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The Revised Managed Hosting Best Practices

Posted by QuoteColo on February 02, 2015 - Updated on March 03, 2016

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Managed hosting today, regardless of the size of a business or the type of industry involved, can be tricky. Companies offering managed hosting need to be able to provide their users with the type of high quality services they need and expect. The following are the top best practices for managed hosting companies to follow today if they hope to do well and navigate the perilous world of web hosting.

High Quality Hardware Is Important

Managed hosting companies should always be able to offer the best quality hardware they can. While it does not always have to be at the high end of the market, the hardware does need to be reliable and able to stand up to the strains and stresses that it will have to face on a regular basis. High quality servers that can provide a stable environment and that can stand up to a large volume of traffic are very important. Using enterprise grade equipment is the mark of a great company. Unfortunately, some of the low tier companies out there are using bottom of the barrel equipment, and the customers are the ones who will ultimately suffer for this.

Improvements on Security

One of the fears that many companies have today is that the security for their sites simply is not good enough. This is a very real fear and a threat that companies of all sizes face. The attack on Sony is a good recent example, but it is just one of many. The managed hosting provider needs to be able to ensure a higher level of safety for the businesses working with them. This includes network and server security, naturally, but it also includes the actual physical safety and security of the machines.

Fast Disaster Recovery

A managed host needs to have a plan for disaster recovery, so that the businesses using their services never have to worry about the dreaded downtime. Managed hosts need to explain and demonstrate to their customers what they will do in the event of hardware failure. Businesses are using colocation and cloud hosting so they can avoid potential data loss and downtime. Managed hosting companies today need to provide their clients and customers with the assurance that they will have their site up and running no matter what might happen.

Dedicated Support

A managed hosting company can’t survive if it is unable to offer its customers dedicated support. Having the data center up and running around the clock is vital, but that can present a number of challenges. Managed hosts have to have enough personnel on the job to handle any potential issues or disasters that could crop up and that need actual human intervention and attention. Without dedicated staff for support, customers will start to look elsewhere for their hosting needs. More support is always better than not having enough, but this is an area where many companies still falter.

Different Options and Structures

All businesses are different, and that means that two companies, even though they might be similar in structure and size, may have very different requirements when it comes to their hosting needs. A great managed hosting company will have a number of different tiers and options to help accommodate these differing needs. Offering different levels of service is a practice that many of the top hosting companies offer today, and it’s something that any new hosting company should seriously consider.

Some types of businesses, for example, need to be able to meet certain IT requirements in order to operate legally. Medical facilities, for example, need to abide by HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. If a hosting company hopes to work with these types of companies, they need to be able to ensure that their clients can stay in compliance.

Guarantees for Uptime and More

Customers want to ensure that their site is up for their customers all the time, so they are looking for a company that can offer guaranteed uptime. This is standard with managed hosting companies today. They will guarantee 99% or even 99.9% uptime. Most of the time, the hosting company will be able to meet those numbers with no problem. There will be no unplanned downtime. However, in the rare event that there is an issue, it’s important that the host provide some recompense for the company using their services.

Provide Clear Documentation and Reports

Companies offering these hosting services need to be very clear about what they are offering. Provide the customers with clear documentation of the services. Provide customers with data and reports on their usage as well. The more information you are able to offer the customers the better.

Be Honest About Experience

Customers are looking for managed hosting companies who have the skills and knowledge it takes to help them. Naturally, they want to work with companies that have a good reputation and plenty of experience in the business. It is important that the hosting company is honest about their qualifications, as it is easy for customers to check on their veracity in the Internet age. The host needs to let the customers know what they can do for them and what makes them the best option.

Great Managed Services

A managed hosting company naturally needs to provide the best quality service for their customers as possible. They need to provide help with all aspects from the hosting to server setup and more. The key to getting business is to provide a wealth of different types of services such as managed security and storage, critical application services, managed databases, and managed virtualization. By offering more services, it can entice more customers. However, it is important to have enough personnel to actually be able to meet the needs of all of those customers.

Provide a Fair Price

Companies that want to do well as managed hosts need to make sure that they consider the price they are charging for their services as well. Cheapest does not always equate to the best, nor does being the most expensive. Managed hosting companies have to charge fair rates for the services they are providing, while still being able to make a profit. Having prices that are comparable to or even slightly less than the major competition can be a boon, but the success of the host really comes down to all of the other factors in this article.

Customers today want to deal with only the best. They have sensitive information and data they need to keep secure, they want to have guaranteed uptime, and they want to be able to work with a great host without spending a fortune. Hosts need to consider all of these different elements when they are running their business. These are the “best practices” that managed hosts should offer their customers, as it is certain these are the things that clients will want to know when they are choosing a company.

Meta: Companies offering managed hosting services today need to make sure they follow the best practices listed in this article. It helps them to provide the best possible service for their customers, and that means more business and a better bottom line.

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