Before you decide whether dedicated servers are worth the investment for your business or not, you have to understand the main benefits of using dedicated servers in comparison with the ones that arise from using standard shared web hosting.
First of all, with shared web hosting your websites files are at risk, because you will have them stored on the same server with other websites. Thus, if there is any problem that is experienced by other websites, it will affect the performance of your own website. Dedicated servers will save you from this mess. When you use dedicated servers, you will not share your server space with other people. Thus, you will get maximum performance for your website.
Second, you have to consider the security aspect of your website, especially if you’re dealing with lots of financial transactions within your website. Why? When you use a shared hosting service for this purpose, your website is stored alongside with other websites. So, if some clever hackers hack another website that is stored on the same server, and then hack the server itself, your website will be exposed to the same security breaches, which means that you will risk losing all your financial transactions and information to those hackers. Dedicated servers will boost the security of your website effectively, because you are only using the server for your website.
Third, it is about control. On a shared hosting environment, you don’t have control over the server that hosts your website. Lots of people are using the same server as you; that is why the web hosting company will never give you full control of the server that you are using. With dedicated servers, you will always have full control of the server that you are using. This means that you can use your server however you want, anytime you want to.
Knowing the benefits above, do you think that dedicated servers are worth it? Generally, the answer will depend on the type of business that you have, as well as the type of website that you have created for your business. If you’re just running a simple website, using dedicated servers will not be worth your investment. You would need to invest several thousands of dollars (maybe more) into a dedicated server, and the return on your investment will not be big enough to cover the initial costs. But, if you have a website that is quite complex, with lots of scripts to run, and needs the latest web technology and security in order to optimize its performance, then using dedicated servers may be worth your investment.
Again, everything depends on the type of business and the type of website you have. From a business standpoint, if you are sure that a dedicated server can help you grow your business and make you more money, then go for it! Under these circumstances, a dedicated becomes one of the best business investments.
Bob Spiegel, the author of the article, has founded QuoteColo.com , a company that helps small businesses find qualified, cost-effective colocation solutions. Bob loves Hawaii, surfing and fishing. Get in touch with Bob on Twitter: @quotecolo