of managed hosting companies. Don’t rely on reviews on their own websites, as they will only use the positive ones. Web hosting forums like web hosting talk, can be good portals to see what other have to say. Many who comment on web hosting forums have knowledge of hosting so know what they are talking about. Decisions shouldn’t be made on one or two good or bad reviews as these could be due to unreasonable clients or one individual’s experience. Look for patterns; if something has been said by many people it can probably be trusted.

There are so many areas of managed hosting that can contribute towards your decision. Some factors will be more important to you than others so this should be considered, and you should try to make the decision based on the balance between them.

Andrew Marshall ©

Popularity of Colocation

Colocation is a popular form of web hosting, where clients can hire rack space at a data centre to host their servers. This prevents them from having to host their own servers, saving on inconvenience and cost.

Colocation usage is increasing and is now one of the most popular types of web hosting. It is much in demand and more Colocation centres are being opened all the time. It is becoming big business and many data centres are continually investing in their infrastructure to provide the best service possible.

The Internet is more integrated into business than ever before. You rarely find a business that does not have a website, meaning millions of new websites every year. On top of this there are many information and personal sites; although most data centre clients are businesses. With the Internet being used for a wide variety of business purposes, complex hosting solutions are often sought after. They often require individual servers, with basic hosting not enough for many. This is one of the reasons why colocation is more in demand than ever before.

Data centres infrastructure is shared between many clients and this spreads the costs, meaning a cheaper service for clients. Everything that is needed for high quality hosting is in place. Many clients who require their own server would not want to go through the costs and effort to build the infrastructure required just for a single server. Therefore they turn to colocation where all this is already in place. This makes colocation both cost affective and less work than hosting your own server.

Support is another reason for colocation’s increasing popularity. There was a time when co-locating your server meant performing all hosting and maintenance tasks yourself. This can still be the case with some packages but support is often available. This is becoming more and more common. Sometimes this is merely support while at other times hosting can be managed by the data centre’s staff. This is referred to as managed colocation (like Managed Hosting but within a colocation environment). Many who require hosting do not have the necessary expertise but with managed colocation they can get the assistance they require. This makes colocation accessible to all.

Colocation services are improving all the time. There are more choices of colocation packages meaning a large number of website owners are able to find a package that suits them. With more websites being built all the time hosting is more in demand than ever, and colocation is a good choice for many. The most common clients are businesses who require their own server but do not want the hassle of hosting it at their own premises. They can host the server at a data centre, often meaning they have support at hand should they need it.

Andrew Marshall ©

VoIP Bans

Several countries have either banned VoIP or talked about banning VoIP over the last few years. VoIP is cheaper than other forms of telephony and some counties are looking at this as a negative for a variety of reasons. VoIP Providers can often be based anywhere in the world, so as opposed to telephone providers, the profits may leave the country. There are several reasons why VoIP has been banned in certain territories.

Part of the reason is competition. Some claim it is unfair on local telecommunications companies as VoIP providers can offer a cheaper service. This brings up the debate of a free market. Should it be completely free and open to everyone or should steps be made to support local business? If local business cannot complete should they just be allowed to go out of business? The increasing popularity of VoIP will obviously be bad for traditional telecommunications companies. Some have accused countries, such as Russia, of hiding behind the reason of unfair competition, with security being the actual reason.

Many telecommunications networks around the world are state controlled. Therefore VoIP can literally threaten governments’ income. This is obviously an incentive for countries to stop VoIP usage.

Whether or not telecoms companies are private or run by the state, it can still be bad for the economy. If overseas VoIP providers are taking the majority of the business, then certain parts of the national economy could suffer. This can lead to the loss of jobs meaning rising unemployment.

Some countries are concerned about security problems around VoIP. It is much more difficult to track VoIP calls than regular telephone calls. This is because signals travel over an Internet connection rather than a common telephone line that connects the entire network. This is partly as VoIP technology is relatively new though, and this could become easier as the technology is worked out. Some believe that tracking calls is necessary for national security reasons, while others think that tracking private conversations should be against human rights laws. Whichever side of the debate you are, it is something that some governments will take into consideration.

The debate of banning VoIP has taken place in countries such as Germany, Russia and the United Arab Emirates amongst other places. In Germany the telecoms provider Deutsche Telekom had banned the use of VoIP over their network stating unfair competition as the main reason. It looks as though this ban will be lifted though, but there may still be a surcharge. The banning of VoIP has been discussed in Russia but as yet there hasn’t been any ban. As mentioned above they have said it is for competition reasons, but many believe it is really because they would like to track calls easily. In the UAE VoIP is currently banned in certain areas, such as Dubai. However there are reports that this ban could soon be lifted.

