How to open your hosting. Hosting company business plan: equipment cost and required documents

Obsessed with the idea of \u200b\u200bstarting a hosting company, it is advisable to start with a few questions.

  • Are you a good marketer?
  • Are you ready to work in the fiercest competition?
  • Do you have a customer base?

If even one answer is negative, it is better not to start this business. The stubborn can try to resell virtual bytes (minimum capital investment - from $ 8). Or open a small data center (it will take from $ 1500, which will pay off in a year if the circumstances are right), but in a very narrow niche.

Mini and maxi

There are several ways to sell hosting services. The simplest and cheapest is the so-called reselling (from the English. reseller - reseller). It is enough to rent a dedicated server (virtual or physical, depending on your needs) from a hosting company (hoster). Or conclude a contract for the maintenance of your server and resell the hosting services to the end consumer.

It is theoretically possible to rent virtual bytes both in Ukraine and abroad. However, according to Sergey Ryabchuk, development manager at HostPro, in the case of renting a foreign server, the availability of sites (download speed and quality) will be worse. This will not be noticed by users connected to leading providers, but on the periphery, where there are still many home networks with weak foreign channels, access problems will be felt. And the loading speed of the site and its geographic location affect its search engine optimization (SEO).

In addition, the Ukrainian hoster can accept the reseller's server for maintenance, provide him with technical support in Russian, operational communication with it, and, if necessary, let him into the work site. An important advantage is any form of payment for services, while the foreign one accepts payment only through a credit card or Webmoney system. When buying a reseller in Ukraine, you can count on a discount when registering domain names in Ukrainian domain zones, ”notes Evgeniy Sherman, head of FREEhost.com.ua. But reselling is more often an accompanying business for website developers or small web studios that oversee up to a hundred online resources of their clients.

Another way to sell hosting services is to open an independent data center ( Data center or data center). However, today it is desirable to do this, according to Sergei Ryabchuk, in a clearly defined niche. It makes sense to create hosting offers for individual CMS systems that are developing and gaining momentum. There is a demand for python hosting (for a programming language alternative to the popular php), says Mr. Ryabchuk.

A full-fledged hosting company usually runs on its own hardware in a separate room. There are no special requirements and permits for its opening in Ukraine. It is enough to register a legal entity, create a website and purchase the appropriate equipment based on the size of the budget. Those wishing to create a large data center need to be prepared for the lengthy procedure of obtaining the necessary permits.

When building premises for a large data center, many standard permits will be required. The owners of such centers are also guided by the requirements of the international standard TIA / EIA-942, which are also used in Ukraine, - says Irina Stelmakh, head of the sales department for corporate subscribers of the Volya data center. This will facilitate the work of such a center, and will provide high quality services provided. However, building a data center on your own is justified only for a very large company. Small businesses will have to look for a partner. Certain risks should be taken into account here.

You can hire a specialized management company that deals specifically with the construction of a data center. However, there are none in Ukraine, which means that you will have to look for a foreign partner, for example, in neighboring Russia. You can also hire a system integrator company to build a data center. But such enterprises are focused on several suppliers of IT equipment, whose products will be imposed on the customer, and they also do not have builders on their staff, so the involvement of third-party construction contractors cannot be avoided.

In addition, when creating a data center, you have to solve both IT problems and infrastructure difficulties. For example, improper layout of an object can lead to either overheating or system failure, or even to the non-viability of the entire data center. Accordingly, the requirements for the qualifications of personnel involved in the design, implementation, and operation of data centers are constantly growing. However, no one trains these specialists in Ukraine today, they gain experience by trial and error.

For medium-sized data centers, premises are usually rented, and their communication channels have limited bandwidth. Small data centers provide a minimum of services, since they use low-power equipment and operate, as a rule, in poorly adapted premises.

International standards define four levels of hoster reliability, that is, uptime: from the lowest (Tier 1) to the highest (Tier 4). For competitive hosting, it is enough to focus on the Tier 3 standard. At least this means that the data center has several connection channels to the provider, all equipment is connected to two independent power grids, air conditioners are used, there are two independent power generators and UPS, ”explains Sergey Ryabchuk.

