Every online business needs a good web host to keep their website from underperforming during traffic spikes. It’s not something every web host out there can do. Over the years, web hosting evolved in a spectacular fashion especially with the advent of cloud technologies.
 

Will the cloud impact the future of web hosting as well?

 
It most certainly will. Back in the days, large websites with growing traffic had to resort to a dedicated server with powerful hardware and abundant resources to sustain website performance. This was an expensive option for many small and medium-sized online businesses. However, as cloud technologies evolved, new hosting options emerged.

Cloud hosting is just as good as a dedicated server but with a pay-as-you-go pricing model where the tenant only needs to pay for the resources they use. And when they require more resources, the cloud host scales. Essentially, the website gets everything it needs from the cloud environment, and the website owner pays only for what the website consumes in order to sustain performance. This can however vary depending on the nature of the web host and the hosting package.

The bottomline is that cloud is indeed transforming the concept of web hosting.
 

Trends to watch out for in 2018

 
Demand for comprehensive hosting packages

Users no longer see web hosting services as a service that hosts their website on a server. They now expect more solutions in a single hosting package. The modern-day hosting approach is all about getting a comprehensive hosting package with web design, search engine optimization, eCommerce, and email hosting services.

They essentially get their website designed, search engine optimized, and secured with SSL for eCommerce transactions in addition to getting their email hosted by the web hosting provider. The one-stop shop approach would only become more demanded this year according to experts.

Dwindling numbers of hosting data centers due to Autoscaling

Last year, many surveys found that over 80% of IT managers use cloud technology instead of data centers. Based on the findings, experts predict that corporate data centers or hosting infrastructures would eventually go obsolete with the cloud’s rapidly increasing momentum.

Cloud computing is only getting cheaper while offering improved performance and robust security. The cloud’s autoscaling feature allows the number of servers in a data center to scale automatically depending on the varying computational load.

The cloud’s many benefits also led to an increase in cloud hosting resellers, which is only expected to grow exponentially in the next decade.

Advanced forms of security

Despite the cloud’s rapid growth, many are still concerned about having their personal data stored in the cloud questioning the extent of security cloud can offer compared to a private dedicated server. There’s some validity to such concerns. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link after all.

Cloud’s security is still not evolved yet to have no ‘weak links’. There are vulnerabilities. Quite recently, even Amazon suffered serious security breach. However, this only served as a wakeup call and cloud security only advanced further since then. This year, we will be witnessing much more advanced forms of cloud security.

Green hosting

Green hosting is not exactly a new trend. The concept of green hosting stemmed from the fact that servers that power millions of websites in the internet consume an immense amount of energy. To reduce such power consumption, many hosting companies went the eco-friendly way minimizing the impact of web hosting on the environment.

They instead use renewable energy, carbon offsetting, energy saving technologies, and even plant trees around their data center. Green hosting appeals to people who are concerned about the environment. We may see it in a different form this year, and web hosting is expected to consume a lot less energy in the coming years. Green hosting in 2018 is also expected to be part of eco-friendly initiatives by many tech companies.
 

Conclusion

 
The evolution of web hosting from a big picture view has always been consistent. It only gets better over time. Now with the cloud taking matters into its hands, we can expect more stable, high-performance, and well secured hosting solutions to come out this year in more than one form. The trends mentioned above are just a few of the ones worth noting. Nevertheless, nothing will be driving web hosting irrelevant for a long time for sure. Websites will always need a home.

Generally, most web owners choose a shared hosting solution to host their websites, and upgrade later when it’s necessary. Regardless of the web hosting provider, every shared hosting server will have multiple tenants. These tenants will be sharing the server resources. But if even one website consumes too much resources at some point, it’ll affect the performance of other tenants in the server.
 

When should I think about an upgrade?

 
When a shared server is no longer capable of providing the desired website performance or resources the website needs, it’s a cue to upgrade the hosting solution. An upgrade could be anything from dedicated hosting to cloud hosting. A growing website with a consistently increasing amount of traffic would need robust hardware to sustain its performance and not slow down when there are visitors.

When the need calls for powerful hardware and great availability of resources for impressive website performance, the most apt solution is a dedicated server hosting.

If you are unsure of whether or not it’s time to move to a dedicated server, the points below may help you make a choice.
 

When should I think about an upgrade to a dedicated server?

 
Performance drops

Comprehending the website traffic is considered to be an initial estimation to decide whether to move to a dedicated server. If the website contains a large amount of dynamic webpages, with growing traffic its performance may go down in a standard shared server. Slow-loading websites deter most visitors which is a big no-no for businesses.

