WorldCom rolls out low-cost managed hosting
|
|||
 | |||
|
LAUREL, MD. - WorldCom is using the managed hosting technology of newly acquired Digex to provide low-cost, flexible hosting services to small and midsize businesses, as well as to corporations looking for simple platforms for departmental projects.
Managed Express Hosting, introduced last week, is aimed at customers who want a hosting service that goes beyond a shared environment, but doesn't involve the complexity - or cost - of a full-blown managed hosting package. The move is a departure for Digex, acquired by WorldCom in July, which historically has focused on providing high-end, complex hosting packages to large companies such as McGraw Hill and Fannie Mae.
Managed Express Hosting will be offered in 12 configurations including hosting, security, connectivity and infrastructure, as well as Web, database and server administration. Customers can also add higher levels of administration, security, support, monitoring, reporting and data recovery. The preconfigured packages start at $1,320 for an operating system support package with no application management, to $2,500 for a Web server, database server and managed application, says Martha Gilbertson, vice president of product management at Digex.
The hosting packages can be run on Windows 2000 or Sun Solaris operating systems mounted on Compaq or Sun servers. Digex is using automated provisioning to quickly install the hosting service for customers in as few as four days, says Ron McMurtie, vice president of WorldCom Global e-Services. Digex will manage the Managed Express services from its U.S.-based data centers just as it manages its more complex offerings.
"What we've done is taken the managed capabilities that we have, where we serve many of the world's Global 1000 companies, and mass-productized that to serve the [small and midsize enterprise] and midmarket," McMurtie explains.
Large corporations can also benefit from the low-priced services because individual departments could use managed hosting without spending $6,000 or more per month to get a high-end, entry-level hosting package from Digex, says Dana Tardelli, research analyst with The Aberdeen Group.
Analysts say Digex and WorldCom are not alone in looking to smaller companies and the midmarket to offset a drop in spending by larger companies.
Other Web hosting firms such as IBM and Electronic Data Systems have also rolled out services designed for less complex needs. Service providers such as Interland have long focused on small and midsize companies. But analysts say WorldCom may have an edge because it is combining its global IP network and brand name with the expertise of managed hoster Digex.
"A lot of hosting providers are switching gears all of a sudden," says Melanie Posey, an IDC analyst. "So instead of touting the complexity of the solutions and how high-end they are, now they're saying 'We cover the whole map. If you need a fairly simple thing, we've got that. If you need a really high-end thing we can do that too.' "
Indeed, Managed Express Hosting is one illustration of the multiple service offerings observers expected as telecommunication companies snap up hosting service providers. "You've got these SME customers buying circuits and lines from you already," Posey notes. "So why not put hosting in the mix, too?
RELATED LINKS
