A report from Jupiter Media Metrix (JPM) has predicted the demise
of in-house Web hosting.
The report said US companies alone could save anywhere from $6m
(£4.14m) to $12m over three years by outsourcing Web hosting
services.
It predicted the momentum for change would be unstoppable when
firms became aware of the potential savings in both time and
money.
Some 34% of US companies currently oversee Web-hosting internally,
with 24% managing their applications internally while outsourcing
server management.
According to JPM, many companies have traditionally opted for
in-house hosting as a result of security and customer service
concerns.
According to the researcher, companies have tended to overestimate
the competitive advantages of in-house Web hosting. It found that
firms that had adopted the approach were spending more on staffing
and technology than those who had turned to outsourcing.
JPM advised companies to undertake infrastructure design in tandem
with first-stage application planning and development.
If this precaution was not taken, it said, companies would be
running run the risk of exceeding their scalability limits.