Multiple Data Center Hosting - How It Works

Essentially, multiple data center hosting affects the speed at which websites can be accessed. Aside from a very small percentage of large, international web hosting companies, most U.S.-based web hosting companies provide services to local businesses. Some of the largest data centers are located in the United States, and many of those web hosting companies use their own dedicated servers.
Some businesses and sites located overseas utilize the services of American companies, and unfortunately for them, their websites tend to load much slower and overall performance is lacking. It is for this reason that businesses targeting local customers often utilize local web hosting providers, which use unreliable small data centers in their country.
Multiple data center hosting can be considered an outsourcing solution. Many web hosting companies are relocating their own servers to new data centers. Whatever company you choose to provide your business or site with multiple data center hosting will still be held completely responsible for site administration and any problems that may arise, but the new data center itself provides the server cabinet space, bandwidth, routing, and electricity, among other things.
Multiple data center hosting is not reselling. Web hosting companies who choose to move their servers to these data centers still own their servers, as well as a good percentage of the routers and switches that connect the servers to the data center’s Internet connections.
Many now consider multiple data center hosting as the solution for this problem. This type of service gives small business and website owners the ability to choose the option they feel will work best for them. Clients get to pick from three existing data centers, and whatever center they choose will be the one responsible for hosting their website. The theory is that the website owner is technically controlling the speed at which their site loads, but only if they understand that the speed will be controlled by choosing the data center that is physically closer to the majority of their clients.
For example, business owners should not expect to be able to pick a center in Illinois because a majority of their clientele is located in Chicago. Keep in mind that there are only three main data centers being utilized, so the best option would be to choose a data center located in the United States -- as opposed to choosing a center located in Europe. The location of a majority of your clientele is key when determining which data center to utilize. While webmasters from Norway may choose a Swedish data center, Canadian customers may prefer US data center.
It goes without saying that website speed can make or break even the most successful of online businesses. It doesn’t matter if your company offers the most dependable services or appealing goods; it doesn’t matter if your site utilizes the most cutting-edge technology and graphics; if it takes minutes for your site to load, no one is going to see it.
Online users have become accustomed to accessing everything online at lightning speed. Dial-up is practically non-existent, with most people utilizing cable/DSL Internet services. We’ve become a country that wants what they want when they want it, and if someone finds your site online and is met with a slow loading time, you can be guaranteed that you’ve lost a customer. During these hard economic times, there isn’t a company or website in the world that can afford to lose even a single customer.
Those who have websites and online businesses should consider website speed to be a very important marketing factor. As mentioned previously, it should come as no surprise that multiple studies have found that people leave websites that take too long to load and not only that, but their opinion of the business itself is lowered. Small business owners or those with fledgling online businesses should really consider multiple data center hosting. Some may dismiss it at a ploy for web hosting companies to drum up more business, but it really does increase loading time, which can lead to happy customers and more sales. What’s to lose?