Hosted services.(web site hosting)

Publication: Personal Computer World

Publication Date: 17-MAY-07

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2007 COPYRIGHT 2007 Incisive Media, published with the permission of Incisive Media

Byline: Alan stevens

Hosted services

Alan Stevens looks at the alternatives to running your own servers

It doesn't matter how modest your IT requirements, managing your own PCs, servers and applications can still be a full-time task. So why not get someone else to do some or all of the hard work for you? All that's needed is a connection to the internet and, in most cases, a browser. You can then access a wide range of applications, remotely hosted and fully managed by online service providers, without needing in-house support personnel or expensive hardware.

On the downside there's not quite as much choice as some analysts once predicted. Indeed, a few years back, the market for hosted applications was expected to sky rocket, with some pundits even predicting the demise of local solutions altogether. That didn't happen and a lot of the original big name providers have long since pulled out of the market. However, a number of specialised solutions persist, designed and marketed specifically for the smaller business. New products from Google and Microsoft are also on their way, and we'll look at those alongside others in this feature.

Traditional web hosting

Web server and email hosting are, without doubt, the most readily available of online services, typically included free when you sign up for a broadband internet connection. In addition, there are plenty of providers ready and able to host more demanding websites and email requirements independently, for anyone prepared to pay.

Sign up for one of these services and you can have your own 'virtual' server, running either Linux or Windows, complete with associated web server software (Apache or IIS), a supporting database server, Ecommerce and other back-end applications. Prices will be worked out based on...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.