Best SharePoint Server (MOSS) Hosting Provider: Who is it?
Hello everyone! The last time I popped up on your radar, I mentioned serious SharePoint limitations in Microsoft BPOS (Microsoft SharePoint Online). To clarify, I don’t mean to sound as though I know exactly what is the right fit for you. I mean, as long as you know what you are getting into, go for it. However, I think it would be prudent to compare it to other hosted SharePoint services like Fpweb.net – The SharePoint Hosting Pioneer™ (I get paid a nickel each time I plug it).
How does Fpweb.net stack up against Microsoft BPOS?
At SPtechCon, we had partners, resellers and ISVs come to us and candidly ask us…
“how do you stack up against Microsoft Online Services, Rackspace and SharepointHosting.com?”
Talk about cutting to the chase! A couple things before I dive into this hornet’s nest;
- First and foremost, I admire and have followed Microsoft and Rackspace for quite some time.
- Second, I honestly don’t know the folks at the last group very well, although I would love to chat with them about the acquisition of sharepointhosting.com by Dell.
- Lastly, competition is a good thing, as we get pushed daily to hone our skills and offerings; to innovate, and to listen to our customers and meet their ever changing business needs.
With that said, into the firestorm we go.
Microsoft SharePoint Online (BPOS) vs Fpweb.net Dedicated SharePoint Hosting
Microsoft BPOS – Customers fit into either the BPOS offering (small business) or the Dedicated (Enterprise 20k seats+). Many folks have told us that BPOS is fairly limited in SharePoint functionality.
- Partners and resellers have said they don’t like losing control of the customer.
- Folks we talk to who fall somewhere between BPOS and Dedicated have said they need customization and the ability to load 3rd party web parts into their SharePoint environments.
- Microsoft targets very large MOSS customers (20k seat minimum) and have been in the space for 2 years.
Fpweb.net – Has fully functional, affordable SharePoint Hosting for small business and mid-tier SharePoint plans offering full server control, customization and ability to upload 3rd party web parts. The SharePoint reseller program is also quite popular – where you own the customer. Fpweb.net MOSS Hosting services target those that need 50-2500 MOSS CALs. To be honest, we talk to a lot of BPOS customers migrating away because they are not satisfied with the SharePoint capabilities within BPOS.
Rackspace’s hosted SharePoint vs Fpweb.net
Rackspace – My hero. Does that sound strange? Having grown from a small progressive company to a behemoth while maintaining their culture, is a great American success story. I think their managed hosting services are the gold standard; expensive but worth it. We send non-Windows Server business to them with confidence. I think their Mosso cloud offering will be a huge hit. What about SharePoint? Here is what we have heard from MOSS customers and SharePoint user groups (we host all of them for free): Rackspace’s processes are solid, but knowledge and in-depth SharePoint support are simply inadequate. I have seen them pull back some SharePoint advertising recently, and wonder if they may have stretched a little trying to host and support such a specialized application like Microsoft SharePoint. Rackspace has been hosting SharePoint for less than a year.
Fpweb.net – This may sound like a shameless plug – but it’s true nonetheless. We simply have more experience hosting SharePoint and MOSS than all three competitors combined. We are solely focused on being the best SharePoint hosting provider in the world and will prove it in 2010. SharePoint cloud computing with a buffet of web parts, workflows and end-user SharePoint training. SharePoint ISVs are bringing their applications to Fpweb.net for SaaS (cloud) enablement. Rackspace will support your physical environment – the servers. Fpweb.net can support WSS and MOSS all the way down to the code level. With over 1,000,000 SharePoint users worldwide, we have been around the block, and have seen some of the craziest SharePoint custom code. We are sure of one thing from all this experience – SharePoint can (and will) break when you customize the code. If it breaks, you can’t wait for days for a fix, you need it in hours – you need Fpweb.net.
SharePoint Hosting (dot com) vs Fpweb.net hosted SharePoint
SharepointHosting.com – The shooting star of SharePoint hosting – I have to hand it to them. They built it fast, made money and sold it to Dell. They have had 2 substantial outages since being purchased by Dell back in January, which makes me think their infrastructure has been degraded or cannibalized. Customers are saying that service was unavailable at times before the buyout. Now they say service is even worse, and they can’t reach anyone – ever. We have many new customers migrating away from them, even begging for expedited service from us – which we of course provide. SharePointHosting.com has been hosting SharePoint for roughly 3 years.
Fpweb.net – The keys to really good SharePoint hosting are fast, easy, secure, and reliable.
Fast: We have always been the fastest, and still are. Our data center pipes are simply massive with hop counts solid to over 100 countries. With data centers opening in Miami, Barcelona and Singapore, our delivery will get even faster in 2010.
Easy: We’ll be the first to admit we can do better with this aspect of SharePoint Hosting. SharePoint is like a blank slate; many customers don’t know what to do with it. Also, our control panels and billing system is outdated at the moment. However, they are being ‘refreshed’ (see: completely rebuilt) as we speak and will be ready by year end.
Secure: Fpweb.net SharePoint Services are as secure as you need to be. With the recent government push into SharePoint cloud computing, we are being asked to deliver DOD grade security for hosted SharePoint. Data-at-rest encryption is now available and we are working on a multi-factor security solution until SharePoint Server 2010 arrives. Rumor has it that multi-factor security is built in to the next version of SharePoint, but you didn’t hear that from me.
Reliable: We had small business SharePoint outages in 2008 that really hurt, and it was a turning point for me. We found that many large Enterprises were testing our service with a small plan before going to Dedicated, and it makes sense now. In the end, we have to provide great service at every level of the SharePoint Hosting Pricing spectrum, or we should get out of the business. We have spent all of 2009 revamping our infrastructure, technology and processes. We have lots to do still, but it is awesome to see where we were 6 months ago and where Fpweb.net is today. Still, to date we have not had a MOSS or SPS outage – knock on wood. Architect a good SharePoint solution, water it properly and it will run like a top; a top that is perpetually spun by your SharePoint managed provider, Fpweb.net. You get the idea.
Try hosted SharePoint or MOSS 2007 for free… then decide.
We have fully functioning demos of both WSS and MOSS hosting available, so don’t just take my word for it, give it a try and see for yourself. And, if you find something you don’t like, tell me and we’ll make it even better.
More from the Fpweb.net Grapevine:
We just got back from SPtechCon in Boston; What a great event! Thanks to all attendees and fellow SharePoint vendor compatriots. Congrats to our Samsung Netbook winner. Windows 7 runs like a champ on that little speed demon with high res for an external monitor (I know… my inner geek is shining thru). Rumor has it we will be giving away 1 per day at the Microsoft SharePoint Conference in Las Vegas so check in with us often – you could win 4 Samsung Netbooks! Maybe…read the small print.
