HostSailor
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The VPS Hosting Solutions Provider
Many companies are moving to an outsourced VPS hosting solutions provider. Choosing the best cost VPS Hosting is a common task. They are moving because they need to respond to the pandemic with a move to e-commerce and to support working from home and remote access to systems.
IT has also been under severe budgetary pressure. They need to have a cost-efficient transition at the same time as keeping the existing operational systems running. A VPS Hosting Solutions Provider (“MSP”) like HostSailor will provide their expertise in VPS Hosting Solutions to help ease the pain.
There can be cost reductions. Instead of the capital expenditure needed for the purchase of new hardware and software to support VPS Hosting, it can be much smaller regular amounts of operational expenditure.
Choosing the best-cost VPS Hosting Provider!
Choosing the best VPS Hosting Provider is a serious project. You will have a business relationship that will last a long time. Both parties need to be comfortable with it.
Knowing what you want and knowing what each MSP will provide for a regular fee is essential. You must have an agreed understanding, first of your requirements and second, what the MSP will provide.
In our experience, there are several steps to the process:
- Identify your Requirements
People could be a problem. You are taking them from their current comfort zones to somewhere new. To keep them onside, you need to give them a sense of ownership. Communications and involvement are essential. If they do not feel part of the process, they will resist change.
This is why the project team defining your requirements should include staff representatives.
- Documentation
Creating three categories of requirement, mandatory, essential and nice-to-have groups responses into easily assessable lists.
During the evaluation, a potential supplier must meet all mandatory requirements, as many of the essential ones as possible, and some of the nice-to-haves.
To support the selection, rank each response by assigning weightings to each requirement and applying a degree of compliance for each. Multiply or add the two to get a rank. This technique can rank potential suppliers and support the selection.
- Issue a Request for Proposals
There are two ways to do this – the long way, use local knowledge, internet searches and recommendations to find VPS Hostingsuppliers and ask them for quotes. The shorter way, see the one or two suppliers who everyone else in a similar business is using and just go to them.
Have them fill out your requirements list, stating how they meet each requirement. If the VPS Hosting provider has a website setting out their various hosting plans, then you may be able to do this yourself.
- Draw up a shortlist.
- Go for it.
To protect yourself, you need a Service Level Agreement (“SLA”). An SLA defines what is to be supplied, by whom, and who has responsibility for each activity. It includes problem escalation and resolution processes, and importantly defines the penalties for failing to meet service levels. It should also include dispute resolution processes.
Sorting out the SLA will help assess the cultural fit of your two organizations. This business relationship could run a long time and you must be comfortable with your VPS Hosting supplier.
If you can’t agree on a satisfactory SLA, then you should walk away and restart again with the backup candidate.
The SLA should include a program of regular management meetings to review any changes or service level issues. It is also an opportunity for you to bring the MSP up to date with any changes in your organization that might affect the SLA. One common danger is that the MSP becomes part of the furniture over time, and the SLA is largely ignored.
Which Specific things should consider while assessing a potential web hosting provider?
Comparing VPS Hosting plans can be confusing. Here are a few areas that you should consider when assessing a potential supplier:
- Security
- Performance
Simply put, in a VPS Hosting environment, the ability to modify the configuration of the underlying technology, especially its horsepower and architecture is essential.
- Resilience
- Support
This short article outlines the approach we take to being the best VPS Hosting supplier both in cost and service. Please contact us if you need any help or advice or just for a chat.