You may have some computer systems supporting your business that live on a computer at your web hosting provider. You may also have other computer systems elsewhere e.g. on your own premises. It is reasonable to ask questions such as ‘Would it be better if all these computer systems were in one place ?’ and ‘Can my web hosting supplier also help me with my systems that are not on the Internet ?’.

'Outsourcing' means you get someone outside your business to do a range of IT (Information Technology) things for your business. Your web hosting supplier may be in a position to help you with a wide range of IT problems - not just those related to your presence on the Internet. There are many recent IT developments trying to make this easier e.g. you can access a lot more systems using only a web browser and the computers you actually use can increasingly be anywhere on the Internet.

Outsourcing your computer systems may also make it a lot easier to work remotely in new ways. That is, the people in your business can work more easily from other locations - their homes, hotel rooms while away etc. Typically they just need a relatively low-specification laptop computer to be their ‘window’ onto your real computer systems.

	Introduction
	Email-only Internet service
	Worried - get advice
	Domain name - basics
	Domain name - things you must do
	Web site development
	Web site hosting - types of service
	Web site hosting - basics
	Web site hosting - business systems
	Web site hosting - backup
	Web site hosting and outsourcing
	Summary

You can contact me via my personal Web site here. Frank Vipond. June 2011.