Andrew Marshall ©

Business VoIP

Who can benefit from Managed Hosting?

For a website to be visible to Internet users you need webhosting. There are many forms of webhosting from basic hosting to more complex solutions such as Colocation or managed hosting. Managed hosting does what it says on the tin – you hosting is managed by the hosting provider. But who can benefit?

This option is mostly used by businesses, especially those whose staff have little or no experience of web hosting. Basic hosting can be relatively easy to run after a little research, even for those with no prior knowledge. But more complex packages are different. Those who don’t believe they have the necessary skills and are not confident that they can manage their hosting, often prefer to pass it on to someone they think they can trust.

Many business owners are not confident in web hosting problem solving. They don’t want to risk having their server down for long periods, an eventuality that could happen if server problems are not rectified quickly. Managed Hosting is sometimes chosen for this reason alone, as having a team of experts can both prevent many problems and solve them when they do occur.

For those who have lots of website traffic or need a high-end hosting solution, a dedicated server is often what is required. A dedicated server means a website (or a group of websites) has its own server, which isn’t shared with others. Most cases of managed hosting is where a dedicated server is in use. Having a dedicated server is more complex than being on a shared server and many aren’t able to control this themselves. It is harder for novices as it isn’t just simply controlled with a control panel (although some areas are).

Businesses usually want to spend the majority of their time focussing on their core business. They do not want to spend half of their time trying to figure out how to run their website hosting. Some will want to outsource all of their IT, while others may only outsource certain areas, such as the hosting.

The day to day running and updating of a website is not usually included in a managed hosting package. Hosting is related to the servers that keep the website online, not the website itself. This is more likely to be taken care of by website maintenance companies or the company who built the website. Some managed hosting packages do include website maintenance though. This may be an add-on on top of the hosting services, and therefore may be cheaper than hiring a company just for this purpose. Customers with very limited knowledge, or those who just don’t want to worry about the website at all, are those who will pay for this.

Administration is something that many people dislike, and they would rather pass it on to someone else if at all possible. Managed hosting sometimes includes certain admin tasks. Although it is rare that someone would pay for managed hosting just for the admin, if it is included it may encourage businesses to use the service.

There are many reasons why managed hosting may be chosen. Businesses are the most common customers, but others may also use the service. For basic hosting managed hosting is rarely the best option as it can be expensive, but for complex solutions it can solve a lot of time and stress and therefore can give value for money.

Andrew Marshall ©

More divorce after Christmas that at any other time

The New Year period is traditionally the busiest time of year for divorce solicitors. They have more enquiries that at any other time, and more couples enter divorce proceeding in the post-Christmas period of January and February.

Couples often spend a lot of time together over the Christmas period. Whereas the rest of the year they have the distractions of work, over the holiday period their personal life is what is most important and what they focus on most. For many this is a positive thing, but some may realise at this time that their relationship is not working. The lack of distractions outside of the family also means that you cannot get away from your problems at home in the same way. Another issue can be that couples are more likely to fall out and argue if they are spending several days together.

Divorce Solicitors have said that many of their post-Christmas female clients complain that there husbands have been spending Christmas in the pub and not with them. They had been hoping that spending time together over this period would help solve their marriage problems, but this has not been possible as her husband has spent much of his time elsewhere. It therefore ends up having the opposite to the desired effect. If couples realise things are not improving, the Christmas period is more likely to make up their mind about separating than any other time.

When a New Year begins people reflect on the previous year and look ahead to the next. In someone has been unhappy in their marriage they may reflect on this, and if they see no light at the end of the tunnel for the upcoming year they may decide a divorce is the best option. Another factor is that people think things will be different when a New Year begins, but in reality the calendar doesn’t change anything.

The stress of financial trouble is one of the most common reasons why families separate, and Christmas can be expensive. Existing difficulty with finances can get worse over this period and this can lead to increased problems within a marriage. Christmas has also been identified as the most common time for people cheating on their spouse. Festive activities such as office parties can lead to this type of thing, and inevitably end relationships in many cases.

