Posted on April 2nd, 2010With cloud hosting technology perfected and ready for real world applications, hosting companies are starting to switch. More and more servers in datacenters are used for cloud hosting, and soon enough, almost everyone will probably make the switch completely.
And there’s no reason not to. The technology allows customers to have all the power they need, and only the power they need, and pay accordingly. So if a site is being heavily loaded today and idle tomorrow, you will pay less for the idle time and more for the heavy load time. In the end, it’s cheaper (much cheaper for some websites and clients). And the best thing is, your site will never slow down or become inaccessible, because it’s got a whole datacenter at its disposal (OK, maybe half of it 
.
So, let’s see what hosting companies provide the best cloud hosting services.
Amazon: This company’s EC2 cloud computing (along with their S3 data storage) is one of the first cloud hosting services online, and it became very popular among developers, startups and businesses that need the power and flexibility it has to offer. Thanks to their time advantage, Amazon has refined and perfected the technology, so it is very reliable and stable. At the same time, it is the hardest to setup cloud hosting, due to many proprietary technologies, software and notions. Their support won’t help a novice either: they clearly state that their service caters to professionals and businesses, so if you want to start learning about cloud hosting and perform simple tasks like scripts testing and small site hosting, then you should look at other providers.
Rackspace: One of the most well known hosting providers with a lot of mixed reviews from users, Rackspace has rolled out their own cloud hosting service, which combines their industry know-how with great tech support to provide the best service possible. Besides offering virtual servers on demand in their cloud, they also have specialized web site hosting and file storage services (similar to Amazon S3).
GoGrid: This company specializes in cloud and hybrid hosting, so users have a bigger variety of options. They can easily integrate existing and set up dedicated servers with their cloud to increase performance and reliability without having to take anything offline (which often means lost money, visitors and users for the websites that are hosted on those servers).
Slicehost: A lot of developers and website owners swear by this company, and they probably know what they’re talking about. Slicehost was among the first to offer cloud hosting services, so they had some time to improve and perfect themselves. The prices aren’t as low as they can be, but you pay more to have the best support and guaranteed resources. They have been recently acquired by Rackspace, but continue to work under their own name and rules.
Softlayer: This hosting provider’s CloudLayer has a few original technologies that few others offer, namely the seamless integration of their cloud with other dedicated of VPS servers. Their rates are quite cheap (at the same level with the others), the API and environment is mature and tested, and they have great customer support – exactly what a professional developer or business would want.
1and1: With a long history behind their hosting services and over 4 million users, you can be sure that 1and1’s Dynamic Cloud Server is one of the best choices available. This company has the most complaints about it online, but most of them are about their cheapest $3-4/month beginner shared hosting packages, and considering the total number of clients, a few thousand complainers isn’t that much. It’s true that in 2005-2007, their customer support was ones of the worst, but 2008-2009 has seen a lot of improvements in that area. And you can’t beat their price for what they offer. Check it out for yourself.
Cari.net: This company is one of the best dedicated servers provider for big and small businesses and other customers that demand only the best. They started offering their cloud computing service not long ago, and it quickly became a success. With the same reliability, performance and great customer support as their other offers, Cari.net’s cloud hosting is an excellent choice for any application.
This is only the beginning for cloud hosting. As time passes and technology progresses, it will become more available, cheaper and reliable. You could wait until that happens, but there’s no reason not to switch now, especially if you need the processing power and resources.