Does your IT staff have the time or expertise to manage server maintenance issues? If you’ve recently moved your IT infrastructure to the cloud, choosing a managed hosting provider ensures that your network operations are running smoothly daily. That said, different types of managed hosting plans will yield different results.
Managed hosting enables you to focus on working on your business rather than working in your business. This vital distinction can make the difference between your company’s success or failure — or at the very least, make your employees more productive and your bottom line healthier.
There are several types of managed hosting services available. While some focus on service levels, others offer specific types of services. Today we’ll review the following types of managed hosting services so you can decide what service level is right for you:
- Fully Managed Hosting
- Semi-Managed Hosting
- Managed Email Hosting
- App Hosting
Fully Managed Hosting
Fully managed hosting is the top rung of the managed hosting services ladder. It’s ideal for companies whose networks support heavy workloads or high-intensity web traffic. That’s why tech and compliance-reliant industries like the financial sector and medical fields often benefit greatly from managed hosting services.
With fully managed hosting, you can run your business with little to no involvement in hosting operations – the host handles everything on your behalf.
Services provided by fully managed hosting providers often include:
- 24/7/365 support
- Network security, including virus, spam and malware protection
- End-user and help desk support
- Security and network infrastructure monitoring alerts and notifications
- Operating System management and deployment
- Application management and deployment
- Automated backups
- Fully managed software and hardware installation and maintenance
- Operating system and control panel updates and patches
Why choose fully managed hosting?
Three words: agility, security and compliance.
- Fully managed hosting enables your company to quickly scale up or down as needed.
- Cybersecurity is more critical now than ever before. Fully managed hosting providers employ security experts at a fraction of the cost of hiring your own security staff.
- Meeting regulatory compliance standards means constant monitoring. Fully managed hosting providers stay up-to-date on necessary compliance requirements in your niche.
Helixstorm’s fully managed server hosting handles your applications, server configurations and setup, administration, support, and management onsite or offsite. As an industry-leading managed service provider, you can also lease servers, hardware, network equipment and storage directly from us.
Semi-Managed Hosting
If you still want to have a hand in running your server operations — at least partially — semi-managed hosting may be the right choice for you.
While service levels vary by hosting provider, a semi-managed hosting plan may include some of the services listed above but not others. The level of services offered is usually reflected in your monthly fee.
Why choose semi-managed hosting?
If you’re a small business owner, you may only require assistance with special needs or have in-house staff comfortable managing your servers.
Managed App hosting
Some web hosting providers offer hosting services for specific applications, like managed WordPress hosting. Managed app hosting entails creating an environment that’s just right for apps to run quickly, safely and successfully.
Why choose managed app hosting?
Managed app hosting frees your IT staff from having to learn the ins and outs of ever-changing apps. Managed app hosting providers specialize in ensuring that apps work optimally and are secure and updated. They may also offer user support as needed.
Managed Email Hosting Services
Many businesses outsource their email services to ensure reliable email access at all times. In addition, managed email hosting services provide extra benefits, including enhanced cybersecurity protection against data breaches due to phishing, hacking and business email compromise (BEC).
Why choose managed email services?
If your business relies heavily on email communications, outsourcing your email management and user support may take a significant burden off your internal IT staff.
Other Levels of Managed Hosting Services
As a subset of the managed hosting levels detailed above, there are two levels of managed hosting services: Shared hosting and dedicated hosting.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is a “multi-tenancy” arrangement that divides several customers’ server space, storage, and bandwidth. While shared servers are more cost-effective than dedicated options, it comes with space limitations and security concerns.
Dedicated Server Hosting
With dedicated hosting services, your data is hosted in a dedicated server, eliminating the threat of security and performance issues that could arise from sharing resources.
Choosing managed dedicated cloud server hosting is the best of both worlds. It is an excellent choice for industries with security or regulatory compliance requirements, such as financial services and health care. If you are in one of these industries, it is critical that you use dedicated hosting to avoid sharing resources with other businesses.
A Word About Unmanaged Servers
Remember, unmanaged server hosting requires that your company take charge of any and all issues related to server and application management. So, while it is a cost-effective solution, unmanaged servers are a “blank slate” that can burden your IT department with network administration tasks that they may be ill-equipped to handle.
Unless your IT department has experience managing and monitoring servers, handling software configuration and dealing with virus detection and removal, you may want to re-think choosing unmanaged servers.
Get Started With Helixstorm’s Managed Server Hosting Solutions Today!
Which type of managed hosting is right for you?
At Helixstorm, we provide a sophisticated level of support, proactive maintenance and security that most companies can’t afford to provide in-house. So whether you need ongoing managed hosting services or full-fledged IT support services, Helixstorm is here to help.
Benefits of Helixstorm’s Fully Managed Hosting include:
- 24/7/365 Monitoring and Support
- Fully managed hardware and network infrastructure
- Reduced operating costs
- Increased system and application uptime
- Reduced cybersecurity risks
Contact us today to learn how our managed hosting services can drive your business forward.
