Comparison of Managed Hosting Providers & Service Providers

Managed Hosting Provider Definition: What are Managed Hosting Providers?

There are basically two types of hosting - self-hosting and managed hosting. In the case of the former type, users are responsible for managing their servers. They therefore need to have a certain amount of know-how. There should also be sufficient time, or specialized personnel, for the care of the infrastructure. In the case of managed hosting, on the other hand, a provider or their team takes care of all the technical management. This relieves the clients, who can thus focus on their core business. In detail, customers of managed hosting rent a server infrastructure. They then have it operated by the respective service provider to a predetermined extent. Managed hosting providers usually tailor their services individually to the needs of their customers. It is also possible to use several dedicated servers. Furthermore, additional components and services, such as data centres, connectivity, load balancing and high availability setups, firewalls, switches, monitoring, backups and patch management, can usually be integrated. With managed hosting, all work for the provision and operation of one or more servers is taken over by the provider. The latter guarantees a smooth functioning of the entire infrastructure. All to-dos are recorded in the service level agreement. In case of non-compliance with this agreement, the provider is obligated. To clarify: while a managed hosting service is normally fully responsible for the server infrastructure, it does not assume responsibility for the maintenance and control of the hosted resources. This is entirely in the hands of the clients.

Why should companies use managed hosting providers?

Resource planning is an economically and organizationally crucial process in companies. Here, capital, means of work, personnel, technology and other typical business elements are coordinated. It is important to calculate as detailed as possible from an early stage in order to keep the risk of being confronted with a shortage of material and manpower or financial loss in the long term as low as possible. Hosting is often forgotten in the respective planning. Nevertheless, it is extremely important for the reliability of processes and the advancement of a company in the respective market. Web hosting, for example, forms the basis for the internal IT infrastructure, central business and customer data or for the company's website. The required server structures must meet different conditions depending on the size, growth and general business orientation of a company. This does not only concern the required hardware, but also the long-term administrative needs associated with it. Both the internal planning and procurement of specific servers and the ongoing administration are a huge effort. Only a few companies can or want to do this themselves. The often ideal solution for these challenges: a managed hosting provider.

How do Managed Hosting Services operate?

Managed hosting offers are similar in their basic functioning. They all provide customers with server infrastructures, the administrative effort of which is usually completely taken over by the respective provider. But there is a basic functional difference. Thus, managed hosting providers are divided into two models: managed server providers and cloud hosting providers. The main difference between managed cloud hosting and managed server hosting is that the cloud server is a virtual machine, while a managed server is a physical computer.

Managed Hosting in the Cloud Cloud servers are located on high-performance physical servers. A special software creates an environment in which the physical computer and the virtual cloud server remain independent of each other. This means that it is possible to operate several virtual servers on one physical machine or run a virtual server on various physical machines. A typical cloud platform consists of many real servers, each hosting a number of virtual servers. One important advantage of virtualization is that cloud servers can be moved between various computers. In case of a hardware failure, the virtual server can be moved to another physical server and continue to run - without downtime. Even when an entire data center goes offline, the server resources hosted there can be quickly outsourced to another. For this reason, some cloud hosting providers can now guarantee 100% uptime. One of the biggest advantages of the virtual environment is that the servers can be operated like software. If a new cloud server is needed, it can be created and used on short notice. If needed, additional computing resources, such as storage space and RAM, can be added. Another advantage of cloud hosting, very closely related to the previous one, is its free and automatable scalability. Companies that need more data processing resources can get them at their disposal immediately. Unexpected surges in web traffic and large data analyses are possible without delay. There is not even any need to add anything. The cloud always follows the most efficient path without human intervention. Ideally, cloud users never get into a situation where the demands on the server resources exceed the capacities. Critical applications or important processes are therefore always available. The switch to a cloud environment also makes financial sense. Because cloud hosting can be much cheaper than using a managed server. The costs for hardware management of such instantly available virtual servers are usually borne by several clients. This saves a lot of expenses for individuals. In addition, the cloud is usually billed according to the pay-as-you-go principle. So, you only pay for the resources you really need. If the performance has to be temporarily increased, clients do not need to upgrade their package or buy a new server. They only pay for the additional resources needed.

Managed Server Providers A managed server is a real or physical server. All resources equipped on it are usually intended exclusively for a single company. The setup of such a computer takes significantly longer than that of a cloud server, due solely to the hardware configuration. Here, clients can choose, among other things, the CPU model, the number of cores, the memory as well as the storage type (SSD or HDD) and of course the size of the hard drive. Due to the possibility to fully control the configuration of such machines, they are also referred to as dedicated servers. Everything about them is aimed at serving the requirements of the clients. The biggest advantage of a managed server lies in its great performance capabilities. Such computers normally provide better computing and IO performance than cloud servers: especially when the server uses multiple high-speed CPUs, SSD hard drives and a lot of DDR5 RAM. If clients need even greater capacity, this can be achieved by clustering multiple managed servers. Financially speaking, managed server hosting usually involves more effort than cloud-based server hosting. All dedicated resources must be paid for by the respective clients. As a managed service, hardware maintenance, operating system updates and patches are generally included in the package. Many providers also offer uptime guarantees. Therefore, critical applications can also be hosted here. Managed servers are generally versatile in use. They are most often used for hosting large, heavily frequented websites, for databases and for special web applications. They are particularly popular among companies that store sensitive information and have to comply with strict regulations. This is why dedicated managed servers are so interesting, as they, unlike cloud hosting, do not operate as part of a network. The hardware cannot be claimed or affected by various users. Due to this isolation, a managed server is safer for storing sensitive data and applications.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of managed hosting providers?

