If you are running a small business or just starting out, then you are aware of how important it is to have enough space to store and move information. The choice of managed hosting services is virtually unlimited. You can find inexpensive plans for reasonable prices. These include management of the server and software outside your company so you can focus manpower and money on business.
The first thing to consider is how much you really need. Look at things such as the size of the files that you typically work with, email volume, how many people will be accessing the server at any given time, and how much backup and security is necessary. You can look up the many providers online, some managing a handful of accounts, others as large as international corporations. Their sites will list what is included so you can read what and how much of it each one offers. This will help you determine which is best for you.
The best thing about managed hosting for your small business is that the equipment is maintained outside your company. You are only paying for the service. This way, expensive servers, backup drives, temperature-controlling systems and more do not eat away at your budget. Software upgrades are handled by the provider as well and are done automatically. When you need technical help, there will always be a dedicated expert available to call. It is already apparent how much work is offloaded from your business. Less manpower and fewer requirements for complex and expensive equipment eases your burden on finances and allows you or your staff to focus on things that help maintain and grow the business.
Another virtue here is that, as someone is always ready to take your call, the providers’ equipment is constantly monitored. With someone always there and systems in place to track problems as they occur, your ability to email, send/receive data, and manage your website is affected very little. Any significant downtime can often mean life or death for a small business in a competitive market.
The backup space, security monitoring, and antivirus protection are all big virtues for small businesses as well. You can always back up important data and remove data that is not needed. Website content can even be backed up and restored in case something catastrophic happens. Special content such as blogs, contact forms, wikis, and shopping carts can be preconfigured and easily installed. This gives you less to do when setting up a small business website.
A service that lets you do all this is also typically very scalable. This means that as your business grows, you can add on to the service package without changing what you already have. You can add storage space, bandwidth capacity, backup space, web tools and controls, and even add websites. Your business can do all this with the same provider, avoiding issues such as having to change to a less-dependable service and risking downtime during this switchover.
Finally, the overall cost of managed hosting is its biggest plus. You need to consider the benefits, though. If you go too low, sometimes the provider doesn’t offer much, but it is more than possible to find some good deals. With this service you will have the storage space for data and websites, email, security, technical support, and reliability all there so that you can focus on running your business smoothly. These virtues come at a much lower cost than the IT overhead that would otherwise burden your small business.
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This is a great article! I wanted to suggest Office Live Small Business as a helpful service for those small businesses looking to enter the web world. You can choose your own domain name. You are given online space to share and store your documents and files. And, there is a helpful community to support your needs.
Here are some customer testimonials from people who have used Office Live Small Business with great success: http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/en-us/customer-gallery
Cheers,
KIM
MSFT Office Live Outreach Team