However, according to Yevgeny Sherman, in fact there is not a single commercial data center in Ukraine that fully complies with the Tier 3 standard. Some companies declare compliance this standard, but this is not true. For example, our company does not mislead customers and honestly declares that it complies with the Tier 2+ standard. Plus, in this case, it means that we significantly exceed standard 2: at the moment we have reserved 90% of all main nodes, says Mr. Sherman.

Start price

For a reselling startup, it is enough to buy a package of services from a hoster (100-200 UAH per month) and develop a website ($ 400-1000, depending on the complexity). We offer a Yummy tariff from $ 8 per month, where you can host up to 10 full-fledged sites with independent control panels. It will pay off after the sale of hosting for two sites for $ 4, ”the development manager of HostPro calculates. Renting a separate server that can host hundreds of small client sites will cost less than $ 100 per month. The purchase of your server will require from $ 1000, and the payment for its placement for maintenance - from $ 80 / month. The payback period is a year.

To open a small competitive hosting company, according to Evgeny Sherman, you need from $ 40 thousand This is at least five or six servers (25 thousand UAH each), several switches, staff of five or six people, an office. The required minimum of software: company website, hosting control panel ($ 2.5 thousand), billing panel (sometimes combined with a control panel, but it is better to order its development for yourself). The payback period, taking into account the subsequent investments in the purchase of equipment, software development and salaries of employees, is about five years, says Mr. Sherman.

According to Irina Stelmakh, the cost of building a data center of a medium scale and capabilities in Ukraine is measured millions conventional units, and its payback, according to various estimates, at least three years.

Quality standards

Small hosting providers, as a rule, place their equipment in specialized data centers, at least at the start of a business. Because building a data center that meets all the business continuity requirements is costly and effortless. At a certain stage in the development of our company, we felt that it was difficult to maintain such a number of our servers in various data centers, not to mention the installation of new ones. Therefore, within three years we have built a suitable premises for ourselves, - says the head of the company FREEhost.com.ua.

Proximity to backbone communication channels is not the only requirement for the location of the future data center. Irina Stelmakh draws attention to the fact that the premises should be without windows, but not below ground level. At the same time, it should not have pipelines and drainage systems, and next to it - working areas (elevator shafts, stairwells, ventilation chambers, etc.), they will not allow expansion in the future. The size of the room is selected depending on the serviced working area and the number necessary equipment, considering that for its installation and maintenance in the future, it will also require a certain space. According to the TIA / EIA-942 standard, the minimum size of a server room must be at least 14 square meters. m. Ceiling height - from 2.44 m, - says Ms. Stelmakh.

Human resources

For the functioning of a reseller, one person is enough on the staff who would perform the functions of an administrator and a programmer. Several people are required for the operation of the data center. At least one administrator and three to four technical support staff to work in shifts around the clock. The number of staff is different for each hoster and depends on its specialization. For example, if one server hosts many sites, then such hosting requires more people working in customer support. If one server is split into a number of dedicated virtual servers, more powerful technical support and administrators are needed, - says Mr. Ryabchuk.

For the full operation of a large data center, specialized departments will be needed. First of all, this is the technical support service - the largest structural unit, whose employees answer customer requests, monitor all support systems and are the link between the rest of the departments. Network engineers are responsible for the operation of the network and routing equipment. Administrators - for setting up, operating, repairing and re-equipping the equipment. Programmers provide billing and other programs. Support engineers are responsible for the operation of air conditioners, fire extinguishing systems and power supplies. The number of employees is determined by the rule: each specialist should have one shift, and preferably two, - recommends Irina Stelmakh.

Basic requirements for the premises of a data processing center (DPC)

A data center must have:

  • Several independent power supply inputs from different substations.
  • Uninterruptable power source.
  • Diesel generator.
  • Conditioning.
  • At least two independent optical inputs from different providers, several international access channels.
  • Gas fire extinguishing to avoid damage to equipment in case of fire extinguishing.
  • Video surveillance, monitoring and access control system.

