By Peter Marsh, Senior Manager of Corporate IT and Security Services
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Emil Sayegh, our CEO, spoke at the NexGen Cloud Conference and Expo telling the audience, “It's not all about cloud."
That’s a catchy quote, for sure, but there is a whole lot more meaning behind it, which is based on our experience working with customers. Emil was also quoted as saying, "I cannot describe to you how many companies come to us and say, 'We are overspending with AWS, overspending with Azure."
Hybrid cloud is a construct that solves a lot of problems and eliminates a lot of risks associated with the traditional cloud.
Emil says that hybrid infrastructure connecting clouds with on-premises networks, for most customers, is the right solution. Some workloads are great sitting in the cloud. Others, often those with predictable loads, like databases, typically achieve greater cost efficiencies on dedicated gear.
Read this CRN article for a full report on Emil’s remarks at NexGen.
IT organizations often leverage Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to maximize return on scarce resources – doing more with less. In the case of cloud hosting, by outsourcing activities ranging from day-to-day infrastructure support to cloud migrations and application-level support, organizations effectively have a dedicated team of IT professionals looking out for their best interest at all times, without the headcount burden.
A 2015 CompTIA study found that nearly two-thirds of organizations used the services of an outsourced IT company during the previous 12 months. In addition, the market for managed services continues to expand, with MarketsandMarkets predicting it will be worth 242.45 Billion USD by 2021. This is an important indicator that businesses are finding managed services – and cloud hosting services in general – to be worth the investment.
Let's take a look at some key benefits of partnering with a cloud hosting provider that offers managed services and support, like Hostway:
Increased productivity is one of the main reasons for investing in managed services. By handling your cloud operations and managing your infrastructure, providers can give time back to your IT department – time that staff can spend working on innovative and higher return projects for your business.
The productivity benefits go deeper than that, too. What happens when one of your employees leaves your organization or goes on vacation for an extended period of time? With the traditional business model, you may have to hire and train a new employee, and it can take a while to get the individual up to speed. With a managed service provider, however, the expertise is always there, only a phone call away.
"A MSP not only has the resources and ability to find the right people and keep them abreast of industry trends, it has built-in bench strength ready to plug in as needed," said Paul Tuttle, a senior technology consultant at Warwick Communications, in an interview with Smart Business. "You don't have to worry about what happens when your IT person goes on vacation, has a sick day or finds a better paying job."
One particular way organizations can save money is by strengthening event detection and response strategies by incorporating managed service and support into their overall IT strategy.
One of the biggest negative contributors to a company's bottom line is the cost that comes with unplanned outages. Even a small amount of downtime can have a significant impact on the business – Gartner VP of Research Andrew Lerner noted in 2014 that the average cost per minute for downtime is somewhere around $5,600. Managed support teams can help cut losses sustained during an event such as this by leveraging business continuity services to quickly find and rectify the problem within your network.
Carolyn April, senior director of industry analysis at CompTIA, noted that partnering with an MSP can bring a much-needed, fresh perspective to any organization's IT strategy. In freeing up existing staff to work on other projects, companies can harness their employees' creative energy for more than just operations management. Cloud hosting providers offer managed support and services for infrastructure as well as applications in some cases, effectively assuming responsibility for all day-to-day operational activities associated with ensuring the entire solution operates smoothly.
"It elevates the IT staff and brings them out of the shadows within the organization," April said. "It allows them to focus on a custom app dev project or cloud initiative – something highly strategic. I think that's a win-win for your IT staff."
No matter what vertical your company operates within, you've probably heard about the benefits of migrating applications and data to the cloud. According to Statista, spending on public cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service hardware and software will grow to $173 billion in 2026, up from $38 billion in 2016. This is a clear indication that cloud application adoption – be it private, public or a hybrid cloud – is ticking upward, and companies that haven't gotten on board yet with the cloud are going to be left behind.
