-Problems with IT have little influence on upgrading solutions.

-25 percent of businesses are too afraid of losing data to change servers.

by Lauren Whitson

New research released today by Fasthosts Internet, (www.fasthosts.com), a leading reseller web hosting provider, reveals that 33 percent of companies are too scared to change their current data server.  Of the 132 server solution users who participated in the Fasthosts survey1, the results showed that one third of the participants did not want to risk causing any negative consequences that they felt could happen from switching to a new IT solution. Complications and data loss were two of the main reasons they had for stalling any upgrades.

While IT solutions are essential for businesses to stay competitive and operate smoothly, each company has a different reason for maintaining a server.  According to the Fasthosts results, the large majority of businesses primarily use a server to host web data (87 percent).  For 67 percent, email services are the main reason for it, while 52 percent manage business data, half use it to store office documents and 44 percent host their business software through their server.   

Stephen Holford, Chief Marketing Officer for Fasthosts Internet, suggests, "Business and technology go hand-in-hand.  IT solutions are integrated into every part of a company's livelihood whether it be emails, customer information, profit data – you name it, servers store it.  It's exactly why businesses today need to have dependable and updated server solutions.  Without it, a business puts more than just a website at risk."

What is particularly interesting is the number of businesses that have experienced problems with their server over the last year.  Despite those issues which include problems with email (36 percent), website downtime (34 percent), failed hardware (26 percent) and slow software (34 percent), companies still think twice about upgrading their server technology.  

In fact, changing IT solutions is a goal for 25 percent of the respondents yet they are too afraid to chance any negative consequences.  About 1 in 10 even feels their server is currently outdated and 22 percent have not updated or changed their server in at least three years.

 "What's important is to realize that upgrading to an advanced server can enhance business and give them a competitive edge over the competition," Holford added.  "With our new Dedicated Servers for example, SMBs keep their IT support in-house so they are more in-tune to how their company operates.  Actually, 1 in 5 said they even want to learn more about their server's technology in our survey."

Fasthosts' new line of Dedicated Servers provides a top quality product that entrepreneurs can trust to keep their information safe at an off-site location.  Instant activation means there is essentially no down time for IT servicing or much chance for complications to occur.

Resellers can also benefit from Fasthosts' dedicated servers.  Alongside their reseller business for Web solutions, resellers can offer the servers directly to end-users as a premium state-of-the-art IT solution.  Perfect for resellers who have customers with special hosting needs, Fasthosts resellers are now able to provide high-spec servers with unlimited bandwidth directly to their customers and still earn a profit.   

Fasthosts provides its US resellers with dedicated service 24/7 with US based technical support via phone or email. As a reseller hosting specialist and the UK's number 1 reseller web host, Fasthosts is well placed to offer a high quality reseller web hosting service. All US customer websites are hosted within the company's green state-of-the-art data center in Lenexa, KS and benefit from 30GBit high-speed connectivity.

For more information on Fasthosts and reseller web hosting, please visit the web site at http://www.fasthosts.com 

About Fasthosts Inc.

Fasthosts is a leading reseller web hosting provider and the UK's number one web hosting company. In the US the company is based in Chesterbrook, PA. Operating 24x7 from its dedicated data centers, Fasthosts keeps over 1 million domains running smoothly and ensures over 6 million emails are delivered safely each day. All Fasthosts services can be self-managed through the award winning Fasthosts web-based control panel that provides customers with unparalleled online control, enabling them to manage their hosted services seamlessly. Fasthosts' highly successful reseller channel has recently been rated Number 1 for reseller hosting by industry portal Web Host Directory.

Author Information:

Lauren Whitson

Fasthosts Internet

Phone: (610) 560-1530

Email: Lauren.Whitson@fasthosts.com

[1WIRED magazine conducted an online survey of 132 adult readers in April/May 2009 to look closely at the current use of server solutions on behalf of Fasthosts Internet.]

by John Beagle

The good news is that 22 percent of SMBs plan to hire full or part time IT staff while only 3 percent plan to reduce staff over the next six months. That is a net gain of 19% new jobs in the IT sector.

Even better news,  the recession in IT may be over. Since the begining of 2009, 39 percent of SMBs cut 2009 budgets from 2008 levels. The average cut was 22 percent, 31 percent kept budgets the same, and 30 percent actually grew their budgets this year by 27 percent. 

Best yet, the bad news may be over! So far in 2009, 60 percent of SMBs delayed or canceled at least one project. But the new numbers going forward are much more optimistic.

51 percent are planning new software purchases. Security and anti-spam solutions top the list with 32 percent of SMBs planning such purchases within the next six months. Of these, just over 1 in 3 (35 percent) plan to buy cloud-based security and anti-spam offerings.

44 percent are using virtualization solutions. Within small and medium business networks, 21 percent of their total server computing capacity is virtualized. Over the next six months, 30 percent of SMBs plan to deploy or expand virtualization in their networks.

25 percent are planning backup and recovery purchases within the next six months. Of these, 75 percent plan to store data on premise and 25 percent plan to utilize cloud-based storage solutions. 42 percent of data is slated to be stored on network-attached storage (NAS) or storage area network (SAN) devices. 38 percent will be stored in direct-attached and local storage, 7 percent is planned to be hosted offsite, and 13 percent on tape and other media.

57 percent currently use one or more "cloud computing" services. The three most popular cloud computing services in use or on the purchase list include anti-spam (43 percent), hosted email (25 percent), and online backup (20 percent).

There were 1,130 survey respondents most were IT professionals representing technology teams of one to five people that support companies with fewer than 500 employees and with an annual technology budget of $108,000. 

"Things are picking up lately. Business in our area seemed to have bottomed in July. We are seeing a second month of increases. I would estimate things are up about 20% since July." Jonathan Haller,  Computer Service Now.

Computer Service Now computer technicians (aka Techs) build, design, install, repair and maintain computer hardware. Technicians fix problems with hardware and software fast. They fix viruses, worms and spam too. With computer shops and technicians in over 1000 cities worldwide, you can schedule computer service anywhere with one point of contact, me.  Call us 877-422-1907, We'll take care of the details.

Schedule Computer Technician

Our Computer Network Engineers interconnect computers and other network devices. Let me schedule a qualified engineer to work on your company LAN, WAN, PAN, VPN, or SAN. We have network design engineers on staff who can build networks for 10 to 10,000 employees. Engineers are engaged in all aspects of computer networking including: network administration, preventative maintenance, software upgrades, network security, reduction of email SPAM and support for existing network staff.

Schedule a Network Engineer