When it comes to the decision to purchase your own Internet server, the question comes down to this: Cool or practical?

While it sounds very professional to have your own domain and host your Web site in-house, the real business question is whether it's practical. The answer is often "no." Outsource the site instead.

The cost of implementing the necessary steps required to host a web site is probably the biggest reason why 62% of companies outsource this activity. A web server is merely the first of many purchases and ongoing expenditures required for hosting a web site. In addition to the expected upfront and ongoing costs, upgrading hardware and software and replacing malfunctioning parts can create unexpected expenditures. When outsourcing, the hosting company takes care of these issues at no addition cost. In-house Web servers cost money for hardware, software, system administrators salary, firewalls, leased telephone lines, the list goes on. We're easily talking about $30,000 and up for the hardware & software costs and an additional $24,000 annually for a dedicated T1 telephone line. Add to this the system administrators salary and you are looking at still another $45,000-$65,000 per year.

When outsourcing, your site can be live in days, rather than in the weeks or months it may take to purchase equipment and hire technical personnel. A web hosting company has a server to meet your needs in stock now, and has the personnel on-staff to set your site up quickly.

You MAY need your own in-house Web server computer if:

• You are getting tens of thousands of hits a day.
• You need access to sophisticated programs we can not install.
• You need to provide direct Web access to data from your mainframe.
• Your computer systems person also owns the company.

A web hosting company must have many redundant systems to stay in business. Because of the scale of a typical web hosting company, the cost of these systems to each individual client is minimal. However, having these systems in place ensures that your web site will be live for a greater percentage of the time than if you hosted your site on your own servers without multiple redundant systems.

At FastBytes, there are no single points of failure. Every system, from telecommunications to power supply, is backed up by a second system. Redundancy is built into every aspect of the data center network we house our servers in. ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) service allows for automatic fail-over to alternate paths in the event of a fiber cut or other failure. No fewer than three Internet carriers connect each site to the Internet backbone. Service is delivered to each data center using a SONET ring with multiple carriers, where available. Routing and switching hardware is redundant throughout the network and a variety of protocols, such as BGP4 and HSRP, allow the network to operate flawlessly even in the event of a device failure.

Finally, when you outsource web hosting, you can pay for what you need when you need it. For example, if your site is small now, but you expect it to grow, you can purchase a smaller package now and upgrade as your site grows. If you were hosting in-house, you would likely purchase more power than you need now to defer the high cost of upgrading your system down the road.

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