Based on materials from: Economic News

Today the Internet provides many opportunities for the development of all kinds of businesses. One of the most popular is the hosting business. Hosting is a certain place on the server, which is allocated for the placement of files and site pages. Accordingly, access to this place must be provided around the clock and uninterrupted, seven days a week. Only under such conditions can a hosting company provide high-quality and competitive hosting. Therefore, if you do not understand much in this direction, you are unlikely to be able to run such a business.

Business characteristics

The main feature of a business is that when providing services, every slightest mistake can cost a lot of money. You should be able not only to provide good hosting, but also to give competent advice to clients. Even if you're just being impolite, the client will very quickly and easily go to a competing firm. And each client who leaves, lowers your reputation in the market, thus reducing your earnings. Therefore, the business requires stability and responsibility.

There are several ways to organize this business. You can open your own company, recruit support staff, technical service, service personnel, and act as a director yourself. Or you can outsource a number of functions, and do the organizational work yourself. Be that as it may, in order to open your own business in this area, you need to go through certain stages of its formation.

Company registration

The business allows you to work with any form of ownership. Hosting can be provided by an individual entrepreneur, JSC or LLC. The first option will be the cheapest and fastest, since the state fee is 800 rubles. The rest will cost 1500-2500 rubles, but, in addition, it will be necessary to form an authorized capital of at least 10 thousand rubles.

An important point when registering - you need to open a bank account. In principle, this is a standard procedure for registration, but you need to choose a bank that provides the most convenient and favorable conditions for organizing payments via the Internet. The fact is that the bulk of payments from customers will go to you through electronic payment systems. Therefore, the bank must provide a reliable and convenient "Bank-Client" system.

Also, if you want to open a large company, you need to get a license for telematic services, which costs at least 12 thousand rubles.

Your clients

Before starting a business, you need to clearly understand who you plan to provide services to. There are three main types of clients:

  • private site owners;
  • large wholesale companies;
  • resellers.

Different target groups require different marketing approach, technical organization of the business. It is impossible to focus on everyone at once, so decide on the direction already at the start of the project.

Business plan organization

Having decided to open such a business, you must first calculate all the estimated costs, correlate them with the estimated income. The main expenses will be:

  • purchase or rent of premises where the server will be located;
  • buying or renting a server;
  • employee salaries;
  • communal expenses;
  • taxes.

If you find it is too expensive to start your own business, look for ways to optimize it. For example, some functions can be outsourced or paid for the volume of work performed, rather than taking full-time employees for a stable salary. In addition, it is not necessary to immediately buy your server, you can rent it.

Server

The cornerstone of your business is the server. Its characteristics determine which segment of customers you can serve, and your business as a whole depends on its work. The server can be Windows or Unix, it all depends on which one is more convenient for you to work with. Also on the market, you can pick up a server of any required configuration, capacity.

At first, one server can serve your company. It is enough to serve about 100-200 clients. When their number exceeds these figures, you can buy another server. You can build a business on your own server, or you can rent it. You can also purchase a used server.

The server must be located in the data center. If you plan to install your server there, it will cost about 2500 rubles. The final amount depends on the reliability of the center, traffic, port and other characteristics. If you plan to rent it, you must prepare at least 6 thousand rubles. Therefore, it would be more logical to buy your own unit, albeit a used one.

Control panel

To manage hosting, you need to install a special software... It helps the communication between the client and the hoster and facilitates administration. Each participant in the process can log into the system under their own account and perform all the necessary actions allowed by access. For such purposes, you can use the programs DirectAdmin, Helm, Plesk, CPanel, ISPManager and others. It all depends on your needs and financial capabilities.

For example, cPanel provides the following features at work:

  • Organization mail server and its management using various web-systems.
  • Protection against hacker attacks - reliable firewall.
  • Reliable work with domains and DNS, depending on the tariff plan: creating domains and subdomains, etc.
  • Installation of the most popular site management systems.
  • Control over the operation of PostgreSQL and MySQL databases, as well as setting restrictions on the number of queries to them, their number and other nuances.
  • Monitoring and logging of the server and existing accounts.
  • Built-in billing system for making payments by clients.