Post-Christmas divorces are also more common due to people not wanting to get divorced prior to the festive season. Divorce Solicitors often receive enquiries late in the year but divorce proceedings don’t begin until January. Christmas is seen as a special time so people do not want to get divorced soon before. This is even more likely to be the case for couples with children. This means those who would start divorced proceedings anytime after September may wait until January, meaning there could be 3 months worth of divorces happening early in the year.

Andrew Marshall ©

Divorce Solicitors London

Is now a good time to start a VoIP business?

VoIP communication has become increasingly popular over the last few years. There are more VoIP providers than there have ever been offering a wide range of services, from cheap personal services, to complex Business VoIP solutions. So is now a good time to start a VoIP business?

The major negative of starting a VoIP business now is the saturation of the market, although there are still gaps in the market that have not been fully explored. There is a lot of competition meaning if you want to be a significant player you need to offer an excellent services. There are, however, many advantages of moving into the market at this time.

Unlike the pioneers of VoIP technology, the improving reputation of VoIP could be of use to newly formed VoIP Provider. The technology was once considered poor, and only a way of getting cheap calls. It was a case of choosing between quality (telephone) and price (VoIP). This is no longer the case to the same extent, and the technology has been steadily improving over the years. This means there are many more potential customers out there. With improved quality comes an improved reputation. Although many still think VoIP’s quality is poor, people are beginning to realise this isn’t always the case. Therefore, many are wiling to consider a switch to VoIP communication. The technology is still not perfect, but this could be looked at as an opportunity; those who can provide excellent call quality can rise above the competition.

Another major reason why now could be the right time to start a VoIP business is the global recession. Many people now feel they need a telephone of some description. With the recession, though, anything that can be provided cheaper is a plus point, as is the case with VoIP. The cost savings are something that can be an advantage for both individuals and businesses. Most businesses are currently looking to cut costs wherever they can, and this is leading to an increase in VoIP customers. It is one of the few industries that can actually benefit from such as economic downturn.

Landline telephones are less-widely used now than previously due to the popularity of mobile phones. An increasing number of people no longer have a landline and only use their mobile. This is especially the case with those who move house; the just don’t get around to having a landline installed. If they have a broadband Internet connection though, they can have VoIP installed without too much hassle. This could lead to significant cost savings compared with making all their calls on mobile phones.

There are many advantages of starting a VoIP business at present. From the recession meaning more people and business are looking for cheaper ways of operating, to the improved quality and reputation of VoIP, it is part of the telecommunications market where there is still plenty of room for growth.

Andrew Marshall ©

Why Colocation is Cheaper

There are several advantages to Colocation hosting. Amongst these is the price; it can be cheaper than some of the other hosting options. Although not cheaper than basic hosting, for those who have complex requirements it does offer cost savings.

With Colocation the same network is used for many servers, meaning several customers are essentially sharing the network. This can mean significant savings when compared to hosting your own server. The whole infrastructure is shared with the costs spread between the customers. The alterative would either be managed hosting, which is more expensive, or hosting your server yourself, which would mean having to invest individually in a lot of equipment. With Colocation the only major equipment you would have to purchase is be the server itself.

Bandwidth use is an area that can be a lot simpler and a lot cheaper if you choose Colocation. With most hosting packages you have a specific bandwidth limit, with a higher limit entailing a high price. If you unexpectedly need more bandwidth than normal you have a problem. This leads to most customers purchasing more bandwidth than necessary, something that obviously makes it more expensive. This basically works as an insurance policy. The fact that only certain options are available means that you can’t specify the exact amount and only choose the package that fits more closely to you requirements. This is not necessary with Colocation. There is a total bandwidth available for all the servers within a data centre and this is distributed according to what is necessary at any one time. There is always extra bandwidth so you do not have to worry about running out. If you only use a little bandwidth within a month, that is what you pay for. But if you use more than usual it is automatically added to your bill. This saves money when you use less than normal, but doesn’t cause any problems when you use more.

Hosting your own server will require employing your own IT staff specifically to look after the network. At a data centre, though, it is taken care of as they have plenty of support staff (depending on the data centre). They are there to support all customers so you are not paying for them yourselves, only contributing towards paying for it along with all the other customers. That the support staff are experts in their field means that you know they will do a good job, meaning value for money. You can therefore focus on your core business, saving time and money.

As a data centre has many customer, it means the provider can afford to keep the costs down. All services available are shared between all these customers, meaning you don’t have to worry about forking out a much larger amount for each area of hosting yourself.

Andrew Marshall ©