Managed Web Hosting

What is Managed Web Hosting?

The term Managed Web Hosting has come to mean different things to different people. All tasks related to the management of the web hosting service is entirely left to the company managing and providing the service, relieving the end user of the botheration of having to do these tasks.

How is a managed web hosting different from any other shared hosting? It is true that in any shared web hosting service the responsibility for all the tasks and services lies with the provider of the service. Thus the web hosting service provider is responsible for the environment, hardware, network and operating systems in any shared web hosting. The difference is that in Managed and Dedicated Web Hosting, you get a server all to yourself, whereas in shared web hosting, you share all the resources with a lot of others.

When to choose AVR Managed Hosting?

Managed web hosting is an ideal choice if your site has a heavy traffic and does a lot of business. Under these conditions, uptime is also likely to be critical to your operations. Basically you have three options to host your web site – shared hosting, own hosting and managed hosting. In shared hosting, there is a demand on the resources from a lot of other users also. This demand does not remain constant over time, but peaks at certain times and falls at others. Sharing resources with other users can create a lot of problems like sudden drops in performance. In shared hosting you are also constrained to accept the operating system and other environmental variables that are decided by the provider and given to you. As against these limitations, Managed hosting gives you greater freedom to manage your affairs, keeps you free of the vagaries imposed by other users on the system, and puts control in your hands. The flipside is that it is also costlier than a shared hosting. So you’ll have to weigh the benefits against your requirements, and decide whether the additional cost will be worthwhile.

Suppose you decide that you need something better than shared web hosting, why should you not go in for your own server. You certainly can, if you have the resources, skill and time to manage all the tasks associated with hosting a website and maintaining the server, network and the environment. However, that is usually a tough task and might be worthwhile only if you are in the business of hosting or a very big corporate group. For all others, Managed web hosting is the best alternative.

Issues that will help you make a decision

Some of the specific advantages of Managed web hosting – the issues that you need to weigh in terms of their importance to your application – are given below.

Performance

In Managed Web Hosting, you can expect a better and more consistent performance, as compared to shared hosting. If performance is important to you and your site involves a large number of transactions, your preference should be for a Managed Hosting solution.

Flexibility

Would you like to have the system software of your choice? If your answer is yes, there’s a good case for you to opt for Managed Web Hosting. Before rushing to say yes, however, you should ask yourself whether it is really important to you, and if so, why.

Scalability

Scalability is important if you foresee a situation in the future when you are likely to require more resources. This can happen because of an expanding business. If you see your business as having a potential for substantial expansion in a comparatively short time frame, scalability might be important to you.

Security

Perhaps one of the most important considerations is security of your data and applications. It’s not as if a shred hosting is insecure and you will lose your data to others. However, if your data is sensitive, you have greater need for security and it would be better if you opt for a Managed Web Hosting solution.