That being said, migrating to the cloud can be a daunting task if you take it on yourself. This is where an experienced cloud hosting provider, offering a managed IT assessment and migration service, can be hugely beneficial. A highly specialized skillset is required to identify and prioritize applications that can be moved to the cloud, uncover risks and dependencies, refactor applications and ultimately manage the migration. Don’t try to do it alone. Hire a professional.
In some cases, cloud hosting providers offer managed service and support all the way through the application layer. For example, with managed Magento support from Hostway, retailers can rest easy knowing that the entire Magento environment is monitored by Magento-Certified Solutions specialists around the clock. Hostway’s accountability-as-a-service model provides ongoing support beyond the basic configuration and installation of the Magento software – covering things like proactive troubleshooting, patching and monitoring.
You can achieve these benefits and more by partnering with a reputable cloud hosting provider, such as Hostway.
For more information about how managed support can make a difference in your organization, check out our white paper >>>
When Robert Stephen Consulting set out to create an Integrated Workforce Management System (IWMS) Web Application, they needed a web application hosting solution that was as versatile as the application they created. Since IWMS enables customers to track any and all assets critical to their business (i.e., buildings, equipment, personnel), Todd Forsyth, Chief Technology Officer for Robert Stephen Consulting, decided on a hosting solution that would excel under heavy workloads and scale with the business.
By using Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), RSC has been able to offer development and production environments designed around specific client needs, as well as to have the ability to run a separate demo environment to showcase the capabilities of their powerful application. Robert Stephen Consulting also utilizes VPC for their internal application development, KPI tracking, and other business-critical applications.
The applications and options for Hostway’s VPC seem endless to RSC. Mr. Forsyth stated RSC is “looking forward to the idea of using Virtual Private Cloud to branch out into different technology platforms,” allowing them to remain in front of the competition while remaining agile enough to adapt to what’s ahead.
Check out Robert Stephen Consulting's video (Robert Stephen Consulting Uses Virtual Private Cloud), documenting their experience with Hostway's Virtual Private Cloud hosting environment and the case study for more information regarding how they have utilized VPC to power their web application and business.
Not all cloud hosting environments are created equal. In fact, there are plenty of factors to consider before choosing an environment to host your web application. Depending on the nature of your web app, your specific solution may need to be optimized for security or adherence to certain compliance requirements. Or, maybe you need a highly scalable environment that will allow for rapid provisioning of resources with fluctuating workloads. The takeaway is that every web app will run best in an environment designed around the unique characteristics of the app.
To that end, Hostway’s Hybrid Cloud – powered by Microsoft Azure, can deliver optimized environments for nearly any web app. Hybrid Cloud combines rapid scalability, control and reliability to bring you unparalleled freedom in designing and maintaining your web app’s environment. Hostway’s Hybrid Cloud allows you to run your web apps where they run best: Virtual Private Cloud or Microsoft Azure Public Cloud all working together in an Azure-consistent environment.
When it comes to any business service, let’s face it- It's all support. How do we handle the need for managed support? Hostway brings in Microsoft Azure experts familiar with a broad array of web applications to provide 24/7/365 managed support services, so you can leave the infrastructure to us, while you focus on running your business and building great apps!
If you are searching for the perfect home to host your website application, let us show you how a Hostway Hybrid Cloud powered by Microsoft Azure can be the customizable environment to run your app. See how businesses like Robert Stephen Consulting, LLC harnessed the power of Hostway’s Virtual Private Cloud to power their web app with astonishing results.
When it comes to the infrastructure of an eCommerce site, there is no shortage of important considerations, including scalability, availability, reliability, flexibility, security and performance. We hear these messages so much, we’ve come to expect these “-ilities,” taking for granted that our vendor will deliver.
But buyer beware: Don’t ignore these features and the differences between what various vendors offer. Online merchants should make sure their provider specializes in eCommerce and knows what’s required for peaks in traffic, page load performance, and areas of site optimization. Merchants need a provider that is in tune with the specific security concerns of eCommerce and the need for customization.
The ability to deliver isn’t just about fast, reliable and secure hardware – it must also include eCommerce experience and expertise. An understanding of your eCommerce platform, and what is required for keeping it running at peak performance, is essential to ensuring that shoppers don’t leave your site out of frustration while shopping or abandon their cart mid-purchase.
