A Quick Comparison of In-House versus Hosted Web Solutions
The decision to host your website internally versus outsourcing to a hosting company is one every business owner must carefully weigh. Prior to researching the options, it may seem that purchasing your own equipment, building it and running it in-house is the more appropriate choice. However, there are several factors you should consider prior to assuming this considerable investment of your time and resources.
1. Cost
Most business owners put cost at the top of their list in terms of qualifying criteria and web hosting is much more involved than it may initially seem. In-house hosting involves the major costs of technical staff, equipment, software, initial set up costs, constant monitoring and other ongoing costs, like upgrading software. You should also consider the depreciation cost of your hardware, as well as unforeseen, “surprise” expenses. Outsourcing to a hosting company is considered an operational expense, meaning you have a predictable recurring monthly expense plus you get to take advantage of features hosting companies can provide at a lower cost due to economies of scale. For example, hosting companies tend to have much better redundancy, disaster recovery, and direct backbone access to the world’s major carriers. Does your office offer 19 million pounds of concrete roof ballast to protect your hardware in case of natural disaster?
2. Employee Assets
A good infrastructure requires a good set of employees to keep it operational and highly performing. Finding the right employees can be exhausting and difficult, especially if you don’t have the IT expertise to judge their skill set. Also, employee turnover is unpredictable, and if those responsible for managing your internal hosting leave the company, you could likely be left scrambling to pick up the pieces. When you outsource, you’re reliant on a business that guarantees its services and has many staff members to overcome any turnover.
3. Service
Any reputable hosting company has the knowledge, experience and resources to accommodate changes in your environment. Whether you have a new client with unique requests/requirements, your own landscape changes or you need help troubleshooting, your outsourced host is immediately at your disposal to quickly make any changes to your system and to resolve any issues. Hosting companies have additional inventory and can quickly meet changes in your requirements.
4. The Emergence of the Cloud
In terms of flexibility, the cloud is second to none. With an experienced hosting company, you have the option to take advantage of their cloud hosting services to accommodate unknown load or traffic and for immediate availability of resources. Attempting to achieve the same service in-house would be incredibly costly and time consuming. Cloud hosting provides the ultimate level of flexibility, reliability, and cost control.
5. Customization
Want the security of a dedicated physical server and the flexibility of the cloud? Hosting companies can create a customized solution to give you the best of both worlds without locking you in. Applied Innovations provides customizable hybrid hosting solutions that offer optimum security, scalability and flexibility to meet the unique needs of your business.
For the majority of small and medium-sized businesses, outsourcing is a more economical choice than in-house hosting in terms of both resources and time.
