The question is often asked if Microsoft has an advantage when it comes to the Windows Server hosting market. Since there are a number of major vendors including Eucalyptus, Achex, Dreamhost, InfoSpace, and ProBase all claiming to offer high quality and support service it is a good idea to find out if there is a difference.
The short answer is yes, Microsoft can provide superior support compared to the other options available. There is only one caveat to this answer, you need to be aware of how much support they can provide before making any decision. What is the extent of support?
Even though Windows is supported for many years now, it is true that Microsoft does have their share of issues that need to be addressed. The question then is how many issues do they offer a support service for? At times the most commonly reported issue is the general lack of support for the server software. This is mainly due to the number of third party vendors.
When it comes to being able to ensure you are not left stranded in case of a hardware failure it is important to see that there is an excellent support service available. Although the big vendors tend to provide excellent support most of the third party vendors will not provide anywhere near the level of quality service.
If you take Microsoft for example, they are able to offer the entire support services for you without any problem. This is in contrast to the situation of the larger vendors such as Achex who usually claim to offer excellent support but when they cannot guarantee any issues they leave you with no option but to hire a third party vendor to provide support for your server. If you decide to go with Microsoft then you are not just investing in support services but are also ensuring you can always rely on them.
One of the reasons that makes Microsoft the choice for hosting providers is that they can offer the most competitive prices. Although they do tend to come in below the competitors the fact that they are offering a host for so cheap is of immense value. It is not that they will charge less for the price but rather the fact that they offer such a low price means that the costs you incur can be very low which ultimately translates into a more reliable service.
It is clear that Microsoft has a serious edge when it comes to the Windows Server hosting market. As long as the server is installed using a licensed version and the hardware is compatible then it can be assured that support for Windows will be there. If you choose Microsoft then you can be rest assured that the price will be far below that of the others and therefore will make for a great investment for your company.