Need for enhanced security and privacy

The fact that you have your website hosted on a shared server along with many other websites obviously raises security concerns. The other website owners could be capable of hacking into your website which is in the same server. Those websites might also have vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cyber-criminals. This subsequently compromises the server itself and its tenants.

If you are concerned about the security of the server, you can switch to a dedicated server where only your websites will be hosted. The server will be constantly monitored for security risks and vulnerabilities by the web hosting provider’s tech team thus ensuring great security and privacy.

Lack of control

In the event that your shared host does not permit you to utilize scripts and software developed specifically for your website, it’s another sign for you to upgrade to a dedicated server. A dedicated web hosting plan gives you absolute control over the server allowing you to use whatever plugins, scripts, and software necessary to augment your website.

Failure to keep up with growing demands

If your business is growing at a fast pace, you may need your website to reflect that growth and improve progressively with the growth. To facilitate this, you may need to update scripts and software in the server. This may not always be possible in a shared server.

In addition, you may not get necessary technical support when you need it. A dedicated server gives you adaptability, and because you are the only tenant, it’d be faster and easier to have your website keep up with your business’ growth.
 

Conclusion

 
There is still an alternative of building an infrastructure, purchasing a server, and hiring a team to manage it. However, this could cost you considerably. When you purchase a dedicated server hosting package, you will have a team monitoring the server and ready to help when necessary.

The scenarios mentioned above should make it easier for you to choose a migration to a dedicated server. Considering its many benefits, it’s a worthy investment to consider.

There is a reason why managed server hosting is considered one of the best web hosting solutions for medium to high traffic websites. The website owner gets a server fully managed by a team of expert technicians in the hosting company. The web owner would then won’t have to bother with the technicalities of the hosting package. Every technical and network-related issues will be dealt with by the hosting provider.

However, despite its demand, there still seems to be a lot of misconceptions and myths about managed hosting, particularly managed dedicated hosting.

Here are a few popular myths busted.

#1. Managed dedicated hosting is too expensive

Considering the fact that dedicated hosting solutions are comparatively more expensive, it’s obvious that people think a managed hosting service would be even more expensive. Managed hosting is certainly going to cost more than unmanaged hosting. But when considering the benefits of such a hosting solution, the extra cost is totally justified.

The web owner won’t have to worry about server maintenance, server upgrades, uptimes, downtimes and technical issues. The team managing the server would be monitoring it 24/7 and performing all the updates and security checks while the owners go about with their business. They won’t have to pay for extra staff or rent space for setting up a server either. Ultimately, it does save them time and money.

#2. Managed hosting is only for people who are not tech-savvy

Though it’s the ideal option for people who are not very keen on technologies, it can also be of great benefit to tech-savvy web owners as well. If it’s managed, the web owners, tech-savvy or tech-not-that-savvy, would be from the hassles and challenges of maintaining a redundant server setup.

Technical issues, should they appear, won’t be interrupting their work or taking their time. The service essentially saves time and effort while providing a plethora of benefits.

#3. You don’t get to choose the software

This used to be the case in the beginning. And many hosting providers offering dedicated servers design their packages to meet business needs. Reputed providers would be using the most reliable and secure software in their servers promising the best performance. However, you will still be able to install custom software that you require after discussing with your web host. But in most cases, it’d be better to trust in your host’s experience and expertise when it comes to software choices.

#4. For that cost, the data will always be safe and secure

This is why people are willing to go that extra mile and pay more for a better hosting solution. Renting a dedicated server means only their websites would be on the server, and they get more control. A reliable hosting company would guarantee the safety of the machine as well. However, the hard truth is that no matter how good the provider is or how secure the hosting server, there are always risks.

A managed hosting server set-up will be constantly monitored to ensure that there are no failures at any time. However, there are circumstances, though very rare, that could result in a short server downtimes, outages etc. even if it’s a cloud hosting solution.
 

Conclusion

 
Not many web owners choose to spend time researching a web hosting provider before purchasing a hosting package. Most of them tend to approach popular hosts and make the deal in a jiffy.

Because web hosting is a diverse and competitive sector, as a web owner, you need to be aware of the various myths and facts associated with hosting. These are just a few of the most popular misconceptions on dedicated hosting. Hopefully the article would help you find a better hosting choice.

Everything in the internet starts with web hosting – the service that makes it all possible by enabling businesses, blogs, and other websites to be accessible online to prospective clients and users. So basically for a business, web hosting is the key to establishing an online presence.

