Understanding managed hosting
In a managed hosting environment, the service provider leases dedicated services and hardware to the client. The hosting provider is responsible for housing and managing all equipment, while the client accesses the system through the user interface. Essentially, customers are paying for a service rather than a particular technology. As with most buying decisions, the real question is whether a managed host provider can increase your profit margins. Before we look at the financial benefits, let’s review the services most managed hosting packages include.
Services included in most managed hosting service agreements
Each provider lists its services in a service level agreement, so packages vary slightly from one provider to the next. However, there are six generally accepted basic services offered by most providers. These include the following:
- Data backup
- Workload balancing
- Security processing and monitoring
- Software installation and maintenance
- 24/7 on-call technical support
- Disaster recovery procedures and systems
Be sure to carefully read your service level agreement and discuss it with the managed hosting provider before signing up. As a result, you won’t pay for services you don’t need or miss the ones your daily operations rely on.
Increasing company profits through managed hosting services
The primary way managed hosting raises profit margins is cost reduction, especially in the daily operation of IT infrastructure. Beyond that, managed hosting services increase profits through increased customer reach and an elite level of security and disaster recovery protection.
Six ways managed hosting services can increase your company’s profit margins
There are six key ways in which managed hosting services can work with a business to increase profit margins.
1. Reduction in capital costs
Since a managed hosting provider owns the hardware and software, you avoid buying these expensive items every three to five years. The provider also carries the cost of operating, maintaining, and repairing these systems instead of your business. Lastly, most managed hosting providers offer a flat monthly rate that allows businesses to better budget and assess growth needs.
2. Savings in time
Time is money. Every hour your IT team spends repairing servers is an hour your business loses for marketing, revenue generation, and sales. Furthermore, keeping up with the latest technological advances in IT applications requires hours of educational classes and training. When a managed hosting provider handles this, your team no longer needs to spend time on continued learning and technical classes.
3. Ease of scalability and company growth
Your infrastructure needs to be able to grow with your business, so it has to scale without long delays. Sudden increases in business, website traffic, and server needs can be a liability without the ability to easily scale your infrastructure instantly. Managed hosting services provide the needed hardware and software for rapid scaling.
4. More support through elite service level agreements
A hosting provider’s service level agreement is crucial to understanding the services you will receive. Managed hosting services offer elite-level agreements that outline all services, fees, and amenities included in the plan. As a result, a company can budget, plan accordingly, and predict future needs, which saves money in the end.
5. High-level support and disaster recovery processes
Downtime as a result of a manmade or natural disaster can easily spell bankruptcy for a business. A thorough, tested, and effective disaster recovery procedure is complicated and costly to build in-house. Managed hosting providers save businesses that cost because they already run state-of-the-art disaster recovery applications and processes.
6. Expertise in the latest technology advances
Managed hosting providers have one job: managing your IT infrastructure effectively. Therefore, they have the time and resources to stay on top of the latest technological advances and report on how they will help grow your business.
How to find a managed hosting provider
To learn more about how a managed hosting provider can increase company profit, contact a local provider to speak with their customer service department. Ask about the services they offer, any additional costs, and how they plan to help increase your net profit margins.
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