What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy for Your Business? (1)

1
What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
Keys to Effective Decision-Making
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What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
A ZeroLag White Paper
Introduction
ZeroLag offers reliable managed hosting
solutions ZeroLags managed hosting solutions
rank among the highest in reliability, security
and speed. We are among the most cost-effective
hosting providers for businesses that prefer the
advantages of managed hosting.
Developing a web site and web application
hosting strategy is a critical
decision-making process for companies of all
sizes. Security, cost, reliability, and
performance all factor into making the right
choices.
But with a wide array of options
available, it can be dificult to know what
is best for your company. In order to
make the correct choice, it is necessary to
weigh the costs and beneits of available options.
As IT infrastructure outsourcing has grown
in popularity, more companies are considering
ofloading server management and maintenance to
third-party providers, rather than investing
in on-premises data centers. This strategy has
numerous beneits, but is it right for your
company?
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What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
A ZeroLag White Paper
Choosing the right hosting strategy Factors you
should carefully consider
IT STAFFING
Do we have the necessary IT staff? The irst
step in determining what hosting strategy
is right for your company is evaluating your
in-house IT staff. Is your current staff large
enough and suitably qualiied to design, install,
and maintain your own hosting infrastructure?
Do we have the necessary space and
equipment? Other important factors are
your current IT and physical resources.
Does your company have suficient
climate-controlled space, the required
hardware and network connectivity, and other
necessary infrastructure to support an on-site
data center? If not, how much will the needed
equipment, facility, and infra- structure
upgrades cost?
SPACE EQUIPMENT
How much security and control is required? Do you
have the resources and expertise to implement
adequate security controls, including
hardening and monitoring your servers
against cyber threats? If your company stores
sensitive data, do you have the capability
to institute physical security measures such
as biometric access controls and on-site security
personnel?
SECURITY CONTROL
What is the best use of resources? Investing in
a robust hosting solution, including servers
and networking hardware, data center
infrastructure, and the highly skilled staff
required to implement and maintain it,
involves a long term inancial commitment.
When deciding what hosting strategy is right
for you, it is important to determine the
most effective way to invest your inite
resources.
RESOURCES
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What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
A ZeroLag White Paper
Choosing the right hosting strategy Key factors
in the decision-making process
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Total cost of
ownership attempts to quantify a purchases
total cost over time, taking into account the
initial price and ongoing upkeep, plus any
hidden costs, risks, opportunity costs, and
other long-term expenses. Although TCO is a
projection, it can be a very useful metric when
making large purchasing decisions.
TCO includes hardware and software acquisition,
management and support, communications, end-user
expenses and the opportunity cost of downtime,
training and other productivity losses.
TCO can help you evaluate the real costs of
hosting options. In most cases, the initial price
of information technology is only a fraction of
the TCO. For example, a server usually accounts
for only 15 to 25 percent of the overall
costs to deploy, maintain, upgrade, and
support the server over its useful service life.
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- Gartner IT Glossary
Ownership vs. rental of servers Server ownership
entails a signiicant up-front cost for the
hardware, software, and IT staff to perform
the work required to initially deploy the
server. Ownership also requires signiicant
long-term expenditures.
In contrast, outsourcing IT infrastructure to a
managed hosting provider eliminates a
signiicant up-front expenditure. All
equipment, facility, and support staff costs
are the respon- sibility of the hosting
provider. Your business will pay only a ixed
monthly fee for stable, secure hosting services
without exposure to additional costs
normally associated with uncontrollable
events such as equipment failures, blackouts,
natural disasters, and the like.
1 What is TCO and Why Should You Care?. Laurie
McCabe. www.smallbusinesscomputing.com. January
29, 2010
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What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
A ZeroLag White Paper
Security Data protection is almost always
a top priority, especially where
sensitive information or mission-critical
applications are concerned. When evaluating
hosting options, it is important to assess
your staffs and facilitys abilities to protect
your data. All servers are subject to
potential breaches from both inside and
outside sources whether malicious or otherwise.
