If you have your own server, there are quite a few ways you can go about hosting it over the internet. With adequate space and the necessary network components, you can host it internally and literally control every aspect of your IT operations. A more practical option might be signing up for a colocation service. Colocation is a type of hosting designed for businesses that own their server hardware and network equipment. You basically provide them with your equipment and in turn, they give you storage space in their data center along with internet bandwidth and power to get your systems up and running. This type of arrangement allows you colocate computers that range from game servers to web servers to support the needs of websites that demand the highest level of performance and reliability. Lingering Disadvantages While colocation is advantageous in many ways, there are also potential drawbacks as well. In the typical arrangement, you provide the hardware and are then responsible for managing every aspect of it. This also means that you have to set everything up initially, making sure your systems are running efficiently and protected from security threats. You need to perform the necessary maintenance to ensure your server sees the maximum availability and that all your systems and the software they contain are up to date. As you have probably imagined, this can be very challenging and time consuming as well. However, it is vital in order to make sure your mission critical operations remain efficient and secure. If you are not equipped to handle these responsibilities, you could be putting your customers and the business itself at risk. The hard truth is that any organization that lacks the necessary IT resources is taking a huge gamble by running their business through colocation hosting. Without the right level of expertise at your disposal, this type of service could end up being more trouble than it is worth. Even the promise of unmatched scalability, security, reliability and all colocation has to offer, it could easily leave you at a disadvantage if you enter this environment unprepared. There is however, a happy medium – managed hosting. Why Managed Hosting? Managed hosting is a service that aims to bridge the gap by offering the flexibility of colocaiton and ease of use of traditional web hosting. It allows you to retain a significant amount of control over your server, but you lease the hardware and the host sets it up and maintains it for you. They generally provide the server configured to your specifications, handle monitoring, security provisioning, and keep the system up to date. Several hosting providers offer fully managed services in addition to 24/7 technical support, essentially freeing you up to focus on the core aspects of your business. If you are not quite ready for colocation but normal web hosting just won’t do, managed hosting could turn out to be the perfect alternative. By opting for managed hosting, you can alleviate much of the risk associated with colocation all while enjoying a similar level of freedom, security and reliability. This solution has taken the hosting world by storm and become an increasingly popular choice among the SMB segment. | 
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