Hosted Services term refers broadly to any technology service where the infrastructure and systems used to deliver the service are located outside the service receiver’s physical location. These services can be hosted in various ways, including on the premises of the service provider or at a third-party data centre. They typically include a range of IT services such as web hosting, off-site data backup, virtual desktops, application hosting, and more. The key aspect of hosted services is that they are managed and maintained by an external service provider, and users access these services usually via the Internet. Hosted Services might require manual processes and procedures to set up the required services for a specific customer.
Cloud Services is a subset of hosted services. Cloud services specifically refer to services that use cloud computing platforms. These platforms are built on virtualization technology and are highly scalable and flexible. Cloud services can be categorized into several types, such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). They are characterized by on-demand availability, scalability according to user needs, and a pay-as-you-go pricing model. Unlike traditional hosted services, cloud services often offer greater elasticity, allowing users to scale resources up or down as needed.
In essence, while all cloud services are a form of hosted services, not all hosted services are cloud services. Hosted services include a broader category of outsourcing IT services that can be based on physical or virtualized environments, whereas cloud services specifically leverage cloud computing technologies.
What is the difference between hosted and managed services?
Hosted services mainly focus on providing access to applications, data, or resources that are located on the vendor’s infrastructure. This allows users to utilize these services without the need for their own infrastructure. While users access and use the services, they typically have limited control over the underlying infrastructure or software configuration. Their focus is mainly on using the service rather than managing it. The hosting provider is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure that supports these services, including servers, storage, and networking components.
On the other hand, managed services involve the outsourcing of specific business processes or functions to a third-party provider. This provider takes responsibility for maintaining, monitoring, and often optimizing a particular aspect of the client’s infrastructure, systems, or operations. Managed services are more comprehensive in that they involve not just hosting but also the ongoing management, maintenance, and support of the service being provided.
The key difference:
“Hosted” tends to be used to describe more customized offerings.
“Managed service” in your data centre would often be much more prescriptive.
“So they’re not going to say ‘Oh hey you have some stack, we’re going to manage that.
Is a hosting service a server?
The primary difference between web hosting and a web server is:
Web hosting is a service provided by a vendor that allows you to host your website on their platform.
Web server is the physical hardware that is hosting your website which can be set up by the website owner or the web hosting vendor.
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