There’s a lot your hosting provider should do for you. Look for a vendor that has service level agreements (SLAs) guaranteeing high availability (uptime). Depending on the type of retail business you have, auto-scaling and load-balancing may be important to accommodate peaks in traffic and periods of higher than normal purchases. You may need advanced levels of security. And, of course, you want a vendor that’s going to monitor your site and suggest adjustments to optimize performance.
But in the end, all of this is meaningless unless your service provider has a culture of accountability. A 99.999% uptime guarantee does little if no one is there to help when you have a problem. That’s why accountability is arguably the most critical of the “-ilities.”
Supporting an eCommerce environment requires ongoing monitoring; timely, informed response to issues, including the ability to triage a problem; a policy of making proactive adjustments or suggestions; and transparency in regards to measuring and reporting on your online store.
The reason you turn to a third-party managed solution provider is because you don’t have, or don’t want to have, the internal resources to manage your eCommerce environment. If you did manage things internally, you would hold the employees tasked with this responsibility fully accountable for everything under their purview. Similarly, you should hold the managed solution provider to the same standard.
If the provider holds itself accountable, they will consider customer service and technical training – along with the necessary tools – a priority. They will also invest in eCommerce business training so their employees truly understand your business requirements and goals.
Find a provider that is willing to take ownership and face difficult problems. Ask about their support policy, procedures, and customer service culture – ensure the company not only feels a sense of duty, but that individual employees do as well. Will support personnel give you their name? How quickly will they respond if there’s a question or problem? You want the support team to take personal responsibility for ensuring your satisfaction.
This culture of accountability isn’t just good for the customer, it’s good for the provider. By taking on more responsibility, they will learn more about managing eCommerce environments, and be able to improve operations for you and other clients. You want a provider that is willing to take ownership of your eCommerce infrastructure and make tough decisions. This is the difference between an average provider and one that goes the extra mile. This is the attitude of success.
Find out what else your site needs to succeed>>>
When you see the benefits of cloud environments cited, one of the most frequently found terms is scalability. Many administrators might gloss over that characteristic, chalking it up as simply describing the ability to expand the cloud. But scalability means much more than that.
Put simply, scalability applies to an application or product that can function ideally when it is changed in size or volume in order to meet a user need. A scalable solution revolves around a planned capacity level that can be altered in either direction in a quick and easy manner.
"Cloud scalability supports long-term, strategic needs," TechTarget contributor Ciprian Popoviciu wrote.
In this way, a cloud environment's scalability enables an organization to expand the platform to accommodate both current and future needs.
TechTarget's Margaret Rouse expanded upon this, noting that, in order to qualify as scalable, the cloud environment must be able to grow in volume while still delivering robust performance. This enables the business and its users to leverage their available resources in the best means possible.
"It is the ability of a computer application or product (hardware or software) to continue to function well when it (or its context) is changed in size or volume in order to meet a user need," Rouse wrote. "It is the ability not only to function well in the rescaled situation, but to actually take full advantage of it."
At the same time, scalability can refer to a reduction of the cloud environment's size as well. Scaling down may take place after a period of peak demand, and ensures that a company isn't paying for more cloud resources than it needs to support critical processes.
What does scalability look like in a real-world setting?
In 2013, Hostway put its cloud scalability to work for Neowin's Minecraft Server, enabling the website to deliver a best-in-class gaming experience regardless of significant traffic spikes. Such a hosting solution allowed for on-demand scalability of the environment Neowin utilized to support Minecraft. In this way, a swiftly expanding user base did not hamper the performance of the cloud, or the game.
"When we introduced our Minecraft server in March, we started with 20 users for initial load testing and then opened the door to everyone in the Neowin community," Brad Smith, Neowin managing editor explained. "Suddenly, we had hundreds of registered users, large groups of gamers pounding on the server concurrently. With Hostway's ability to scale resources up or down as needed, we have been able to meet demand without missing a beat."
For Neowin, scalability allowed them to keep up with the demands of its quickly growing community of gamers. In an enterprise, scalability can translate to ensuring critical application support while keeping up with employee demands. At the same time, it can also mean guaranteeing the performance of client-facing cloud-based resources, providing the best user experience and customer service possible.
As cloud demands continue to grow in the corporate community, the ability to scale your cloud environment alongside your organization's needs is becoming increasingly imperative. Here at Hostway, we specialize in on-demand scalability, ensuring your business always has the resources it requires on hand. To find out more, schedule a free one-on-one consultation with an expert cloud consultant today.
Businesses have plenty of options when it comes to migrating large portions of their infrastructure to off-site hosts. According to Research and Markets, the colocation and managed hosting market is projected to reach a value of $47.2 billion by 2018. It's important that these companies not only know what's available, but also what will work best for their unique needs.
Recently, dedicated server hosting has been under scrutiny, surrounded by a considerable amount of hype and negativity. To determine dedicated hosting's true value, we'll examine the top three misconceptions about it:
One misconception about dedicated server hosting is that it usurps control from the client, that having an expert service provider looking after their hardware limits their accessibility and control.
"[A] potential disadvantage to dedicated hosting is that you do not have physical access to the server," The Web Hosting Directory noted. "Your Web-hosting provider will be responsible for maintaining the actual server. They will provide security measures to protect your server and data."
The second portion of this statement doesn't sound so bad – what's so terrible about having an experienced, knowledgeable team taking care of maintenance and security? As for the first – it's more of a half-truth than anything.
"The provider's support helps free up time for the internal IT team."
Access and control will largely depend on the provider and type of service chosen. For instance, a managed dedicated server comes with a full range of vendor support. Even still, the client has complete control of resource usage as well as the platforms, applications or solutions hosted there.
In many cases, clients have more accessibility and management capabilities than they thought, and the provider's support helps free up time for the internal IT team.
This misconception goes hand-in-hand with the prior. Not only are today's dedicated hosting plans customizable and fully accessible to the client, but this approach often provides a higher level of quality support than any other environment.
Because resources are dedicated to a single user, as opposed to being divvied up between organizations in a shared environment, clients always have access to the support they need. This is crucial for organizations that host critical real-time applications or customer-facing platforms. Without it, employees may be left without access to the platforms they need to be productive; consumers may lose access to the resources they need to connect with the business.
Additionally, some consumers view dedicated servers as inherently less redundant than cloud servers. However, when built the right way, with failover destinations available, dedicated infrastructure can be just as highly available, if not moreso, than cloud deployments.
With dedicated resources in place, businesses can expect top-notch reliability and can rest easy knowing their solutions will always be available.
This option is definitely an investment – there's no mistake there. However, the benefits outweigh the costs – depending on the hosting provider. Thankfully, today's providers typically offer a range of different plans and prices that can suit any need.
Hostway has a number of options when it comes to dedicated server hosting – from starter packs to general purpose and high utilization. And if these don't fit the bill, our team of Dedicated Server Specialists can create a custom solution aligned with your business's unique needs.
To find out more about dedicated server hosting, contact Hostway today.
Businesses that rely heavily on e-commerce – as most do these days – know that there are three principal issues which can reduce the effectiveness of their site. This blog is the first in Josh Hatfield's three-part series, “3 Problems that Plague E-Commerce Sites.” Check back in for subsequent entries the next two weeks.
Every year, a series of predictable, avoidable failures occurs. Big-name brands are punished for their lack of preparedness as the peak season arrives. It reduces their profits, knocks their brand down a peg, and serves as a reminder that anyone can suffer the consequences.
Call it Spike Overflow Syndrome – the S.O.S. sent out by a company’s IT staff when the walls come crashing down. In 2015, Target was a victim of Black Friday failures. Neiman Marcus struggled for consecutive days during peak gift-buying season, while PayPal went down on Cyber Monday and the day before.
For smaller retailers, it’s a stark reminder: Traffic can surge without warning, and websites generally go down when the most money is coming in. So how can you prevent your e-commerce site from buckling under pressure? Here are three suggestions.
