These days a debate among IT professionals about which hosting option is the best solution colocation or managed? On the one hand, many professionals swear by colocation.
They are savvy about managing their server and bandwidth needs. They use a colocation service because it saves them money and gives them reliable access to a robust network. Other companies are choosing to go a different direction. They are opting for a managed hosting solution. They do not want to get their hands dirty when it comes to any aspect of maintaining their online presence. They are content knowing their web presence is being managed while they handle their other work.
Hosting Provider Must Meet Stringent Requirements
Choosing the best colocation provider for your needs is an individual decision based on industry requirements and compliance necessities. They may need to control every aspect of their data and IT infrastructure so having physical hardware in a NAP is the way to get the job done efficiently.
They will likely select a provider on a few crucial details such as their commitment to security and the quality and redundancy of their connections. A few factors they will not be able to live without are selecting a data center with on-site support. That means they have well-trained, full-time staff working and available to help. They will also offer a choice of carriers. They should have access to most vendors you require.
They must guarantee up-time, have a secured facility, and provide you with access to their data center. You must also be able to get into the data center when you want to perform maintenance or upgrades.If you opt instead for managed co-location, you can leave this aspect of your account management up to the hosting company’s support team.
Managed Hosting Can Be Stress Reliever
Managed hosting offers a different set of features and functionality. Companies that choose to go this route want a “hands-off” experience. They are not looking to be responsible for all aspects of server administration. In fact, they are looking to leverage the expertise of a remote expert team to handle these technical tasks.
Managed hosting providers help clients with setup, configuration, ongoing maintenance, and will also provide support when something goes wrong.
The customer is off the hook when something breaks and won’t have to go it alone when they are looking for configuration help. Stable hosts have staff on hand 24/7, so there’s no need to wait.
24/7 Monitoring Helps Your Provider Spot Problems Fast
Perhaps most importantly of all, the hosting company will monitor all hosted virtual servers. That is a big deal because it means they can fix issues as they arise proactively. Bug fixes and security patches are immediately and routinely applied.
For any business that is not up to speed on security, it is a wise decision to leave the job to experienced vendors. If you decide to handle it all internally, you will need adequate staff and training. Problems will pop up.
Managed service accounts ensure the clients do not have to deal with routine issues like installing SSL certificates, migrating old data or websites, or configuring firewalls.
Not only that, backups are a big part of this type of service so losing data becomes a thing of the past. Security and pricing may be the determining factors on whether to go with colocation vs. managed hosting.
Updates and Maintenance Are Time Consuming
Don’t overlook just how time-consuming installing updated and general maintenance. It is crucial to have staff on-hand to ensure these operations go smooth. Leave that up to the remote team when you are confident they will handle it better than your team could.
The remote support team will also stay on top of server optimizations, ensuring speedy performance at all times. No one wants to deal with a slow server.
Visitors do not want to wait around for the page to load and search engines push slow loading sites down in their rankings! Avoid those issues and gain the benefits of a professionally maintained service instead.
Managed Services Offer the Best of Both Worlds
For clients who want the convenience of managed hosting combined with the flexibility of colocating their servers, they can choose managed colocation services. This way their remote support team will handle server hosting requirements for them. This type of service means that companies that are not nearby can rely on the data center support team to handle emergencies.
Since fully-managed colocating of servers has become more popular, it allows consumers a solid choice to select data centers that are not near to them physically.
Traditional co-location would typically require a visit to the hosting site for installations or upgrades and repairs. When you offload support to the host, you no longer have to concern yourself with these details.
Customers still own all their equipment with managed colocation services. They just aren’t on their own when it comes to integration, setup, and maintenance. This extra support eliminates one of the most significant issues of concern, but with the added benefits that colocating equipment providers in the first place.
Any company that’s deciding between managed hosting vs. colocation must consider whether they need to own their equipment.
If they do not need to, they may think about using a virtual server solution. However, if they want the benefits of using your own servers, choosing managed or unmanaged colocation is the most reliable option.
Colocation vs. Managed Hosting Is a Matter of Priorities
Details to consider are bandwidth costs, whether or not you need support, and the reputation of the hosting provider.
Once you weigh all of these factors, you are in a position to determine the most appropriate course of action for your internet presence.
Managing your own servers may end up saving your company money, but only in the scenario where you have the staff needed to do the job right. Security of your IT systems should always be considered.
If your company is not able to handle the tech work then managed hosts will become your best bet quickly. There’s nothing worse than causing downtime because of an upgrade. That can happen anytime someone with no experience attempts to perform routine maintenance on a cloud virtual hosting service. Scripts break and hardware fails and those are just simple facts of life.
If you want to avoid the headaches associated with doing your administration you may be best served to turn it over to professionals. They are your best option to ensure your website is rock solid and always performing at its peak.