Please note that this software must be licensed. The cost of a license usually depends on the period of use, the number of servers maintained. Such a program costs $ 45 for a month, $ 425 for a year, $ 775 for two years. You can purchase ISPManager for 656 rubles. for a month for one server, but then you need to separately purchase a billing system. For example, BillManager will cost 625 rubles. for a month.

Reselling

There is another way to open your own hosting - to sign a partnership agreement with a well-known hoster. Then, on the basis of established agreements, he will often allocate his server for you to work. This significantly reduces startup costs, but has its own disadvantages. So, if the service crashes, you will not be able to restart it yourself, you will have to go to the hoster, and this is precious time for which customers pay money. Such incidents hurt your reputation a lot.

This method of providing services is called reselling - resale. In fact, you become an intermediary between the hoster and the client, providing the latter with hosting and its services.

Legal and financial issues

There are a few more important issues that need to be resolved before starting your own business - how to legally formalize your relationship with a client and how to pay for services. As a rule, there are no problems with private clients, a user agreement is enough, which will be drawn up directly on the site during registration. But legal entities can require the written signature of the contract. You need to be ready for this, your name is in your hands, drawn up and proofread by a lawyer.

Also consider what kind of payment system will operate in your company. It is advisable to provide all possible options so that the client can choose the one that suits him. Popular are:

  • bank account;
  • electronic banking;
  • Z-Payment;
  • Yandex money;
  • a WebMoney wallet with a personal passport and others.

Income and expenses

The main source of income will be tariff plans for your services. Their size depends on the costs of premises, equipment, personnel, software. Depending on how much money will have to be invested in order for the hosting to work efficiently, such will be the tariffs for services.

But high competition in the market dictates its own laws. According to experts, today hosting prices have dropped dramatically and continue to decline. A couple of years ago, the price for hosting was set at 3,500 rubles, and today its average cost is 1,000 rubles. per year or 83 rubles. per month.

The calculation of the tariff in this case is simple. At a price of 83 rubles. per month, taking into account 6% tax, the tariff for the provision of services must be at least 78 rubles. It is necessary to spend at least 1920 rubles on the server, about 2340 rubles on its software. Total expenses per month for the provision of services - 4260 rubles. This means that per month you need to serve at least 54 clients, or rather accounts (registered users).

Optimization of work

You can optimize hosting costs by reducing the number of these accounts, but increasing their cost. To do this, you need to take the following steps:

  • Offer multiple tariff plans. The minimum should include, for example, the ability to host two sites, respectively, two databases, have a small amount of disk space in reserve. A slightly more expensive tariff plan will offer the possibility of greater placement of sites and databases, and so on. This will enable each user to select a tariff plan according to his needs, not to overpay. You benefit from customer loyalty.
  • Additional income can be obtained from related services, for example, setting up a site, transferring it from another server, installing, debugging a content management system, etc.
  • In addition to purely technical ones, you can offer other services related to the operation of the site: administration, promotion, monitoring, etc.

Technical support and administration

Once again, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that technical customer support is almost the main thing that you should pay attention to if you want to open such a business. Even if you have difficulties in providing services, quality support will ideally smooth it out. Your employees need to understand configurations, settings, common customer problems. It is important to be ready to answer any questions around the clock, seven days a week, all year round, seven days a week.

It is important to take care of the client, always warn him about possible failures or technical work on the server, not try to keep silent about them. Such trust is justified a hundredfold.

Marketing

Marketing a company starts with choosing its name and domain. To open such a business, you need to find a short and capacious name that will not only sound beautiful, remember, but also look good as domain name... After all, you need to create your own website and conduct business through it. The marketing strategy is chosen based on what target audience you are targeting.

Ways to attract customers

  • Install at least four different languages \u200b\u200bon your site, configure automatic language detection for the client.
  • Develop various tariff plans and additional services.
  • Maintain a support forum and blog on the site.
  • Leave customer reviews on the site.
  • Use promotional codes and affiliate programs.
  • Compensate for failures with additional services, warn of possible failures.
  • Use social networks to promote.

Today, the Internet has become one of the most popular ways to earn your own income. There are a great many types of earnings on the Internet, it can be online stores, or adult sites, but the most popular method is web hosting.

