Nearly every small business relies on information technology to operate. One of the most critical components of any IT setup is the server. Many small business owners don't have the personnel or expertise to manage their own servers. Managed hosting can benefit these businesses in a variety of ways.
1. Helps You Avoid Server Problems
Servers need to be constantly monitored to catch potential failures before they can become a serious problem. Your managed hosting provider uses system administrators to provide continuous monitoring, which helps ensure satisfactory server uptime and availability of networks. Whether your customers need to look up mortgage refinance rates or purchase products from your online store, managed hosting helps ensure that you are always ready to serve their needs.
2. Adjusts to Your Storage Needs
The storage needs of most companies change over time. When you are responsible for your own servers, you either have to overspend on the capacity you don't need now to avoid running out in the future or potentially interrupt operations to make upgrades when you need more space. When you use a managed hosting solution, your service provider will take care of adjusting your storage for you as needed. This can save you money and prevent downtime.
3. Increases Your Security
A data breach on your server can ruin your reputation with customers and open you up to liability. With security threats becoming more sophisticated all the time, it requires expertise to stay ahead of threats. Hosting providers have the tools, training and experience required to keep your servers safe and secure by filtering spam, running security audits, scanning for viruses, configuring firewalls and keeping the operating system up to date. Your hosting provider will constantly scan your system for potential vulnerabilities and fix them before they can be exploited.
4. Improves Your Database
Your database contains information such as product inventory, pricing information, customer payment information and more. It is vitally important to the operation of your business. Database issues can bring your business to a halt. Successfully designing and administering a database requires specialized skills that most small business owners do not have. Managed hosting providers have a staff of experienced database administrators who can keep your databases in good shape.
5. Solution Is Customized To Meet Your Needs
Hardware and software straight out of the box is rarely a good fit for individual business needs. Hosting companies can provide customized solutions that fit the needs and budget of your business.
6. Provides Increased Protection
Data loss can be devastating to a small business. All of your data needs to be secured, regularly backed up and checked for integrity. Rather than having to manage your own backups, you can leave this task to a managed hosting company. Additionally, because the servers are off-site, you are protected if a fire, natural disaster or other event damages your business. You may even be able to continue operating from another location without losing access to your servers and data.
7. Saves Time and Money
Hiring in-house staff to manage IT systems and databases is not realistic for many small businesses. Managed hosting provides a financially feasible way to receive high-quality IT services without paying the salary of employees who may not have enough to do to justify it.
Managed hosting also saves time, because your in-house staff doesn't need to maintain the servers, troubleshoot problems, install updates and other related tasks. By using a managed solution you can allow your employees to spend their time on the jobs they were hired to do.
8. Makes Support Always Available
Most managed hosting providers provide support 24 hours a day and seven days a week. This means you don't need to try to wake up an employee in the middle of the night on a weekend to come fix a problem.
No matter what industry you are in, server problems can bring your operations to a halt. Managed hosting can be a great tool for ensuring smooth IT operations.
Thursday, June 18, 2020