So what is the most effective method of ensuring your company makes the Internet Protocol (IP) scene?

There are really three approaches one can take:

1. The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) route, in which a company maintains and manages everything in-house.

2. Select a hosting provider that offers shared services for companies with relatively simple needs or is taking a metered approach to Web and e-commerce.

3. Choose a dedicated provider who delivers a full-service experience that supports mission-critical applications.

Deciding on the right hosting approach depends on your business needs and growth plans, the complexity of your operations and your ability to desire to spend time, money and resources managing the systems needed to run your business.

1.  BEING YOUR OWN HOST

Our public internet is just that – totally open for anyone to use, with all the opportunities and risks that implies. If you have the time, expertise and money, you can create your own Web presence from scratch.

But DIY comes with challenges. It’s always difficult to estimate future IT needs, so today’s cheaper solution may end up being much more costly tomorrow when you factor in ongoing changes, upgrades and re-designs. Most companies that attempt to limit costs by going it alone typically lack the dedicated IT staff to keep their technology up to date and secure.

That’s when the “Where’s Bob?” syndrome strikes. Bob is the unfortunate guy whose job is something other than technology but who becomes responsible for guaranteeing smooth IP/Web services. But when a company’s DIY system starts to choke – and it usually does – people look for a throat to choke. They look for poor Bob.

2.  MANAGED HOSTING

A managed services approach lets Bob and everyone else in the company relax and focus on what they do best, while leaving network and application management issues to the pros. That makes it very easy to find the proper “throat to choke” if something does go wrong - but if you choose the right host, it probably won’t.

Managed services let you control how much day-to-day management you want on your operations. The service provider delivers and maintains network connectivity and keeps critical applications running while constantly making sure hardware and security are up to date.

Large providers, such as Bell, also offer another major gain over DIY approaches: you get the flexibility and advantages of single communications platform, plus your data, voice and video traffic are protected from hazards of the public Web. Every organization’s information assets travel safely and privately on the provider’s network, and when you need a new application, your partner ensures its integration into your existing infrastructure.

Hosted solutions can also offer the customization of services to meet specific company needs, perhaps for a year or even for an hour. Need increased bandwidth for an important morning video conference? Done. Need to add a new employee and give him/her access to your business applications? Done.

Small and medium businesses can use shared hosting to build a strong internet presence and access data-rich applications. With shared hosting several companies use the resources of a single server to gain economies of scale.

3.  THE DEDICATED OPTION

But at these companies and their needs grow, they can access the power offered by data-rich IP solutions through the private use of a dedicated host. The infrastructure is managed and supported in a fully secure and protected environment, their applications are scaled to support immediate needs, and their employees, customers ad suppliers offered by having 24/7 network management expertise.

Whether your Web needs are simple or you are running large mission-critical applications, the key is having a provider with the ability to support your needs as you grow from shared to dedicated hosting.