Reducing IT costs and improving service levels through IT hosting
The Yankee Group, a leading technology research firm, has noted a growing trend
in how small to medium size businesses (SMBs) pay for and manage their information
technology (everything from email to Web sites and applications). Instead of buying
hardware and software, and hiring technology employees or contractors on a
“do-it-yourself” basis, SMBs are increasingly outsourcing IT infrastructure to IT
hosting specialists.
IT hosting providers supply businesses with everything from data center space for
their own servers (collocation) to hosted servers dedicated for the exclusive use of
a customer (dedicated servers). They may also offer a menu of add-on IT expert
services to the entire package. IT infrastructures that are fully managed are known
as managed hosting.
The reason for this trend is straightforward. By leasing servers offsite at an enterprise
data center for a monthly fee and gaining access to experts and admin services from
hosting providers, SMBs realize significant savings on IT costs compared with purchasing
infrastructure and hiring specialized staff. For example, comparing total costs over three
years between buying and maintaining IT infrastructure in-house or on premise versus
leasing from an IT hosting provider, analyst firm Frost & Sullivan has estimated that a
small business of less than 100 employees can cut its IT infrastructure costs by up to
75 percent.
Beyond the substantial cost savings, many SMBs are also choosing IT hosting as a
means to access data center infrastructure and networks and technology staff that they
could never afford to on their own. It also eliminates IT capital expenses which offers
the flexibility for users to scale their IT infrastructure as needed. This executive overview
provides a brief description of the advantages and options SMBs are gaining through
IT hosting.
Gain access to world-class data centers, networks and technology experts
Over the past several years, hosting suppliers have evolved from server warehouses
into highly sophisticated IT infrastructure providers that feature world-class data centers.
Staffed with IT experts, these data centers offer ultra-high-speed network connections.
For example, Data Cube Systems, based in Orlando, Florida, boasts a host of capabilities
that few large enterprises, let alone the average SMB, could ever hope to build and maintain
on their own. Data Cube IT hosting can provide:
2,000 sq ft. of datacenter space
Eight Tier 1 telecom providers and direct Internet connections
Industry-leading network bandwidth capacity with multiple network POPs (points-of-
presence)
24x7x365 access and security
N+1 cooling and redundant power and diesel generator systems
Certified engineers for monitoring, security and admin services options
Large range of Dedicated Servers and Managed Hosting services
2,000 sq ft. of datacenter space