So it is crucial for a company with self-managed
on-premises hosting to maintain suficient
resources and in-house expertise to identify
security issues and take corrective action
immediately. IT staff must be capable of
conducting regular security audits, applying
security updates and patches, and detecting
security vulnera- bilities such as unnecessary
services, open ports, and excessive user
privilege levels. If a company does not
have the capability to implement the
security measures necessary to protect valuable
equipment and data, contracting with a
reputable managed hosting provider may be the
best option. Support A qualiied and
constantly available support team is
critical to maintaining secure, reliable
IT infrastructure. For many businesses, the
stafing requirements are cost prohibitive. As
an alternative, managed hosting providers
employ highly skilled support technicians
who perform constant server monitoring,
quickly implement repairs in the event of
hardware failures or network problems,
and stand ready to provide information
and assistance to clients.
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What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
A ZeroLag White Paper
Scalability Fast-growing companies must
carefully consider whether their hosting
infrastructure is capable of supporting
their growth, or poses an impediment to it.
Physical facilities, equipment, human resources,
and technical expertise must all be evaluated
when determining whether hosting can be scaled
eficiently.
79 of web shoppers who have trouble with web
site performance say they wont return to the
site to buy again and 44 of them would tell a
friend if they had a poor experience shopping
online.
One of the key beneits of outsourced hosting is
that as demand grows, resources such as CPUs,
RAM, and storage space can be added
quickly with predictable costs. Top-tier
hosting providers can also move clients from
single servers into clusters, or migrate
sub-functions of a web application such
as the database to specialized servers.
A 1-second delay in page response can result in a
7 reduction in conversions.
Speed Nearly every business can beneit from
higher web hosting per- formance. More responsive
web pages and applications increase conversions,
customer satisfaction, and employee
eficiency. Nearly half of web users expect
a site to load in 2 seconds or less, and
abandon a site that isnt loaded within 3 seconds.
If an e-commerce site is making 100,000 per day,
a 1-second page delay could potentially cost 2.5
million in lost sales every year. 2
Although hardware has a big inluence on web site
performance, more CPUs or RAM wont necessarily
improve web site speed. Maximizing web site
performance requires a holistic approach to
coniguring the hosting environment. Aside from
the hardware, every variable including the
operating system, applications, network
infrastructure, and backbone connectivity
must be analyzed and optimized individually to
deliver the best possible performance. This
work is the stock-in-trade for managed
hosting providers, and their expertise
virtually guarantees superior results vs. web
applications hosted in an on-premises data center.
2 Speed and Customer Confidence.
Kissimetrics.com.
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What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
A ZeroLag White Paper
Choosing the right hosting strategy Three
different approaches to server management
Self-managed On-premises Pros Total control of IT
infrastructure
Organizations of all sizes typically utilize
one of three hosting options self-managed
on-premises hosting, self-managed
colocation hosting, or outsourced managed
hosting. Each offers advantages and
disadvantages which must be carefully
considered.
Quicker changes to hardware and software
Root level access to server
Self-Managed ON-PREMISES Hosting With this
option, organizations bear exclusive
responsibility for their IT infrastructure.
In-house staff must have the expertise and
training necessary to maintain all the
hardware, software, applications, networks, and
security measures. The organization must also
provide the physical facilities and
supporting infra- structure climate control,
uninterrupted power, backbone con- nectivity,
equipment spares, etc. to house, protect, and
operate an on-premises data center.
Supports business strategy of IT infrastructure
as competitive advantage
Self-managed On-premises Cons Total
responsibility for IT infrastructure
Greatest risk proile of all options
A large investment of capital and human resources
is required over the long term with this
approach, but the additional costs can
deliver big beneits for large, IT-centric
businesses that want and need to have
complete control over their infrastructure.
Maximum capital and HR expense
Unpredictable costs Going it alone or hiring
outside consultants when and if trouble
arises Likelihood of slower connection speeds
and degraded user experience Higher risk of
downtime Typically, lower digital and physical
security
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What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
A ZeroLag White Paper
Self-Managed COLOCATION Hosting
Self-managed Colocation Pros Shared risk
environment in commercial data center
Colocation is a hybrid approach that combines
elements of both the self-managed on-premises
and managed hosting models. Organizations
maintain control over their data and
equipment, while taking advantage of the physical
security, climate control, uninterrupted power,
and fast Internet backbone connections
provided by a hosting company.
Total control of hardware and software
Data center environment supports scalability
The inancial and HR investment of this
approach is still high as organizations are
responsible for providing their own server
hardware, software, and the IT staff to implement
and maintain it.
