10 questions to ask before going into business with a hosting provider

A certain fact about managed hosting is that there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings that make finding the right provider very difficult.  How do you find your perfect partner in a cast of thousands? How do you know you’re getting good service and value for money? And what should you do if you suspect you’re not?

Here are the key questions you need to ask:

1. Am I only paying for exactly what I need?
2. Does your annual turnover make me feel confident?
3. Check the service level agreement (SLA) and be sure it’s worth the paper it’s written on.
4. Does the SLA get actively reported to me?
5. Can I have a trial-run with the customer portal before I buy? This is where you can monitor uptime.
6. Is the provider a technology or service business? Only go with a service business.
7. Have they won any awards?
8. Do they offer a range of Linux and Windows?
9. Do you have to pay for support, even if you don’t want it?
10. Check contract flexibility and consider a month-to-month arrangement.