I need your professional opinion on a business move...

[J-Luv]

I am the webmaster at the company i work for and we have had several problems with our web hosting vendor. I recently found another hosting company that supports a lot of the features we need (asp, sql, etc).

However, another company that specializes in backend databasing was recommended to me by a director here at work. This company does not host websites and will be charging us $600 a year just to support/create a control panel. They offer the web hosting for free since another department is paying major money per month for another project to be developed. Their CEO mentioned they do not host websites but will make an exception for us (they do not support frontpage extensions which we need). They are a 2 year old company.

Questions:

1) is it a good idea to go with this $600 a year company even though they support half the features we need for more? just to satisfy company politics?

2) is it wise to deal with a company like this that has no other websites they are hosting but have online databases they host?

ANY COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS WELCOME......

[webcorps]

No, that will be their excuse when they leave you hanging, they have in effect given you a perrenial disclaimer. Try your current Telecom provider, they might have the services you are looking for.

[J-Luv]

so in other words hosting databases and hosting websites are completely different?

i'd like to know this in case i am challenged on my descision to go with the web hosting company instead...

[webcorps]

Yes they are somewhat different, whereas database hosting will have database administrators and application developers that deal mainly with backend performance, heavy business logic, security and other issues of that nature, they might not be able to give you much help with setting up any front end "marketing" issues applicable to your presence since most websites(like yours, i imagine) are out in the "open" and databases and db applications - if secured properly are generally not. Also, if you are in the same server farm as their databases, chances are you will have to follow some pretty stringent rules so that you do not endanger their application / data operations. I could be wrong though, they could host you on a server that is running open database applications with frontends similiar to yours and it would not be much of a hassle to give you a little space. Bottom line is that you are not their main source of business and you will feel that sentiment pretty early on.

[webcorps]

Besides on a cost basis - if hosting is all you need there are plenty of good providers out there with asp/sql and alot of bandwidth at a lower or similiar cost than that 600 a year, but with tons of support to boot.

[jamble]

don't bother messing around with a host that isn't going to offer what you need. There are literally thousands out there who will offer what you need so why pay what is quite a lot of money for something only half suitable.

Check out webhostingtalk.com if you need to find reviews of hosts

[J-Luv]

webhostingtalk.com is actually where i found the company i am going to have my job switch to. jamble7000 that is my point exactly. i just need to be able to "say" the pros and cons to whatever higher level exec comes back and asks "How come you didnt go with Such-and-Such company since they are already hosting our online database system?? They offer the same thing as those webhosting companies you proposed dont they?? Do you have something against the company we suggested to you or something??"

webcorps what "front end marketing issues" are you talking about?

[jamble]

I guess the simple answer is that there are a few highly reputable hosts out there - (mt), ventures online, rackshack to name a couple, there are others which are just as good but don't have the same public profile (mine for example is invisionhosting (by the people who make invisionboard) and I've been most happy with them).

You need to make a list of things you want from a host and then contact hosts to see if they can provide everything. It's difficult to say exactly who you should go with as there are so many out there which offer a great service and so many resellers who offer a crap service and it's sometimes hard to tell them apart until you sign up.

I've got nothing against the company you suggested, I'm just suggesting alternatives as it seems pointless posting this thread if you've already found a host who give you what you need If you've found someone who meets your needs, go for them. I just thought from your initial post that you had found someone who didn't quite meet all your needs so apologies if I've misunderstood your initial post.

[J-Luv]

no you were right, i was about to go with the company that didnt meet all of our needs (the database company) just for politics sake, but after searching webhostingtalk.com i found another company that offers more for cheaper and was recommended by a few...

sectorlink.com

[webcorps]

webcorps what "front end marketing issues" are you talking about?

Minor(subjective) things that could make life harder for you like, scripting support for visual interactivity, bandwidth usage, folder permissions - things like flash remoting, commserver, messageboards, permissions for certain directories/folders - things of that nature that might better be served by others...

[J-Luv]

point taken....

[webcorps]

have you located a good provider for your hosting needs yet? There are plenty of cheap, albeit thorough alternatives out there.
www.winsave.com is one of the cheapest ive seen, though I cant vouch for their uptime personally. Maybe you can ask around and see if anyone has had any experience with them. i did get hosted by their parent company, affinity for a year and was pleased by their service.
good luck.

[hurricaneone]

Originally posted by J-Luv
However, another company that specializes in backend databasing was recommended to me by a director here at work.

This could be your biggest problem, depending on the flexibility of the director at your workplace - especially if they have an agenda that puts site hosting in a distant second priority.

[J-Luv]

hurricaneone, i'll just have to remind the director in a nice way he's not the one administering the website......