“When you store your own hardware in a data centre, access can be critical. Not all data centre providers are the same and through our relationship with HA Hosting we can access our hardware, 24/7 meaning that should an unexpected problem arise we can respond immediately”
Tamworth based Webforward was founded by experienced software developer Richard Leishman and provides custom-built web and CRM development services for companies throughout the UK, including building websites.
When the company was set up, it recognised the benefits of using a data centre, helping to ensure that its servers could be accessed by its clients through a powerful internet connection, helping to reduce download times. Using a co-location service, the company’s servers were housed within another local datacentre which provided the company with a permanent internet connection and power supply.
All was working well until a hard drive failed in one of the company’s servers. Using technology developed by the company, Richard quickly became aware of the problem and contacted the company’s hosting provider to try and resolve the relatively straightforward issue.
A month passed and the problem still had not been resolved. It emerged that rather than operating their own data centre, the company was simply subcontracting from a third party and securing access to the datacentre was proving to be extremely difficult.
Dissatisfied with the service the company had received, Richard began looking for alternatives and approached HA Hosting, who invited him to visit their bespoke datacentre:
“There were two main factors that we were looking for in a hosting provider. Location – it was essential that our servers were less than an hour drive away from our own site, and accessibility. There are very few data centre providers which allow secure access to their site.”
“HA Hosting invited us to spend time at their data centre, and the questions they asked us, for example the age of hardware, and technical specifications gave us confidence in the service they delivered. We were impressed by their set up, and in particular the security provisions they had in place, which allows its customers to access their own servers 24/7.
“This flexibility means that disruption is reduced to an absolute minimum, allowing us to undertake work outside of peak usage hours. This has proved to be invaluable when it comes to undertaking routine maintenance and also the confidence that should a similar hardware failure arise in the future, that we can resolve any problem very quickly.
“The support and service we have received from HA Hosting has been second to none and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend their co-location services.”