UK managed hosting sector to grow by 23% in 2005

Internet marketing publisher E-consultancy has released its latest research into the managed hosting sector, which will experience double-digit growth in 2005. The research is featured in E-consultancy's Managed Hosting UK – A Buyer's Guide, thought to be the first dedicated report of its kind for the UK market.

The market for managed hosting was estimated to be worth between £250m and £300m in 2004. It is expected to grow by around 23% this year, to be valued at up to £369m.

The sector has the potential to grow to a much more substantial size in the next few years, partly due to the growth in e-commerce adoption by SMEs and FTSE500 companies.

Another key reason for this growth is the realisation within client organisations that money spent on internal server operations is often substantially higher than outsourced managed hosting costs. Only the largest businesses can truly achieve cost benefits from managing hosting internally.

The buyer's guide research is based on in-depth interviews with key industry personnel and reflects a bullish outlook for the next few years, despite the challenges and threats to the industry, which are also detailed in the report.

Some sectors - such as financial services - are driving growth due to regulatory demands. Other high-growth sectors include transport, travel and publishing, according to interviewees.

The ASP model is finally taking off despite being used by managed hosting providers for years, as businesses become au fait with buying on-demand software services.

"This buyer's guide indicates that the managed hosting sector is going from strength to strength," said E-consultancy CEO Ashley Friedlein. "E-commerce and broadband growth is going to help hosting providers win more and more business in the years to come. We think this guide is a great time-saving resource for anybody researching the UK managed hosting market.

The managed hosting buyer's guide features 13 in-depth vendor profiles. It also includes a SWOT analysis to help persuade the boss, a guide to costs and pricing, as well as detailed market research and quotes from industry heavyweights.

Providers profiled: Active 24, Areti, Attenda, Easynet, ForLinux, Fresca, Globix, Hostway, Intercea, Namesco, SAVVIS, THUS and UKFast.

The managed hosting buyer's guide can be downloaded from:
http://www.e-consultancy.com/publications/managed-hosting-buyers-guide-2005

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Journalists and bloggers can find out more by contacting E-consultancy editor Chris Lake.
e: chris@e-consultancy.com t: 0207 6814051.

About E-consultancy
http://www.e-consultancy.com/about/

E-consultancy is the UK's leading online publisher of best practice internet marketing reports, research and how-to guides. It also publishes buyer's guides and has a directory of 100,000+ third party internet marketing white papers.

Since moving to a paid-content model in 2003 E-consultancy has amassed thousands of paying subscribers, around 30,000 registered users and 115,000 unique users sessions per month. Its weekly newsletter is sent to 18,000 e-marketing professionals. Subscribers pay from £99 per year to access the exclusive and highly practical content, which helps internet marketers get the most out of their websites.

E-consultancy events include roundtables and monthly 'Supplier Showcases', where six suppliers pitch to an audience of pre-qualified buyers in a Central London venue.

E-consultancy also provides a range of in-house internet training programmes, such as seminars and workshops, and has recently launched a new media jobs channel to help internet teams find new recruits.