Hosted Businessthis is a win-win option for your own business, of course, a lot of work is needed to develop and create a hosting campaign. Hosting means a place on the hosting campaign server where your site's materials will be placed and always available.

The backbone of this business is the server.

In order to open your own hosting, you must select a server. Server is the most powerful computer, which will always be connected to the Internet, thanks to this your site will always be available and visible in requests. Which server to choose is up to you, just one server is enough, it can be either Windows or Unix. Next, you need to configure the server.

Reseller hosting.

When opening your hosting, you need to do its reselling. This is the process of providing services on your own hosting name, here you specify your partners and users. In addition, in such a business, there are many more nuances, such as constant updating and maintenance of hosting, setting prices for services, you also need to regularly carry out maintenance, recalculate payments and solve other financial issues. Reseller hosting is much more profitable than affiliate programs, since earnings from such activities are almost twice as large.

Starting to engage in such a business, the main thing is to avoid the biggest and most common mistake - not taking a serious attitude towards business on the Internet. This error catches up with almost all novice hosters. But in fact, a hosting business is practically no different from ordinary activities, because in it, like a generally accepted business, you also need to invest a lot of money.

What do you need money for in the hosting business?

First, you need to purchase an account, then create a website, then invest in filling it, promotion, promotion and advertising in general. In addition, you yourself must be well-versed in this matter, but if you do not have enough knowledge in this area, you will have to hire a specialist to help you. You are required to be highly responsive and competent, because you will directly personally communicate with clients. For this reason, it is also necessary to hire additional staff, because you will need to be online almost 24 hours a day, and not a large group of three people will greatly facilitate your work!

And so the main thing you need to know when opening a hosting business!

The first and most important, as already mentioned, is the server. The server must certainly be of high quality, because your hosting will depend on how well it works. He must have a good reputation and be promoted.

The second important point is the control panel. The panel greatly facilitates the work of the hosting administrator, since it hides many unnecessary items and makes hosting management much easier. In addition, it opens up many other possibilities not only for the administrator, but also for many users.

The third point is the billing system. Such a system is designed to collect finances from clients.

The fourth is redundancy and backups. They help to save customer data, eliminate all problems with personal data.

The fifth not unimportant factor is the development of your own website. The site must be of high quality and understandable to all users, otherwise it can simply get lost among many other sites on the Internet. After that, you need to develop business and tariff plans. This can be done by looking at examples of other already working hosting.

After the business plans are developed, all the strategies are thought out, you will need to register with electronic payment systems. It will be most convenient for receiving finances to your own account from clients using the Internet.

After the above points are completed, it is necessary to attract customers, but how can a novice hoster do this? Of course, using advertising communication. Advertising can be placed on various sites, it can be either banner advertising or contextual.

Today, opening your own business is absolutely no problem, especially if it is an online business. The problem remains its correct management and high competition, because every day there are more and more people willing to start their own business! In order for your business to be profitable, you need to involve professionals who will help you develop step by step all the steps to market promotion and create your business! Internet business - this is real income today!

* Calculations use average data for Russia

The industrial society was replaced by the post-industrial one, or, as it is also called, the informational one. The modern world is impossible without high-speed information transmission, pigeon mail has sunk into oblivion, being replaced by postal operators, which are already being replaced by e-mail. The Internet is especially important today, fifteen years ago it was a luxury, and now it is an irreplaceable part of life.

Many enterprises start working on the Internet, finding partners or clients through it, the possibility of quick communication and access to information bases is no longer an advantage, but a necessity. More and more companies are creating their websites, and all databases for the company's operation need to be stored somewhere. It is simply unprofitable to acquire your own server and keep a staff of the harsh masters of the IT sphere - programmers; the server and its servants need space and constant investment. However, it is very difficult to work without an established communication network, in addition to accessing the worldwide network, employees must also be able to communicate with each other in real time without leaving their workplaces, which forces the owner of the company to organize information system with the help of third parties. All this complex of work is undertaken by the hosting company.

