Making the decision to host your IT infrastructure is a complicated task—so complicated, in fact, that we sometimes hear customers refer to the process as "navigating the labyrinth." But hard as it is, navigating the decision can be easy if you focus on a single question: What is my strategy for success? In other words, if your business is an instant sensation in the market, how will you scale to meet the demand? A success strategy must be built into your IT plans from day one. This includes laying out plans for the architecture, support, supply chain, language, features, operating system and hosting service level you require.

Many organizations get lost in the labyrinth because they ask: “How cheaply can we get online?” The resulting “strategy” invariably involves self-hosting and a vague intention to add servers as Web traffic grows. This works for a while—until traffic suddenly spikes and more servers must be added immediately. The unfortunate reality is that most businesses are not capable of adding additional servers to their IT infrastructure on short notice. After the additional servers are delivered, they still have to be provisioned, installed, tested, secured and brought online. Plus, the organization must put a support plan in place for all of the ongoing patching, routine maintainance, and data center environmental problems that may arise. Suddenly a 24/7 IT support team is needed and a redundant architecture is required. Without these, companies are forced to put in long hours of server maintenance or withstand costly downtime—hours that should be devoted to achieving business goals.

What are the options you have for Hosting?

There are many other ways of navigating the labyrinth, but choosing the right solution for your organization is easier if you keep the original question in mind: “What is my strategy for success?”

• Colocation: The first alternative to “Doing IT Yourself” (DIY) is colocation. Colocation is another version of DIY hosting. In most major cities there are vendors that rent out space in their data centers. They supply the cabinet, Internet connection, power, environmental controls and physical security while you own the gear and maintain it yourself including the OS, software and licenses. While outsourcing physical space and power is very helpful, responding to success will involve the same challenges as self-hosting—manpower, knowledge, readiness.

• Managed Hosting: Another viable option is managed hosting. Here the value proposition changes as you no longer have to worry about running a data center but also don’t own your hardware. Servers can be added with a single phone call, so the hardware aspect of your success strategy becomes simpler. The hosting service provider maintains the hardware and the operating system, keeping it patched and secure. You only need to worry about your business applications.

• Cloud Hosting: The next level is the cloud, where the hosting service maintains the hardware, the operating system as well as the programming interfaces. You only pay for the resources you use, reducing capital expenditure, and you can scale your usage in real time to meet fluctuating user demands. Everything necessary for a success strategy is offered by the cloud vendor—except that you are limited to the cloud's APIs and the programming languages the cloud supports.

• Software-as-a-Service: The last option is software as a service (SaaS). It's the least flexible hosting option, but the one that offers the lowest cost of entry, especially with standard applications like email or CRM. With SaaS you can purchase a canned application for a few dollars per month per user, and you are freed of all maintenance headaches, both hardware and software. In using SaaS, success or failure

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