There are different degrees of managed hosting; it is not just a matter of your hosting being managed or unmanaged. Different aspect of your hosting will be, and will not be managed, depending on the specific package.

It is important to know what is included in a managed hosting package, and not to just assume that everything is fully managed. Different people have different ideas of what managed hosting entails. In the eyes of a host they may feel they are offering managed hosting, but this may not be the same as your idea of managed. If you require fully managed hosting it is important to make sure that is what you are getting.

Hosting can be either fully managed or partially managed, or of course, not managed at all. In theory fully managed hosting should mean absolutely all areas of hosting are covered, but as mentioned above you should make sure this is the case. With fully managed hosting you shouldn’t have to worry at all and should be able to assume your hosting is in the capable hand of the hosting company’s experts.

Partially managed hosting means that some aspects are managed for you, while others are not. Sometimes there will be different packages available, with different aspects included depending on which of these you choose. Other times though, you can simply pick and choose different options, paying for each of these you decide to have included. Some clients may only want one or two areas managed, while others may require their hosting to be more extensively managed.

There are many elements that may be included in a managed hosting package. These include security, maintenance and monitoring. Security gives website owners piece of mind knowing that everything will be secure. This protects from hackers and physical break-ins, as well as fire and other elements. Maintenance means that hosting clients do not need to worry about updating the servers. Solving any problems that arise also comes under this umbrella. Some choose not to pay for maintenance not foreseeing any issues, but then often expect these to be solved when they occur – something that they have not paid for. You could think of maintenance as an insurance policy, but in most cases problems will occur at some point. Whether maintenance should be chosen depends on the clients own ability to problem solve. If monitoring is purchased, then any problems should be quickly established as the hosting of websites is always being watched. Many choose 24/7 monitoring to give then this security.

Every client is different, as is every website, and the type of managed hosting chosen should be decided depending on these factors. For those with simple websites and/or good hosting knowledge partially managed hosting, or other forms of hosting, might be all that is required. For those who require complex hosting and have little experience fully managed hosting may be necessary.

Andrew Marshall ©