Professional set for creating business ideas

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But it should be noted that the services of a hosting company are of interest not only to commercial organizations. Hosting is the provision of space on a server, personal data storage, which is connected to the World Wide Web 24 hours 7 days a week. Since the server is a rather cumbersome thing, difficult to maintain, consuming a relatively large amount of electricity and at the same time, it is also expensive, even many medium-sized companies cannot afford to buy it, not to mention small firms and, moreover, ordinary citizens who want to have their own website. The hosting company offers to use the place on its server for a fee, where you can post any information you want. But within the law, of course, because information Security - the obligation of the hosting company, which it must comply with up to cooperation with law enforcement agencies.

In order not to get confused in concepts, you need to know that the server in this case is hardware ("Hardware", a real unit), and hosting is a service for providing information space on the server. Typically, a hosting company can offer the following:

    Colocation. The service of placing the physical equipment of the client or his provider on its territory - in the data center.

    Dedicated server, including a virtual one. That is, one physical machine is allocated to the user; in the case of a virtual dedicated server, this process is emulated by computer technology.

    Shared hosting is the exact opposite of the previous point, since here websites are located on the same web server, but are processed by the same software. The most economical type of service.

    Software as a Service (SaaS) is the development of software that is sold to the client for use on the Internet. At the same time, the client does not need to install software on his own, all work in the application also occurs via the Internet.

    Data warehouse and evolving " cloud storage". As the name implies, a dedicated area for storing client information to which he has access. The second type of service can still process information.

    Domain names registration. Basically, this is an additional type of service, but most hosting companies deal with this issue for the client, who is comfortable solving the problem of creating a website through one company.

The hoster is also often contacted for the possibility of hosting a game or mail server. And you will have to cooperate not only with legal entities, but also with individuals, who probably will not need a lot of space. But you need to understand the difference between a hoster and a provider, the latter provides access to the network, and the former only hosts information. Internet providers are often involved in hosting, but for them it will be an additional type of service.

In general, the services of a hosting company can be performed in several formats, and the simplest of them is reselling ("resale"). It involves the sale of places on someone else's server, that is, the entrepreneur acts here as an intermediary, while often acting under his own name and brand, but actually having no equipment, but only contracts with hosting providers. Reselling activity is a search for a client, a kind of agency activity for sales, a reseller sets the price for his services himself (but part of the cost, of course, is given to a real hoster), negotiates with clients, but is limited in opportunities, since he cannot manage capacities. and he will not be allowed to change the configuration of the equipment. Many entrepreneurs started with this particular form of doing business, because you can start literally from scratch without spending money on relatively expensive equipment.

Another form is a full-fledged lease of a server, the places on which are sold afterwards, here the businessman is already forced to pay monthly for the rented car, but he has the right to independently establish the terms of cooperation with clients, while providing it also technical support... That is, it will be distinguished from a full-fledged hoster only by the absence of its own devices, but rented machines are configured the way an entrepreneur needs, not a lessor. However, in more detail it is worth considering running a full-fledged hosting company business.

To begin with, as always, you need to register the form of a business entity, there are no restrictions on it in this area of \u200b\u200bbusiness. Activity code (OKPD 2) 63.1 Data processing, accommodation and related services; portals in the information and communication network Internet; depending on the method of work, they can specify on (OKPD 2) 63.11 Data processing services, accommodation and related services or (OKPD 2) 63.12 Content of portals in the information and communication network Internet. Registration of an individual entrepreneur is usually much cheaper and rarely exceeds 5 thousand rubles, a legal entity for its registration will require more documents and, possibly, slightly larger amounts. If you take into account all sorts of little things and expenses, then registration can cost up to 20 thousand rubles (in case of opening an LLC, you will need to allocate at least 10 thousand for the authorized capital only).

When this stage is passed, it is worth paying attention to the fact that such activities require licensing. There is no concept of "hosting" in the law, but a license is required to transfer messages and provide access to information using information and telecommunication technologies. Hosting services fully fall under this definition. There were cases when hosters, to circumvent this law, rented or even had their own servers in other countries, after which they even successfully existed for some time, but any even minor problem (a client posted prohibited information, for example) will attract the attention of the relevant authorities. If it turns out that the hoster is engaged in unlicensed activity, then the least that threatens him is a decent fine. But the consequences can be much worse. Therefore, obtaining a license is an important stage that is worth going through, since it takes more than a year in time, and it will not require large funds, only if this issue is not resolved through intermediaries. You need to contact the local department of the Federal Service for Supervision in the Field of Communications, information technologies and mass communications - Roskomnadzor. An application is submitted there with a request to provide a license and a receipt for payment of the fee (6 thousand rubles). After that, the licensee will need the following documents:

    All papers related to the registration of an individual or legal entity, contact details.

