As the name may imply, remote hosting involves the networking and Internet services of a business being hosted at a site other than on the premises of the business itself. For decades, the networking services of many companies were usually contained in the same building as the business itself. On-site hosting meant that each business had to have an information technology specialist on site to maintain the servers.
Remote hosting has become more and more common as businesses expand globally and they establish offices around the world. Rather than install a server room in each individual office building, corporations are creating sites that house the servers for all of their offices. There are distinct advantages and disadvantages to having remote server for your office.
Advantages of remote servers
Having a remote server can provide a business with distinct economic and logistics advantages.
- Easier to secure than on-site servers
- Less expensive to create than an on-site server room
- Information and programs can be shared easily throughout company
- Technicians can be on-site 24 hours a day
By storing all of their information and programs at a remote server, a company can supply its workers with less expensive computers with smaller hard drives. There is no need to install all the necessary programs on each individual computer, which results in a substantial savings.
Disadvantages of remote servers
There are distinct disadvantages to relying on remote hosting for business operations as well.
- Easier to hack one location than several
- No direct access by users in the offices
- If server is shared with others, the cost of upgrades and repairs will also have to be shared
- Problems affect entire network rather than just one office
Remote hosting means giving up some level of control. While it may lower costs on one end (software, etc.), a remote server can mean additional costs in terms of lost productivity if the system is compromised. Those considering remote hosting should determine if the additional cost and lack of complete control is worth using the system.
Using a remote server can have several advantages for companies seeking to streamline their operations. Remote hosting can provide a company with a secure location where their workers around the world can store and share information and programs in a split of a second. For businesses attempting to streamline efficiency, whilst reducing the need for expensive and demanding onsite hardware, hosting data remotely presents itself as an extremely attractive solution.
Remote hosting is an excellent way to save money on business critical resources. Find out more about how implementing cloud computing can save your business money.
