What are web hosting services?
Web hosting services provide customers with shared or dedicated hosting of one or more services.
Typically used to host websites, web hosting services can also be used to host emails, files, games and other business content. Web hosting services make it possible for companies to subcontract one or more web-based functions to a hosting provider. This allows the company to focus resources on supporting customers and growing the business.
In the US, revenue generated by the hosting services market in 2015 was $16 billion, according to IBISWorld market research . Typically the annual market growth exceeds 11 percent as companies increase their presence on the web.
Four types of web hosting services
Web hosting companies range from service providers that offer extensive web support and management to service providers that lease a single virtual private server. Hosting services are:
Managed Hosting : In managed hosting , the service provider owns and operates the servers leased to the customer. The provider is responsible for management, backup services, software maintenance, security, technical support for the server, among others. Rackspace is an example of a managed hosting provider.
Cloud Hosting : With cloud hosting , the service provider provides a private, public or hybrid cloud and the customer pays for the time and storage of the system. Cloud capacity can be scaled up or down depending on the customer's computing needs. Among the top clouds are Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.
Colocation Facilities : The colocation facility hosts the company's servers and provides internet connectivity, power and a temperature-controlled environment. Most colocation facilities are owned and operated by a local provider.
Private Virtual Server : The service provider hosts the customer's website on its own virtual private server , thus isolating it from other customers' websites. Managed hosting providers,
cloud hosting providers and co-location facilities offer virtual private servers.
Why Use Web Hosting Services?
superior performance
Dedicated servers, storage and network allow the hosting provider to customize the cloud solution according to the specific needs of the customer, thus achieving excellent performance for the
application and the website. The same is true of a dedicated environment on a cloud, whether
private or public.
Flexibility in different types of cloud
Customer's dedicated hosting environments can be moved to their preferred cloud, such as AWS or
Microsoft Azure , allowing them to realize the distinct advantages of both platforms.
Greater security
Achieve a higher level of industry-specific compliance and security with a dedicated environment that complies with PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and FISMA requirements. Private clouds such as those from also provide the advanced security needed to maintain regulatory compliance.
Greater control
Your dedicated servers, storage, network capacity, and other solution components aren't shared with noisy neighbors.
How can Rackspace help?
We are the world's leading managed hosting provider , providing uninterrupted access to world-class expertise in virtualization, security, e-commerce, web content management, email and collaboration, disaster recovery and IT transformation.
Our dedicated hosting solutions, including dedicated servers , databases , storage and your own VMware environment , can be optimized especially for you, according to your company's specific needs.(Adria Leader Hosting)