Getting Caught in the Web: The Web Hosting Investment The growth of Web-based applications has driven yet another metamorphosis of the data center. With increased complexity, speed to implementation becomes key, and technology deployment becomes more difficult. In addition, the virtual operations center in a brick-and-mortar or hybrid enterprise must continue to support legacy and existing midrange systems as well as Web-specific delivery. Further complicating issues include applications that span multiple platforms, thus creating more potential points of failure. Although efficiency still is important, the focus of enterprises has shifted to include effectiveness. However, IT efficiency will continue to center on infrastructure efficiency in which process optimization and enhanced time to market are key objectives. Business effectiveness will target revenue enhancement and marketing power as well as meeting customer, end-user and buyer expectations. Successful Web hosting requires significant investments in infrastructure and staff. Before considering such investments, enterprises must evaluate their existing capabilities objectively; determine whether to buy, build or partner/outsource any weak or missing capabilities; and assess whether the investments will be sufficient for success in Web hosting and e-initiatives. Gartner's four-level model of Web site sophistication reflects incremental strategic value and increased business process integration. At each level, incremental cost and complexity are added (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Level 1: Basic — This is a static content Web site of product brochures and graphics. Level 2: Prospecting — A Level 2 presence is used primarily for marketing purposes. It habituates users to the Web site by integrating content, facilitating its use and enabling e-mail communication with support staff. At Level 2, interactivity, searching and personalization are initiated. Level 3: Integrated Business — The ability to collect and process more information permits advanced personalization, and online communities generate high amounts of end-user activity. Electronic commerce, secure transactions, full e-mail customer service, advanced search techniques and ease of use create a high degree of user comfort. Level 4: Business Transformation — A Level 4 Web site creates new business and migrates traditional business processes to the Internet. Integrated back-office functions streamline supplier and client communication and replace paper-based functions. Depending on an enterprise's proliferation of mission-critical applications to a Web server or the extent to which e-commerce drives 24x7 availability, cost levels can rise dramatically. Investments must be made in application design, technology, infrastructure, facilities, training and staffing. Although, investing in a fail-over system - which keeps a site alive if its primary server crashes - may be wise, the cost of replicating a Web site completely on another server can nearly double the cost. Costs for fail-over vary widely depending on the number of servers needed and the complexity of the configuration. Clearly, prevention is the best medicine, but it comes at a price. In calculating the cost of enabling an e-business strategy, enterprises must understand that high-availability investments and disaster-recovery investments are not the same. Business continuity planning must account for both. As applications span multiple platforms and Web applications tie back into legacy systems, an IS organization must account for all technologies and platforms involved in supporting critical applications. Despite Gartner analyses indicating that mainframe disaster recovery spending levels have remained consistent, enterprises have been unwilling to fund midrange Web-recovery solutions to the same extent. A Web hosting chart of accounts indicates the key elements of an infrastructure including the hardware and software used to deliver a Web site, where the equipment resides and those responsible for management and maintenance (see Figure 2). Other important aspects for consideration include: Carrier — About a dozen enterprises offer industrial-strength Internet connections. The main issue is how much bandwidth is required. Some enterprises may own network capabilities. Hosting center — Either the design is built into existing data center facilities or external co-location services, which are specialized, can house your equipment and connect to the Internet. Core software/hardware — This includes routers that receive and send information to and from a Web site, a Web server that delivers Web pages, application and database servers as well as storage systems. Support — This includes staffing levels, skills and training used to support all aspects of Web delivery. Figure 2. The elements associated with Web delivery must be defined strictly so that the total cost of ownership can be determined more accurately, thus facilitating a better understanding of the true cost to deliver Web-based services. Ultimately, it is crucial to incorporate a methodology that measures operational efficiency and effectiveness as part of a performance management model for Web hosting and e-business. Source: Phil Georgas, Gartner Measurement, phil.georgas@gartner.com Writer: Carolyn LeVasseur, Gartner Measurement Contact Information: For more information about Gartner Measurement services please e-mail measurement.info@gartner.com  Back to Top