Monday, December 29, 2008

Data Hosting Options

Dear Metro -

I would like have my business intranet hosted with a reputable company. What are the different types of data hosting available?

Phil, NC

Dear Phil,

Depending on the size and function of the data that you need hosted you have several options.

In the traditional web-hosting situation, a website (or web-based application) is hosted with a hosting company. Usually the hosting company would house several of client-sites on one server, since one would not utilize all the available space.

For bigger companies a dedicated server becomes a viable option. This not only allows for more data to be hosted, but the added security of not having to share the server space with other clients. A dedicated server, however, is more costly, than a shared server environment.

In both of these options, the server(s) would reside in the hosting company's data center--away from the client's facilities.

Another option is managed services, where the servers would exist at the business' location and a managed serviced company would come in and take care or upgrades and maintenance. This is an option for the business owner who likes having the servers on-site, but does not want, or is unable to afford the full-time staff necessary to manage the data and IT needs of a company.

The last of the most popular choices is co-location. This is where a business would choose to have their server(s) housed in another company's data facility. These can be managed or not, and can be a good option for many businesses, especially where this is available.

Data hosting options really need to be customized to your business' specific needs. If you would like to talk to us at Converged Network Services Group, please give us a call at 1.866.738.1662.

Metro
CNSG-USA

No comments: