Customer: ConvergeDirect
Industry: Marketing
Solution: Disaster Recovery, Database
ConvergeDirect, a marketing firm that provides a wide variety of advertising services, entrusts Hostway with maintaining and updating their overall infrastructure, adding a disaster recovery solution to ensure their databases are always available.
According to Jason Schalz, ConvergeDirect Director of Technology, the organization counts on several Hostway solutions, including those related to its database servers, web servers and hit-tracking servers, which show when a ConvergeDirect client's advertisement has been seen or clicked on. The company also utilizes a Hostway firewall solution to safeguard its network. All told, Hostway operates and manages the entirety of its core infrastructure, owning all of the servers used by the firm.
"All of our production applications and data are hosted by Hostway," Schalz said. "Everything."
In addition to its database, web and hit tracking servers, ConvergeDirect also began leveraging Hostway services for the company's new disaster recovery location. Schalz noted that this process began this year, as the organization looked to establish a second home in Tampa, Florida, specifically devoted to disaster recovery and business continuity.
During this time, company leaders had a difficult balance they were looking to maintain. They needed a system that would enable them to be fully prepared in the event of a disaster while still fitting within their budget.
This is where ConvergeDirect's partnership with Hostway became increasingly valuable. The vendor's experts were able to recommend the best configuration that would keep processes going temporarily while staying in line with the business budget.
"Hostway was able to figure out what we would need to keep running in case of a disaster, for a smaller period of time, obviously, until our regular production service was up and running," Schalz said. "They gave us a solution that didn't double our spending. We were able to spend less than we thought we would have to to have a second site."
Schalz added that it is beneficial to have a vendor that knows what the company has as well as what they need, and can recommend the best components to bring value to any project ConvergeDirect is working on.
"Hostway's solution provides us with 24/7/365 access to our apps and data, allowing us to always be there for our clients," Schalz said. "These clients can rest assured that they have connectivity at any time."
Overall, one of the greatest benefits of utilizing Hostway is the fact that the partnership enables the internal ConvergeDirect team to remain focused on their core company processes while not having to worry about their infrastructure. For Schalz, this means he is able to keep his attention on the software aspect of the organization while Hostway maintains the hardware.
"That is the best part for me. I don't have to worry about it and everything is taken care of," Schalz said. "I know the servers are going to be running and they're going to be up and if a disc drive explodes or something, Hostway is going to swap it out for me.”
“The fact that I don't have to worry about the infrastructure is really my favorite part," Schalz added. "If I had physical servers here that I had to administer, I would probably go crazy."
Customer: Technology On Call
Industry: Reseller Partner
Solution: Migration
Before working with Hostway, Technology On Call had been utilizing platforms from the same provider since the mid-1990s. While these supported the company’s previous requirements for support and reliability, the legacy technology’s capabilities had declined in recent years. This presented numerous challenges, particularly for a provider offering such a wide range of services. In addition to assisting with troubleshooting, website development and software installation and updates, Technology On Call also offers hosting, network and server support and security options for its customers.
When it came time to upgrade to a more advanced solution, Berg had concerns about the provider’s ability to handle the migration. In addition, Technology On Call had experienced issues with the old vendor’s customer assistance in the past.
“Over the past years, [service] has deteriorated, and I have not been getting the same intellectual support,” Berg said.
Berg’s migration needs — in addition to goals related to expanding and improving the company’s service portfolio — prompted Berg to seek out a solution. He discovered Hostway while researching his available options, coming across several positive recommendations on industry forums.
Soon after, Technology On Call connected with Hostway to address its immediate migration needs. Hostway’s industry-leading customer support meant Berg was able to work with a dedicated migration specialist for the initiative, which helped ensure the company was on track for success at every step along the way.
“With the move over to Hostway, I have been able to consolidate all my solutions,” Berg said. “Consolidation is key especially since Hostway offers migration support, better products and better overall support.”
Berg also took advantage of Hostway’s Plesk and cPanel control panels to help maintain granular visibility into his accounts and servers. This was a particular boon when it came to web design projects.
Technology On Call also became involved in the Hostway Reseller Partner Program as a Silver Level Reseller Partner. Now, the company can offer its own customers access to top-tier Hostway services, including virtual private server plans that fit an array of different needs.
Berg and his business enjoyed numerous benefits after partnering with Hostway, especially when it came to the company’s migration needs. In addition to having a dedicated specialist to work with directly, the migration was streamlined and effective.
Berg noted that he hesitated to trust his older provider with the migration because he feared the company wouldn’t be able to handle the process. Compounding this issue was the fact that Technology on Call used a proprietary platform unique to the old provider, creating considerable obstacles for migration. However, the more he worked with Hostway, the more confident he became in the standard platform solutions he uses and the support he receives.
“Hostway does the hard work for the migration,” Berg said. “I’m in it with both feet and expanding and moving everything to Hostway.”
Berg also noticed several improvements over his previous solution. Not only was the migration assistance tremendously valuable, but it also fit within the company’s budget. Berg’s backend and management capabilities were also considerably improved with the use of Plesk and cPanel.
“Transferring domain registrations to Hostway is a breeze,” Berg said. “Hostway maintains their own registrar service rather than being spread across various registrars. The savings is about $2 per domain per year compared to the newly announced price increases at [the former provider]. All in all, I’m paying less for domain registrations and less for servers, with the added ability to consolidate my hosting in industry-standard platforms.”
Technology On Call not only found assistance for its migration needs with Hostway, but also a partner with which it can expand its own services. Berg noted that he has been pleasantly surprised by his experiences with Hostway, and will continue to expand his company’s relationship with Hostway in the future.
“Before Hostway, I would never have been able to do it on my own,” Berg said.