Using a managed hosting provider can bring many benefits. The key benefits are summarized below.

• Increased flexibility: Deciding on managed hosting gives companies the flexibility to quickly expand or reduce their capacities. Teams usually take a long time to adjust server resources with internal hosting. In addition, experts must be present in the company for internal hosting. They can't be added or reduced without further ado. It takes time to hire and possibly train suitable staff. Instead of taking on these efforts, managers can get all the must-haves immediately from a managed hosting provider. The hiring of personnel is eliminated. The server resources needed can be flexibly managed. The provider regulates everything.
• More security: The risks for cyber security have steadily increased over the years. When operating your own server internally, you have to provide appropriate protection yourself. Setting up and maintaining a responsible security team can be difficult and expensive. When using a managed hosting provider, clients don't have to worry. Such providers employ highly trained security experts. They usually offer a service to protect data and applications as part of every package. Optimizing online security is a continuous process, so clients of managed hosting services also save a lot of money in the long run. Not only the hiring of security experts, but also their continuous training in the latest security standards would involve significant costs.
• Business focus: Managed hosting allows companies to focus on their core business. Thus, neither specific personnel resources need to be allocated for server management, nor do they need to be added. Managed hosting services help businesses stay lean and efficient. Efficient companies even outsource many more activities that are not necessarily part of their core business. However, the external organization of hosting in particular can save a lot of effort.
• Manage compliance: Compliance with data protection regulations is one of the biggest problems in managing important information in the company. Proper compliance with regulations requires continuous monitoring. Specialized personnel is needed again here. Managed hosting providers can cover a significant part of compliance requirements. To get the perfect conditions, interested parties should inform themselves at the provider if they can create an environment that is compliant to the latest standards in their respective niche. When it comes to ideal data protection conditions, those interested are often best advised to look for managed hosting in Germany (or a managed server in Germany or cloud hosting in Germany).

Of course, there are also specific disadvantages or certain restrictions to be considered in connection with managed hosting providers. The following points can be particularly critical.

• Relinquishing control (sensitive data): Even with dedicated managed server hosting in Germany, sensitive data or applications and their control to a certain extent are placed in the hands of third parties. Operating your own data center or server room does not do this. So, if it's about very delicate facts and processes, managed hosting providers may not be able to meet the required security criteria sufficiently, despite all security measures.
• Binding to the provider's services: As already mentioned among the advantages, modern managed hosting services are very feature-rich, flexible and generally efficiently structured. Nevertheless, companies using such a service always have to be satisfied with its specific services. If particularly complex requirements need to be met, even the most flexible service packages may be too rigid. In this case, you have to host yourself after all.

How to choose the appropriate Managed Hosting Service?

Today's managed hosting providers usually provide broad services. In fact, there are many providers who can very flexibly align their services with the most diverse requirements. Such an agile approach is typical of modern managed hosting. Nonetheless, one should of course not arbitrarily choose any service. It is especially important to pay attention to the following factors.

• Web server performance: Not all hosting providers deliver the same hardware and infrastructure specifications. These factors as well as the hoster's experience in providing and configuring can influence the performance of the servers.
• Downtime security: The fastest, most flexible hosting service in the world means little if the service frequently fails. Of course, the security against failure is difficult to assess at first glance. In the Service Level Agreement, however, corresponding conditions should be stated without fail.
• Service-Level Agreement: The last point brings you directly to the Service-Level Agreement. In it, all the particularly critical points concerning the services to be used for the respective company should be clearly defined.
• Customer support: The support should not only be able to respond quickly to inquiries, but also have the right technical knowledge. This is particularly true for specialized services, such as managed application hosting, for example. It is necessary to check which communication channels the respective provider supports and how directly he can be reached.
• Service package: Interested parties should of course inform themselves very precisely about which services and options a managed hosting provider offers. It should also check whether the service provider can keep up with the perhaps growing requirements in the long term. Fully managed hosting should ensure that clients never have to worry about outdated applications or unpatched security vulnerabilities.

What does a Managed Hosting Provider cost?

Operating and administering a server always involves considerable costs. These are incurred individually for hardware, electricity as well as cooling, infrastructure and of course personnel. Per server, the effort for a managed service for hardware, power supply and network connection alone is about 50 euros per month. Here, clients can then but not rely on getting the latest technology. Properly equipped, modern servers can quickly cost up to 200 euros. A good, modern and long-term secure managed hosting is available from 100 euros per month. The rule here is: the more features are added and the more flexible the service, the more expensive it becomes. You can save, for example, by using a semi-managed hosting. Such a service then does not provide round-the-clock management services. But of course this also means more work and know-how requirements for the clients.