And therein lies the catch…

An unreliable hosting service, despite giving your business an online presence, will occasionally end up making it inaccessible to prospective customers at times when they want to check your website out.

So what does people generally expect from a reliable hosting service then?

• Cost-effectiveness
• 99.9% uptime
• 24/7 technical support
• Ability to handle mission critical applications
• Responsiveness

…just to name a few.

But generally people just want a cost-effective hosting solution. Most of them end up availing shared hosting service. For a business, this is actually not a good deal. In the long run, shared hosting just wouldn’t cut it. This leaves them with three other alternatives.

• VPS hosting
• Dedicated hosting
• Cloud hosting

Before we get into details, let’s analyze why shared hosting isn’t a good idea for businesses.

Shared hosting’s low price tag is the decisive factor that makes it preferable to many website owners. But there are other variables that people don’t usually bother to consider. First off, shared hosting is not something that promotes the growth of a business. Your website will be sharing server resources with other websites. If a few of those neighboring websites utilize a lot of server resources, your website will be left to function with what remains; and it won’t be enough to guarantee accessibility to your potential customers at all times.

As a matter of fact, it can slow down your website. This is known as the bad neighbor effect. However, shared hosting is easier to set up and is a good start to just launch your website. But once your website starts to grow and traffic starts to increase, you will be forced to switch to a better hosting solution.
 

The Alternatives – VPS or Dedicated?

 
You have 3 alternatives – Cloud, VPS, and Dedicated. But in this blog, we will analyze facts and features to help make the choice between VPS and dedicated servers.
 

Virtual Private Servers

 
The best way to describe VPS is to think of it as a condo. When you own a condo, you will be responsible in maintaining it. However, you and the others in the building will be sharing a few resources. VPS is quite similar. Your website will be hosted on a virtual private server (a virtual compartment of a physical server). That is your condo. There will be other virtual compartments that house other websites, and each function independently.

You will get access to the resources you pay for. Other websites on the machine will not be affecting your website’s performance in any way. It also offers more security than shared hosting, and costs much less compared to a low-end dedicated server.
 
Other benefits include:

• Scalability; you can add or remove resources depending on your business needs
• Great control and security with root access
• Minimal server load, in most cases, results in a comparatively better performance

So basically this is pretty much a more reliable version of shared hosting. And the only limitation you should be worried about is the reliability of the hosting service provider. If you don’t have complete access to all the resources you paid for, your website will run out of breath at peak loads.
 

Dedicated Servers

 
One of the best albeit costlier alternative to shared hosting, dedicated hosting solutions give you a server dedicated to serving your website alone. You will not have to share resources with any other websites. Shared hosting may be prone to connectivity issues, downtimes, and even speed drops. Issues like that don’t exist in a dedicated server.

However, you should be mindful of the amount of resources your dedicated hosting solution provides. It’s primarily of use to websites with high or consistently increasing traffic.
 
Benefits include:

• More power and control over resources than other hosting alternatives
• Can handle high traffic without any issues
• Reliable and highly secure
• Customizable; you have the choice of using the software and hardware the way you want
• Supports a plethora of scripting languages

There are two things you need to be aware of if you are interested in availing a dedicated hosting solution. First, the amount of resources the server provides you. Make sure your website has more than enough to function even at peak loads. Second, go for a managed dedicated server if you think you can’t maintain the server on your own. If you go for an unmanaged dedicated server, you will either have to maintain/upgrade/repair the server by yourself or hire help from technicians.

Its biggest limitation is that it’s costlier than other hosting alternatives. If by some chance the server crashes, it will take a good amount of time to get it fixed.
 

Analysis

• VPS is less expensive comparatively and comes with reasonably good features for a low-mid scale website. Dedicated servers are expensive, robust, secure, and ideal for large websites with high traffic.
• Dedicated servers are comparatively more scalable than virtual private servers.
• VPS offers just enough security for a website to function (generally), while dedicated servers offer the best security you can get in the hosting sector.

Conclusion

 
Let’s make things easier. Ask yourself the following questions to figure out the right kind of hosting solution you will need.

• Is your website small, medium, or big?
• What is your budget to avail a reliable hosting package?
• Once the website grows, will there be a lot of traffic?
• Does your website accept payments for products or services, and does it save sensitive information of registered users in its database?

