What is managed hosting and how it can help your eCommerce business?

Before trying to explain what managed hosting is, I am going to explain what different kinds of hosting are.

Dedicated hosting

Dedicated hosting is similar to managed hosting in that the service provider leases a particular server to just one client.

However, the chief difference lies in the fact that these servers come pre configured and you do not get much choice when setting up the servers.

Cloud hosting

With cloud hosting the consumer can access various hosting resources via the internet.
Cloud hosting networks provide a great deal of flexibility in adding or removing memory as and when needed with ease.

A lot of the headache that goes along with configuring servers and calculating space requirements and changes in advance isn’t simply there.

Now let’s try to understand what managed hosting is.

What does managed hosting service imply?

Managed hosting refers to the hosting service where the service provider sets up, monitors, maintains, secures and patches the hosting servers for you.

The servers are owned by the hosting provider but instead of hosting several websites it hosts only websites from your network and is leased to only or only to one single customer.
Managed hosting lends more flexibility to hosting your site than shared hosting services. You have full control on the server, the choice of operating system and the hardware that goes along with it.

When it comes to the operating system managed hosting services may use one among the two kinds of operating systems:

a.) Windows Operating System- commonly the Windows 2008 server

b.) Linux Operating System- commonly the CentosOS

Generally the hosting provider also sets you up with the following services, namely

1. Set up - Full installation of the control panel and OS. The buyer has administrative access but rarely accesses that. Generally the managed hosting is accessed by the client via the control panel virtually.

2. Monitoring - Server, network, databases, and Apache monitoring. Ping monitors run simultaneously for server and network uptime, and monitors website uptime.

3. Security Scans - Most managed hosting companies offer monthly security scan. These scans ensure that no virus or bug hosts itself in the system. The reports are reviewed too.

4. Application Support - Installation and update of supported applications.

5. Patching - Official operating system and application patches, updates, and bug fixes.

6. Trouble shooting - If the server faces any problem a dedicated staff would take of those problems.

7. On call maintenance - Pick your phone and call the staff at the hosting company to do the maintenance work on the servers

8. Hardware upgrading - You need not worry about maintaining the hardware or upgrading it.

9. Software upgrading - The IT staff at the hosting company takes care of the software upgrades for you in a timely manner.

10. Backup services - Most managed hosting providers take daily or weekly backups of the site data. In case of an emergency you can contact them to get the files back.

What benefits does a managed hosting service provide?

Managed hosting is proactive in its nature. To understand what the term means we must first understand the difference between reactive and proactive.

The support that a webhosting company provides in managing a disaster is the reactive nature of the industry. However, with managed hosting, the service tends to be proactive in nature. In other words it manages the service in such a way that problems do not crop up.

With compatibility checks, patching, security scans and other such measures a managed hosting provider tends to avoid problems as much as possible.

Who should consider managed hosting?

If you aren’t fully aware of the technical details behind configuring servers and setting up your hosting then a managed hosting service where the provider takes care of most things for you will be perfectly suited to your needs.

Managed hosting solutions work best for clients who cannot spare the time to learn the tech behind hosting or run behind it whenever they face a problem.

If you are running an eCommerce venture then it’s likely that you’d want to spend more time on business generating activities rather than managing hosting servers.

Concluding thoughts

Managed hosting takes the pain out of running and hosting your business. You can run your business while the experts take care of the traffic problems for you.