A Few Possible Predictions For Web Hosting For The Upcoming 12 Months
The predictions for webhosting in 2012 are that there will certainly not be any major changes and it is likely to see a continuation for current trends. There might be some growth in the area of cloud hosting as users see the advantages and overcome their security concerns. As content management systems become easier to use there might also be some increase in the use of Drupal and Joomla hosting.
There are no major advantages in cloud web hosting for basic website owners but it might become more appealing for mid size companies who would benefit from cutting back on IT staff. It is also a very good option for new companies that are expecting growth but are unsure how much. As they only pay for what they use it has the advantage of easily up-scaling whenever you need to.
The reason that smaller companies find it more cost effective is that it is all managed by the service provider. There would be far less need for full time IT staff which would be a far bigger cost saving. For this reason we might see growth in this particular field but at the same time there will be a lot of IT people looking for new roles to fulfill.
The biggest issues that there are with cloud hosting might still slow down its adoption for a while. The promise is of absolute reliability. Because there are multiple servers in various locations it can be guaranteed that no matter what the traffic demands are your website will be on a system which can handle it. The down side to this is that you might never know where your website is located.
This creates security concerns for some because there are different laws governing protection of information in different countries and your content could end up anywhere in the world. Being moved around as much across various hardware locations is also considered less secure for your information. This isn't necessarily any more of an issue than on a dedicated server however.
If there is growth in this area then it is also likely to lead to fewer core providers with bigger networks. It will simply become more efficient to operate in this way and so it is bound to become a tendency. There will however be more and more resellers as this becomes the most efficient way to distribute services for these large organizations.
In the end there is likely to be only a few core service providers and probably most of their administration will be done through resellers. This wont happen by next year but it will become a trend. There will still be a strong need for VPS's (Virtual Private Server's) because it is too costly for most organizations to invest in their own equipment and then it might not even meet their requirements in a few years.
Because it is becoming so easy to manage and create content there are likely to be very many more small operators who offer design and web hosting services. Organizations who want to manage their own content might opt for cloud services and outsource more IT consulting. In general however there are unlikely to be any major changes in the industry as a whole.
There are no major advantages in cloud web hosting for basic website owners but it might become more appealing for mid size companies who would benefit from cutting back on IT staff. It is also a very good option for new companies that are expecting growth but are unsure how much. As they only pay for what they use it has the advantage of easily up-scaling whenever you need to.
The reason that smaller companies find it more cost effective is that it is all managed by the service provider. There would be far less need for full time IT staff which would be a far bigger cost saving. For this reason we might see growth in this particular field but at the same time there will be a lot of IT people looking for new roles to fulfill.
The biggest issues that there are with cloud hosting might still slow down its adoption for a while. The promise is of absolute reliability. Because there are multiple servers in various locations it can be guaranteed that no matter what the traffic demands are your website will be on a system which can handle it. The down side to this is that you might never know where your website is located.
This creates security concerns for some because there are different laws governing protection of information in different countries and your content could end up anywhere in the world. Being moved around as much across various hardware locations is also considered less secure for your information. This isn't necessarily any more of an issue than on a dedicated server however.
If there is growth in this area then it is also likely to lead to fewer core providers with bigger networks. It will simply become more efficient to operate in this way and so it is bound to become a tendency. There will however be more and more resellers as this becomes the most efficient way to distribute services for these large organizations.
In the end there is likely to be only a few core service providers and probably most of their administration will be done through resellers. This wont happen by next year but it will become a trend. There will still be a strong need for VPS's (Virtual Private Server's) because it is too costly for most organizations to invest in their own equipment and then it might not even meet their requirements in a few years.
Because it is becoming so easy to manage and create content there are likely to be very many more small operators who offer design and web hosting services. Organizations who want to manage their own content might opt for cloud services and outsource more IT consulting. In general however there are unlikely to be any major changes in the industry as a whole.
