At first glance, it can be easy to see why many businesses choose shared hosting services. There are few IT outsourcing options which seem so cheap and convenient.
But, as with all IT infrastructure management decisions, there is more to it than simply cost.
“Our clients get their own server with a dedicated, quality network connection ensuring continuity and quality of service.”
But what are the real benefits of having a dedicated server, and what does that mean for your business?
With no other websites to manage, all the resources on a dedicated server are available for your website. This means whether it is dusk in Dubai, or lunchtime in London, your server is ready for anything.
With a shared hosting provider, if another website on the same server attracts a lot of traffic, it can slow down its performance for your website.
Shared servers do not allow users to install their own security software. And as they host many websites together, an attack on one of the servers’ sites can affect all the websites it hosts.
Having dedicated website hosting ensures your website is protected by precisely the security systems you choose, while keeping your site isolated from other attacks.
This may seem a small benefit, but the consequences of not having a unique IP address can be significant. A website on a shared host will have the same IP address as other sites the server hosts, and if any of these are being used for spam operations or illegal operations, then your site could see its search ranking plummet.
Having a unique IP address ensures your website is only ever ranked on its own merits, rather than on the faults of others.
A dedicated hosting server can be customised with the RAM, processor, disk space and software to meet your website’s needs, and even upgraded later, should your needs change. With shared hosting, a business will often have to make do with a specific configuration including software which does not perform the tasks the website needs, or programs which the business has no interest in.
While dedicated hosting is clearly more expensive than shared services, it is worth remembering exactly what you get for the money.
Penta’s dedicated website hosting allows you to choose the exact specification of hardware, a dedicated, quality connection ready for unlimited traffic, disaster recovery backup systems and state-of-the-art security – all provided with no initial overheads or unexpected maintenance bills.
Penta provides professional IT support for all its dedicated hosting clients, giving them peace of mind their websites – and all the associated infrastructure to host them – will be monitored and protected all day, every day.
Find out more about Penta’s dedicated hosting and other IT outsourcing services, and what they can do for your business.