Business Hosting Doesn’t Have To Be A Race To The Bottom

Presenting a better business and one where others trust you comes down to the structure behind the scenes.

Whilst this article has the onus on hosting, it represents the values of a company that has been built since 2001 and what it stands for and what it shuns.

Datacenta Hosting took over an existing hosting business when technology was very basic and scarily expensive. It was the age of modem connections, Freeserve email address and brochure websites.

I certainly do not miss the late-night SMS alerts or driving to work halfway, through preparing Christmas dinner, just to reboot a server.

Times have changed and thankfully technology has improved vastly.

What We Are Not & What We Are

The world of cheap commodity hosting is in abundance. It represents a fight to the bottom and a fickle marketplace. Trust me, mass WordPress hosting is a security nightmare and is by no means rewarding for technical staff.

A faceless world is not a world that I endorse, this means we create commodity work where the world represents two dogs fighting over a bone.

The elements that I have always encouraged is for customers to talk to us and to engage with my staff. This is the only way relationships develop. I have promised everyone, we won’t hide behind a web portal. I want people to feel assured that they can speak to someone who has their back

Our customers have also told us not to grow too big, so they don’t lose that sense of personal connection. That says a lot to me and the value we both place in that partnership.

Where The Focus Is Heading

One significant focus for the company is working with more and more local businesses that really need that connection, excuse the pun because connecting together with fast leased-lines opens up many options.

The options can include cheaper internet access, offsite backup and a business continuity strategy.

By having a personal relationship with a supplier (such as Datacenta Hosting), we can identify a point where ordering more of the same may not necessarily be the best. We would propose a more cost-effective solution that would be easier to manage. We both win in this scenario. It is not about getting the maximum monetary return as that is a short-term gratification, not a long-term relationship.

Bringing It Back To Hosting

I am a bit of a foodie, as anyone who follows me on social can see. What I have learned from the hospitality sector is that sourcing locally is very important, as is supporting each other as local businesses.

That made me think about how the local Dorset Digital economy works.

Naturally, I have a selfish goal of gaining local business, but we are also a local business that feeds revenues gained nationally and internationally back into the local economy.

As an example, within the creative sector, I see large and small agencies, plus freelancers, all competing in some way but also working together. Big brands are coming to Dorset for their web and creative projects. Creative agencies are working with web companies, UX companies, graphic designers, copywriters and so on. Where does that final product reside?

Bringing To A Close

There is a growing list of local data centre businesses in Dorset, which is very encouraging. Maybe now we have a better voice to tell the region how our infrastructure is Supporting Dorset Businesses. There's more to Dorset than Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

When you create a relationship with others, you build familiarity. When we bring our skills and experience to the table, the world doesn’t have to be faceless when it comes to hosting businesses. We are all part of this together.