Managed hosting providers offer rentable computer servers that are fully administered and maintained by the service provider. Managed hosting services are used to outsource the responsibilities of on-premise server administrators, including hardware setup and configuration, software installation, and system maintenance. Managed hosting providers may offer services for either virtual private servers (VPS) or dedicated servers. Managed hosting is typically used by organizations that do not wish to dedicate the resources needed to maintain servers themselves. Proper server administration and maintenance requires a significant amount of time and IT knowledge, which some organizations may feel would be better spent elsewhere. Managed hosting providers alleviate these constraints so that users are only required to manage their hosted websites and email accounts. Furthermore, managed hosting providers may offer a variety of services, including advanced security features, automated backups, and malware detection. Managed hosting services overlap in many ways with traditional website hosting services. Some providers offer managed hosting services for specific content management systems.
To qualify for inclusion in the Managed Hosting category, a service provider must:
Provide rentable server space on which users can host websites
Set up and configure server infrastructure for use by customers
Install and configure operating systems and software packages as requested
Provide regularly available technical support
Monitor, maintain, and update hardware and operating systems, and install patches as necessary
Upgrade integrated software packages as permitted by customers