Root level access to server
Robust physical security
Access to superior Internet backbone connectivity
Self-managed Colocation Cons High initial capital
expenditure Moderately high long-term operating
costs for in-house IT staff Hosting provider
offers technical support and other assistance at
extra charge
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What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
A ZeroLag White Paper
MANAGED Hosting
Managed Hosting Pros Lowest risk and stress of
all options
With managed hosting, there is little or
no capital expenditure, and typically, much
lower long-term operating costs compared to
on-premises and colocation hosting. Managed
hosting providers employ highly skilled IT
professionals who will handle all
maintenance and security issues around the clock.
The hosting environment is usually guaranteed to
perform at peak levels, with leading providers
uptimes approaching 100. The unpredictable costs
of on-premises hosting are replaced by ixed
monthly fees, with average costs trending
downward in recent years.
Lowest capital and IT staff expense
Predictable ixed costs
Cost-effective average costs trending downward
Guaranteed uptime of 99.99 to 100, depending on
provider Highly scalable to meet future growth
needs Robust physical security Access to
superior Internet backbone connectivity
Managed Hosting Cons No root level access May
be available with co-managed option
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What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
A ZeroLag White Paper
Choosing the right hosting strategy Beneits
compared
Self-managed On-premises Hosting Self-managed Colocation Hosting Managed Hosting
Price-performance Lowest Moderate Highest
Capital expense Highest High Lowest
Cost predictability Lowest Moderate Highest
Ongoing IT staff expense Highest High Lowest
Risk proile Highest Moderate Lowest
Direct responsibility for IT infrastructure Highest High Lowest
Choosing the right hosting strategy Typical
server management costs
The upfront hardware cost for onsite hosting,
including the purchase of a server and networking
equipment runs approximately 5,000 to 15,000.
Additional costs include backbone connectivity,
irewalls and security tools, plus the facility
to house the server uninterrupted power,
climate control, and physical security
measures. The total can run from 50,000 to
100,000 for the irst year, with annual expenses
exceeding 50,000 thereafter. Managed hosting
services cost only a small fraction of comparable
on-premises capabilities, with typical
single-server solutions ranging from 4,500 to
8,500 per year. Given the signiicant
difference in costs between managed and
on-premises hosting, companies must carefully
consider whether the beneits of on-premises or
even colocation hosting justiies the substantial
investment associated with either option.
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What is the Best Web Application Hosting Strategy
for Your Business?
A ZeroLag White Paper
Why managed hosting is usually the best option
Choosing the best hosting option for your
business requires weighing many factors. But more
often than not, managed hosting is the best
choice for most businesses. Managed server
solutions provide the most favorable cost to
beneit ratio for organizations of all
sizes. Key advantages include Initial and
long term cost savings Costs for managed hosting
services have been trending downward for the past
several years while costs for on-premises hosting
have remain static or increased. Even some very
large enterprises have opted for managed hosting
services in recent years, taking advantage of
reduced capital expenditures and operating
expenses. Constant professional IT support A
top-tier hosting provider functions much like an
extension of your company. A team of engineers,
database administrators, security personnel, and
technical support staff are working around the
clock to ensure your mission-critical
applications and data are never
compromised. Maximum performance and
reliability Leading hosting providers have a
consistent track record that inspires conidence
in their ability to maintain IT infrastructure at
peak performance levels, and to minimize risk of
crippling downtime. Less hassle than
self-managed options Managed hosting frees
organizations to focus on their core
business mission and to spend less time
worrying about maintenance, outages, and other
hosting infrastructure issues. This is especially
beneicial for businesses that have limited or
overstretched IT departments.
Get 100 reliable hosting from ZeroLag If your
business is ready to make the switch to
faster, safer, more reliable hosting, ZeroLag
can help. Our competitively priced hosting
solutions were rated the most reliable by
NetCraft and rank among the fastest and
most secure available. If youd like to learn
more about how ZeroLag can help your
business, contact us at 877-937-6524 or visit us
online at ZeroLag.com today.
ZeroLag Communications, Inc. 15260 Ventura
Blvd. Suite 730 Sherman Oaks, CA
91403 877-ZERO-LAG (937-6524)