There is a new type of web hosting that is creating quite a buzz in these days. Its benefits are varied depending on the needs of each individual user but the greatest unanimous benefits are its scalability and cost efficiency.

Enter the new world of cloud hosting; as the term suggests, rather than have a website that is hosted on a single virtual server as we traditionally have, your website is hosted across multiple connected virtual private servers (VPS). This connection to multiple servers increases the processing power of your server infinitely. A good example of this kind of hosting is Google. Google operations, including their searches, are operating under a huge computer network, which people, including you, tap into from their local computers.

This is no longer a business concept anymore and has grown into the fastest growing IT industry segment. It is a fact that, nowadays, many tech companies do not build their datacenters anymore, they simply go "cloud"

The greatest advantages are:

Scalability here allows for faster hardware upgrades, proper load balancing, etc, making website expansion more efficient and can be done with minimum limitations. Whether you need an army of servers or hosting for a simple webpage, the technology is equipped to handle any abrupt changes in your hardware demands. If you do experience crashes, and other hardware related problems, then it is time you got onto the bandwagon and have your website hosted across this network of computers.

Cost is another advantage if you need processing power. You no longer have to reserve massive power to handle a sudden surge in traffic to your website. You are charged according to the amount of computing power used. On slow days you pay less, while on busy days you pay more; you pay for what you use ONLY.

There is a huge disadvantage with this type of server: Security!

You do not know where your data is located and you are therefore not sure who has access to it and if it is safe, because you share the same physical hardware with others. Due to its exponential growth in popularity, many have jumped into this network based hosting without a sound security strategy, leading to serious security concerns. One may not even get advance warning that something is about to go wrong and even in some cases, they do not know if anything has actually gone wrong.