    White papers about the territory on which communication services will be carried out (location of the data center in the case of hosting), the category of the communication network, the planned period of services.

    Description of means of communication.

    Plan and feasibility study for the installation and development of the network.

    Communication network construction scheme.

The response time is 30 days. It turns out that at this stage you already need to have your own equipment, an organized data center and even employees, because an ignorant person (and an entrepreneur may well be far from computer technology) is unlikely to competently draw up technical documents to provide Roskomnadzor, and this will need to be instructed the most skilled workers. At the same time, after it is necessary to obtain permission for the communication center put into operation, to certify the service accounting system and obtain certificates for equipment, which are issued by the Ministry of Communications. If it is planned to provide services for the placement of someone else's equipment, then it will be necessary in addition to obtain a license for communication services for data transmission. This, of course, will require an investment of time, effort and finance, but it will give you the opportunity to work without worrying about the appearance of cheerful men from law enforcement agencies on the doorstep. The specifics of the work can even attract the attention of the FSB, so it is better to reduce risks in this aspect to a minimum. It may take from 20 thousand rubles to obtain a package of permits, of which more than half will go to a third-party company. Theoretically, you can independently obtain a license for the above 6 thousand.

From the point of view of the work performed and their quality, you cannot save on equipment or on employees - this is all the key to success. Low-quality hosting will scare off all customers, regardless of the level of marketing and the prices offered. Of course, the consumer is looking for opportunities to save money, but no one will use the services of a hoster whose server is constantly down, the connection is lost and there is no information protection.

Ready ideas for your business

In general, consumer psychology expects that the hosting company will always and under any conditions ensure the continuity of work, without thinking about planned reboots, adjustments and settings. As practice shows, the client can leave after the first relatively long disconnection, and it can even be understood - no one wants to be left without connection at the moment when it is especially necessary. And in many companies, the availability of an efficient communication network and a website must always be ensured, without interruptions. On the other hand, the client treats with understanding if he is warned in advance about the proposed work and together with him pick up the time when the network may be absent. The message on the fact of disconnection of communication usually infuriates him and forces him to leave for competitors. Given the large number of them, you can not only lose this client, but also because of word of mouth, lose a lot of potential clients. But quality services will not be enough at first, consumers should not turn to competitors initially, and a good advertising campaign is needed here.

It is foolish to imagine a company operating in the field of IT and not having its own website, so creating your own portal on the Internet will become a top priority. Further, advertising goes all the same through the world wide web, but the hired sales manager can independently search for clients. It is better to do this yourself in order to save money. Advertising on television and radio (not "word of mouth") is usually not effective in this case, like all other ATL techniques. It is easier and faster to find clients yourself.

Ready ideas for your business

Before purchasing equipment, it is better to find specialists who will not only tell you which server to choose, but also tell you what hardware and software they can work with. This especially affects the purchase of a control panel, because there are a huge number of them, and a rare specialist works equally well in all. Depending on the expected working conditions and the services provided, employees will say which is the best fit. Based on this, you can start looking for a room for a data center. It is unlikely to be more than 50 m 2, while it will need to be divided into a server room and an office where the personnel serving equipment and clients work. The rental price for premises starts from 30 thousand rubles

The server is occupied by a system administrator (sysadmin) - the god of the computer sphere and all IT, he is helped by two people, if there is not enough equipment. It is also better to have two people who work on the road - it is likely that some employee in the client's office (the main source of problems according to the programmers is the accountant, they do not like them especially much) will launch the wrong program or cut the wrong wire, which will leave the entire office without communication. A technical factor cannot be ruled out, the equipment can also break down and it needs to be adjusted periodically, and the capacity can be available not only for the hoster, but also for the client. Of course, in most cases the work of the office is configured offline, and the appearance of IT specialists is not provided at all, but some services offer this possibility.

