Most of us are familiar with the popular shared hosting environment. It’s where you share a server with multiple other clients with a resulting modest cost. Shared hosting is a cost-effective solution for millions, and has served us well for years.

Shared Vs Dedicated Servers?
As a business owner, however, shared hosting may not be your optimal or even preferred solution. Enter dedicated hosting solutions. A dedicated server provides dramatically increased security, flexibility, customization, and reliability. It goes without saying, or should, that any business involved in serious e-commerce should seriously consider dedicated hosting. In a shared hosting environment multiple webmasters leave you vulnerable to increased risk, whereas a dedicated server is yours and yours alone.

Virtual private servers are another superior option we’ll discuss in future issues, and certainly have benefits over the shared hosting environment – but for purposes of this discussion, we’re talking about a physical hosted server.

Total Control Minus The Hardware Costs:
Importantly, a dedicated solution provides you with total control without the expense of maintaining hardware and an unwieldy internal IT staff. Your webmaster and/or your hosting provider can customize the server to your exact business requirements. This might include back-end enterprise solutions, specialized e-commerce applications, increased security and many other custom or preferred applications your business requires. Automated software license renewals, custom backups and hosting IT support are very real and measurable benefits.

All very nice, you might say, but what about the cost? Almost universally, studies show it is far more cost effective to “lease” a dedicated server or servers than to maintain the effort internally. Just as your business offers particular and unique expertise to your customers – reputable hosting companies employ the technical and physical assets required to provide the best technical and physical support for you, their customer.

We’re glad to answer any questions you might have, as well as define the important differences between various hosting options. Please feel free to contact us anytime!