Web Hosting Reviews & Ratings

January 07, 2011

The Price of Colocation Hosting

Colocation hosting is a popular method of web hosting in which the customer stores all their working equipment at a specific location offering various levels of security. Due to the cost of this equipment and even more the data on the servers, it is important for businesses to protect their investments. Most storage facilities are state-of-the-art and saves money from owning your own facility.

However, there are a few expenses involved with storing your server equipment at a colocation host, including:

• The support
• The server
• The service

Unfortunately colocation hosting does not come equipped with technical support. Therefore any updates, patches or problems are fixed by the company that owns the equipment. Therefore, specialists and other information technology professionals must be trained to monitor your equipment remotely and regularly. However, many colocation facilities make recommendations for professionals that monitor the site on a regular basis for a fee.

The most cost effective method is to hire an information technology professional by the hour so you only have to pay for the amount of hours actually worked. Even better, it is more effective for you to learn server administration yourself. This will save a huge amount of money in IT personnel costs.

The second major expense is that colocation hosting plans do not come with servers or software. These must be purchased separately by your or your company which can cost between $2,000 and $10,000. Owning your own server is only reasonable if you are operating hundreds of resource-intensive websites. If you need a moderate amount of server resources, it is most cost effective to rent a dedicated server.

The final expense involved is the monthly cost of renting the space in a colocation facility. This can often be hundreds of dollars per month because it is protected 24/7 by security with few issues. You are basically only paying for security and protection for disasters and nothing else.

There are many areas to consider prior to taking on the expense of colocation hosting. In the end, you must decide if the bill is worth the cost and if the business can support the financial burden. Colocation hosting is an excellent option for some but not for others. It all depends on the needs of your specific business. There are plenty of options available for the ideal web hosting provider environment.

Tags: colocation facility,  IT personnel,  server administration,  information technology professional,  Colocation Hosting