Lighten Your Landing Page Load
Which pages on your site get visited the most? Probably your home page, any Google ads landing pages you have, destinations of links in emails, and so on. Ensure those load fast: two out of every five users will leave a site if it takes more than three seconds to load. Maximize this speed by making your landing pages as light as possible. It’s a delicate balancing act to lighten the load while keeping the site compelling. But to keep your site up and running during spikes, it’s a crucial one.
Use a Content Delivery Network
A high-quality CDN, and offsite source for images, will enable faster page load times, better video streaming and smoother shopping cart processing. Web-hosting providers and telecommunications providers offer CDNs, as well as third-party specialists. Many employ geographically diverse servers to ensure faster load times for visitors around the world.
Move to the Cloud
To increase bandwidth during peak seasons without paying for maximum volume year-round, embrace a cloud hosting model. This way, you can quickly add computing power for those occasional spikes, then reduce capacity when they end.
Prepare now for Cyber Monday 2016 – or for any other traffic spike.
Between current movies and television programs, zombies are everywhere. AMC's "The Walking Dead" drew an astounding 15.8 million viewers for its Season 5 finale last March. The show has even spawned its own spinoff, "Fear the Walking Dead."
The entertainment market isn't the only industry seeing more zombies. IT teams are increasingly discovering these fearsome creatures within their own network infrastructures. These aren't drooling, undead ghouls; these are underutilized servers siphoning off essential resources, taking a toll on the company's computing power.
"If 10 percent of the servers within a 1000-server infrastructure are zombies, roughly $23,000 is spent a year keeping these ghost machines up and running."
Zombie servers have become an increasingly prevalent issue, not only in enterprise infrastructures but also within some data centers as well. An estimate presented by The Wall Street Journal's Robert McMillan pegged the number of zombie servers in the U.S. at more than 3 million. Together, these use more than 1 gigawatt of power, or roughly the same amount of power consumed by all the households in the city of Chicago.
"They're servers … sucking up lots of power while doing nothing," McMillan explained. "Most companies are far better at getting servers up and running than they are at figuring out when to pull the plug."
This is more common than ever today. When enterprises deploy an application or integrate a new solution, they typically set up a server (be it physical or virtual) for the necessary support. However, when this system is migrated to the cloud, replaced or otherwise upgraded, some IT teams may overlook the original server. With the application the server was supporting now gone, these machines are needlessly consuming power.
Costs add up paying for that wasted power. Raritan pointed out that if 10 percent of the servers within a 1,000-server infrastructure are zombies, this means the organization supporting the network spends roughly $23,000 a year keeping these ghost machines up and running.
So what can an enterprise do to solve its zombie server problems? The first step is identifying the servers that are underutilized. This can be a laborious process, as it could mean tracing files and application activities back to specific database locations to ascertain which servers are functioning and which are simply sucking up resources.
"Things that should be turned off over time are not and unfortunately the longer they linger, the worse the problem becomes," noted Paul Nally, Bruscar Technologies LLC principal. "They would have never been found by any other methodology other than walking around with a clipboard."
Nally told McMillan that he once audited a data center with more than 1,000 servers, none of which had the necessary domain-name-system software configuration necessary to identify them. As a result, he and his team had to physically go to each server to determine which were zombies – a nightmarish task.
Once zombie servers are identified, the team can work to migrate what few application processes or activities these machines might still support. One of the most beneficial ways to address zombie servers is to leverage managed hosting services to ensure that available power and other resources are not wasted.
Within a managed hosting environment, the vendor's on-site team maintains the company's off-premises machines, taking responsibility for tasks including patching, monitoring and backups. In this way, the company can be sure that its critical applications and online activities are supported by an expertly maintained server environment. The service provider's team ensures that all available computing resources are used appropriately, eliminating the chances of any zombie servers within the managed infrastructure.
To find out more about the benefits of managed hosting and how this strategy can help address the issue of underutilized servers, contact Hostway today.