Managed hosting: more of a utility than a cloud
A number of factors have fostered the growth in managed services in recent years. Enterprises and organizations of all types need industry-standard, web-facing infrastructure for portals, email, and enterprise applications. Then there are sectors with specialized needs for a scalable hosted infrastructure: software distribution, new media content providers, online retailers, and financial services. In addition, demand for managed hosting has continued during the recession, as both commercial and public sector customers look to take out cost from their IT operations. The number of competitors in the market is also increasing as telecoms and network operators add IT services to their portfolios, while virtualization and cloud-based service providers are blurring the lines between managed hosting and the cloud.
SUMMARY
Impact
Key messages
Ovum view
MARKET OVERVIEW
Hosting services market segmentation
What are managed hosting services?
Managed co-location
Platforms managed
Dedicated versus shared; physical versus virtual
Virtual servers
Hosted applications
Dedicated or shared?
Managed hosting players
Target markets
SME market
MARKET DRIVERS
Taking cost out
Vertical sector take-up
Public sector
Virtualization
The pros and cons of VMs
Organizations still want dedicated servers – but virtualized
Clouds attract attention
New entrants
MARKET INHIBITORS
Too many competitors
Competing with the cloud
Lack of scale
Location and security
Competing with the outsourcers
Smaller in scope and shorter term
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Everything virtualized
Cloud/utility hosting services
Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)
Utility-like services
Service-level agreements (SLAs)
Hybrid clouds
Hybrid managed hosting
Partnerships and opportunities for hosting providers
MANAGED HOSTING: WHO IS IT GOOD FOR?
Summary
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations for organisations
Recommendations for suppliers
APPENDIX
Related reading
Impact
Key messages
Ovum view
MARKET OVERVIEW
Hosting services market segmentation
What are managed hosting services?
Managed co-location
Platforms managed
Dedicated versus shared; physical versus virtual
Virtual servers
Hosted applications
Dedicated or shared?
Managed hosting players
Target markets
SME market
MARKET DRIVERS
Taking cost out
Vertical sector take-up
Public sector
Virtualization
The pros and cons of VMs
Organizations still want dedicated servers – but virtualized
Clouds attract attention
New entrants
MARKET INHIBITORS
Too many competitors
Competing with the cloud
Lack of scale
Location and security
Competing with the outsourcers
Smaller in scope and shorter term
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Everything virtualized
Cloud/utility hosting services
Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)
Utility-like services
Service-level agreements (SLAs)
Hybrid clouds
Hybrid managed hosting
Partnerships and opportunities for hosting providers
MANAGED HOSTING: WHO IS IT GOOD FOR?
Summary
RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations for organisations
Recommendations for suppliers
APPENDIX
Related reading
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Applications hosting
Table 1: Applications hosting
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: IT hosting services ecosystem
Figure 2: Sourcing alternatives from in-house to cloud
Figure 1: IT hosting services ecosystem
Figure 2: Sourcing alternatives from in-house to cloud