If your website is big and the traffic keeps increasing, a dedicated server will do you justice. If it’s small and you are not expecting a big spike in traffic, you can manage with a VPS package. If there are sensitive information involved, you would need robust security. A dedicated server is the best option when it comes to security. So basically, your choice ultimately depends on how big the website is, and its demands.

Do you know of the biggest challenge an organization faces when they go digital?

Striking a balance!!!

Striking a balance between on-premises and off-premises computational systems, the business operations, the storage and the time to the cloud…

If it sounds complicated, let me assure it’s a bit more complicated to put into practice. But businesses do manage somehow. Now things have gotten easier thanks to the evolution potential of cloud technology.

Cloud computing has been intriguing IT people and corporate decision makers for years now because it can give that balance they have been seeking. Many of them realized its potential. Still many are reluctant to shift to the cloud because of security concerns. Having all the data in the cloud logically means they’ve been made accessible to almost every one right? On the contrary, no they aren’t. But that’s another story for another time.

I am here to introduce you to one of the latest evolutions of the cloud which impacts web hosting – The Hybrid Cloud.

A lot of companies that took the leap of faith by adopting cloud technology for their businesses are having a great time now. Still there’s some confusion regarding the necessity for various cloud solutions to meet a wide array of client needs.

We will consider the web hosting needs for now, which brings us to…
 

Hybrid Cloud Hosting

 
It’s a web hosting model that employs both public and private cloud services.

Let me put it this way.

You know how good dedicated servers are when it comes to security. You are the single tenant in a dedicated hosting server, which essentially means robust security systems and all the server resources for your website alone. Now combine that trait with the many benefits of public cloud. The result is Hybrid cloud hosting.

Still don’t get it?

Okay, let me cram it up in a nutshell.

Hybrid cloud hosting provides an absolute solution for an organization by coupling private and public cloud.

You might be thinking of the benefits now? How is it better than a dedicated server or a public cloud service? Well for starters, you don’t have to deal with any limitations of both.

Let’s look at the benefits to give a better idea.
 

Benefits of Hybrid cloud to give you a better idea

 
1. The right solution for the right job

Public cloud helps you deal with spiking traffic with a scalable service where you pay as you grow. There will be other tenants in the environment. Dedicated server is where you are the only tenant – a service ideal for a moderate control over traffic and for mission critical applications requiring advanced security.

With that said, let’s start thinking about the many use cases of a business. Different types of applications of a business will have different sets of requirements. While a public cloud can aid start-ups, handle web traffic spikes, and benefit test and development, it has limitations when it comes to security for mission critical applications.

Dedicated servers can give that but has limitations when it comes to handling applications with variable demand patterns.

Hybrid cloud combines the benefits of these two to provide the solution you need when you need it. Dedicated, public cloud and private cloud servers essentially function as a single platform providing a one size fits all solution. Technical barriers are not going to be a problem. Trade-offs are so insignificant that they are negligible.

End result – More focus on growing the business and reaching your business goals.

This same benefit brings us to the next one.

2. Enhanced business agility and flexibility

Public cloud aspect of the hybrid cloud solution aids you in times of heavy usage effectively reducing the likelihood of outages and minimizing downtimes. Host the applications in the development & testing phase temporarily till you can decide where to host them permanently.

When it comes to hosting, customers may expect a lot. They will want the services to be seamless. This is where the ‘self-service’ aspect of hybrid cloud comes into play. The customers will get the scalability and cost efficiency benefits of a public cloud (off-premises infrastructure) while housing their key applications on a private cloud. This way, the customers will have more control, allowing them to determine even the scalability of the service by themselves.

End result – Enhanced business agility and flexibility for their enterprises. Meanwhile hosting vendors won’t need a lot of technical staff, and can focus better on priority requests.

3. Improved security

Almost all of the security concerns a business will have can be addressed by combining both cloud and dedicated resources. When it comes to securing personal information of customers and their transactions, businesses used to rely on a dedicated hardware (because…robust security systems). Cloud wasn’t an option.

Now that hybrid cloud is here, they can have sensitive information totally secured on a dedicated server while still retaining the scalability and high performance of the cloud.

End result – Security benefits of dedicated server and scalability/performance benefits of the cloud combined will let them seamlessly conduct business and financial transactions in a secured, agile environment.
 

Conclusion

 
Everything you read till now is what hybrid cloud offers in the web hosting department. It’s a solution that gives power to customers while meeting the varying demands of businesses whenever necessary. You basically pay for what you use while having your business run in a high performance, scalable, secure and responsive environment. The self-service aspect is what makes it intriguing.