Many web hosting customers do not understand the benefits of cloud hosting. If you find yourself wondering whether your websites are performing optimally or if you are not experiencing the benefits of load balancing you may need to consider cloud hosting. Cloud hosting is beginning to grow exponentially in the online hosting community and you need to consider whether cloud hosting is the right option for you and your needs.
What is Cloud Hosting
Cloud Hosting refers to the use of interconnected computers or servers utilized to host data. For example, ABC Hosting Company may offer a cloud hosting plan that provides 10 GB of data storage, 50 GB of bandwidth and is load balanced across two servers. Cloud Hosting plans have four main components reliability, scalability and flexibility, utility style costing and responsive load balancing.
Reliability
Reliability is an expectation for every web host. However, cloud hosting takes reliability to another level. A customer account is stored in a virtual file that utilizes computing power, storage and resources from thousands of underlying physical servers. This means that if a single server faces a power, hardware or other issue the account can still be accessed by the shared computing power of the other servers. Dependent upon the web hosting provider, virtual files may be accessed from multiple data center locations in the event of a power outage or disaster at one data center. Cloud hosting providers are able to offer uptime guarantees for their customers that are consistently met thanks to the reliability of cloud hosting.
Scalability and Flexibility
The underlying physical network of servers powering a cloud hosting solution is easily scalable and flexible. For example, if a website covers a major sporting event each year, cloud hosting can easily support tens of thousands of simultaneous visitors to the website. Normally, the website may only have two hundred simultaneous visitors cloud hosting can easily be scaled back for the rest of the year. The scalability and flexibility also changes the cost of the cloud hosting plan. Websites that are generating more traffic and utilizing more network resources will generally be charged more when using cloud hosting. However, websites that are not utilizing a large amount of combined network resources will have a lower bill. This flexibility makes cloud hosting the perfect solution for businesses both large and small that do not want to operate their own servers or data center locations.
Utility Style Costing
Cloud hosting costs are similar to an electric or water bill. Customers pay for the network resources they use during a defined period. Cloud hosting customers generally have a minimum amount that must be paid to support the network infrastructure, similar to many utility bills. Cloud hosting customers who currently own dedicated servers or co-locate servers in a data center likely can save significant amounts of money if they currently have excess capacity. Invoices are sent to customers after a defined time period and must be paid promptly in order to continue using cloud hosting services.
Responsive Load Balancing
Responsive load balancing through the combined network resources of thousands of servers ensure peak performance for cloud hosting customers. Customers have their needs dynamically reassessed by load balancing software to ensure the appropriate amount of network resources are dedicated to their specific account.
Who can Benefit Most From Cloud Hosting
There are several customer types that can benefit from cloud hosting. Any customer that has peaks of high traffic but averages much lower traffic volumes throughout the year can benefit from cloud hosting. Special events, seasonal businesses and other variances can cause these types of peaks and valleys to occur. Customers who currently have a dedicated server solution or co-locate a server at a data center can also likely benefit from cloud hosting. Customers with a dedicated sever that is not being fully utilized often find that their hosting costs drop due to the efficiencies of cloud hosting. Co-locating a server is often just as expensive due to maintenance costs, personnel costs and co-location fees. Cloud hosting is also a viable option for any business that is looking to grow dramatically. Responsive load balancing as well as flexibility and scalability can keep costs in check,
Cloud hosting customers benefit from responsive load balancing, flexibility and scalability, utility style costing and reliability. You should take a look at your current hosting solution. Cloud hosting may be the better option for your websites and save you money as a result.
