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F E A T U R E

RFI: Managed Web Hosting Services

September 3, 2001
By Jon William Toigo

Interest in using managed Web hosting services to support e-business initiatives is soaring, creating a conundrum for service providers and prospective customers alike. Enterprises, steeped in vendor marketing hype and frightened by the war stories in the trade press, are asking for the moon. And vendors are trying to deliver it.

To build an effective customer/vendor relationship, you need realistic expectations. If you're uncertain about the possibilities and limitations of Web technology, you may be inclined to ask for everything, which puts vendors in the awkward position of having to adjust expectations downward without actually saying no. Diplomacy, as well as technical competency and competitive pricing, distinguish the winners from the losers in the managed Web hosting space.

To see how diplomatically managed hosting service providers can respond to the often harebrained requirements for security, availability and performance conceived by would-be captains of e-industry, Network Computing issued an RFI on behalf of a hypothetical company, Romao Vineyards. The request went out to 16 vendors representing a cross-section of the managed Web hosting service industry (see "Squeezing Profits From E-Grapes"). We intentionally exaggerated our scenario, using both realistic and unrealistic requirements. Seven providers submitted responses.

Many Were Called, Few Responded

Our initial contact list included several types of providers:

>> Managed service providers: Amquest.

>> "New Age" Internet data centers: Corio, e^deltacom, Exodus Communications, Interliant, Lightspeed and USInternetworking.

>> Network service providers: Genuity, Qwest Communications, SBC Communications, WorldCom and Xand.

>> Traditional outsourcing companies: Comdisco, CSC, EDS and IBM Web Hosting.

What Do Readers Think?

Check out our e-poll results
on Web Hosting.

Comdisco, CSC, e^deltacom, EDS, Exodus, Interliant and Xand represent three of the four categories. The other vendors opted out for reasons ranging from a lack of resources to concerns about releasing proprietary or pricing information -- or with no explanation at all. Notably absent were responses from Genuity, IBM Web Hosting, Qwest, SBC and WorldCom. IBM raised early concerns that its company policy, which prohibits the disclosure of pricing, would prevent its selection as Editor's Choice in any case.

Although Comdisco responded to our RFI, the company filed for bankruptcy protection in July. Because Comdisco sold its services unit to Hewlett-Packard Co. and may contribute to HP's managed hosting solution set, we're including our critique of its response online.

Each response leveraged a particular strength of the provider's core business focus. CSC and EDS, for example, referred to their pedigrees, experience in traditional outsourcing and their lists of Fortune 1,000 business clients.

Xand's response offered the most detailed description about network components, reflecting the company's roots as a facilities-based ISP and New York-based CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier). E^deltacom, Exodus and Interliant each hammered home messages about its Web-facing data-center facilities -- an indication of past efforts in the collocation service space.