There are many trends that you can see occurring within the web hosting market over the course of 2014. Some new web hosts might be alluring, but they are not the right answer for every site or organization’s needs. Despite the boom of the cloud over the past several years, in some cases, these growth trends may be reversed as organizations turn to more functional or flexible hosting options. Companies should carefully consider their needs and annual budget limits when selecting a web host to meet their requirements.
Cloud hosting
One of the trends you might see in 2014 is cloud hosting simplification. Web hosts will have plenty of technologically savvy individuals buying their services, but what they will want is to grab the attention of less technically savvy professionals in decision making roles within leading organizations. To compete, cloud hosting providers should strive to help people understand how the web hosting industry works to gain buying authority.
SLAs
Service Level Agreements, or SLAs, describe portions of service contracts whereby terms are defined. When it comes to web hosting, SLAs often outline the level of service the customer can expect in terms of relative dedicated time, the number of users that will be supported and ongoing schedule for maintenance type updates. While these contracts do provide value to the end-customer, concerns have been building regarding whether they are too restrictive and non-enforceable by the client. When it comes to selecting a web host in 2014, transparency will be a key factor in the decision maker’s choices. Everyone buying a service will want a fair, open deal. More companies will likely rid of the SLAs in order to accommodate customers.
Cloud servers
Since web hosting is becoming more and more diverse, it will also become more available and affordable. The power of servers has been steadily increasing which has created a more even playing field between industry competitors. Web designers will soon be able to render huge amounts of content at very high speeds on low level computers. This means that anyone can participate in website design from almost anywhere.
Smaller staff
Since web hosting is becoming much more simple as the years go by, some companies may consider reducing the size of their IT departments. Fewer dedicated professionals will be required to maintain ongoing technology needs. Instead, companies can dedicate tasks to marketing professionals, thus cutting back on organizational overhead expenses. When it comes to customer service, expect the representatives to speak to you in a language you understand and not something technologically over your head, even if you do not feel you know much about technology and web hosting in general.