To make it work, you need at least one server and control panel. But if there is only one server, then the services of a dedicated machine will not work. However, everything here depends on the amount that the entrepreneur has, but it is not advisable to buy more than 5 devices at the very beginning. The control panel can be found free of charge, but rarely anyone works on them due to the limited functionality and poor shell. The most common one is cPanel (in addition to the generally accepted Linux in beta mode, it also supports Windows, which is rare), its cost starts at $ 16 per month (but only for "cloud" hosting). It's easier to take it for a year - for $ 425 you can get relatively good functionality. The server is selected depending on the number of the first potential customers and the required computing power. The price range is from 20 to 500 thousand rubles. The optimal car can be found for 100 thousand rubles. Employee work is paid from the following calculations:

    System administrator - from 30 thousand rubles.

    IT specialists (2 people) - 40 thousand rubles.

    Field engineers (2 people) - 70 thousand rubles.

It is better to offer employees a not so high salary, but a good bonus depending on the quality of work. Thus, the amount of starting capital will be:

    Registration and licensing - about 40 thousand rubles.

    Premises rental - 30 thousand rubles.

    Equipment (3 servers), control panel and office arrangement - 400 thousand rubles.

    Outsourcing, utility bills (electricity in the first place) - about 30 thousand rubles.

    Payment of employees - 140 thousand rubles.

The amount for a start is 640 thousand rubles, monthly payments are 200 thousand rubles. If there is less equipment, the staff will be reduced, and then the costs. The cost of hosting for a client starts from 4 thousand rubles. That is, 50 clients will only cover the costs of maintaining the company, and only a larger number of them will start to make a profit. 60 clients is already 40 thousand operating profit, 100 clients - 200 thousand. To increase their number, you can look for consumers not only in your city, but also in neighboring ones, if not all over the country (but you will have to take into account the fact that such clients will receive advice only by phone). For a large city, this is quite realistic, but for the first time, you still have to have a certain reserve of funds. The project's payback can be several years, depending on how many customers it will be possible to attract, and the profitability is in direct proportion to the number of customers and grows with each new customer.

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Therefore, it is the quality of services that can play a decisive role in the competition. How you treat customers, what additional functions you provide for free, how you respond to problems that have arisen, how quickly you fix them - all this will affect the popularity of your company and, accordingly, the number of your customers. and their loyalty to you.

The main condition, of course, is the amount of disk space allocated to the client - the more it is, the higher the rental price. Also, the price is influenced by the number of sites that a client can create by subscribing to a particular tariff. You can offer several tariffs that differ in price depending on different conditions.

But such a case will require more impressive preparation, so you need to familiarize yourself in more detail with what you will need in the future. Therefore, purchasing hosting for permanent use seems to be the most reasonable decision in the long term.

Therefore, you need to determine the tariff plans that will operate in your company. After you figure out all the costs, you will need to think about future income. You will receive them directly from customers who purchase space on your server.

The profitability of such projects is very high. And the last of the most important items of expenditure is the purchase of equipment. In total, you will need to spend about two million rubles to successfully start doing business. In a year, the turnover can reach sixty million, so you won't have to wait long for profit. As in the case of employees, it is not recommended to save on equipment, since the quality of your server will depend on it.

However, this is not entertainment, so you should be very serious about opening a hosting, having understood all aspects and drawing up a detailed business plan. Otherwise, you risk simply losing all your invested money. Today, there are already a decent number of ways to make money through the Internet, and the maximum return can be obtained by opening your own hosting. Over time, business is gradually moving from the real world to the virtual world, where new vast opportunities open up.

Therefore, first you need to prepare for the fact that various investments await you, which will not pay off immediately. Hosting as a business can bring in impressive profits, but it has to be waited and achieved.

It is definitely not worth saving at this point, since the quality of the services that you are going to provide will directly depend on the quality of the work of your employees. Still, you will have to hire several people, since you definitely cannot do absolutely everything. However, how to open your own server without the support of other specialists?

The primary importance in deciding how to open your hosting is determining the way in which you are going to open your business in this area.

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