Web Hosting Provider Fasthosts research reveals the extent of server downtime problem

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) suffer up to two weeks a year in lost productivity, caused by server downtime. This was a key finding of a study carried out by the UK's largest independent hosting provider, Fasthosts.

Server downtime commonly caused by applying service packs and software patches, random bugs and errors in administration means that small firms can be left with no access to their business applications and data for nearly nine working days a year.

The study results revealed that a typical SME requires an average of 16 hardware resets every 12 months. This, coupled with an average of four hours response time offered by IT support companies, can leave them waiting for a system restore for 64 hours a year.

"Server downtime impacts all companies, large and small, but it is the smaller ones that feel the brunt," said Andrew Michael, CEO, Fasthosts. "Unable to perform daily business operations, SMEs put their livelihood on the line every time the server goes down."

Fasthosts discovered the need for faster and easier hardware reboots during a year-long customer research programme leading to the development of a revolutionary dedicated server offering. As a result of customer feedback, Fasthosts introduced a unique feature allowing users to control their servers remotely and reboot them online as required by simply clicking a restart button on a control panel.

Their dedicated server offers the user permanent keyboard, video and mouse control by using a self-powered on board card, meaning that the customer is given complete control over their dedicated server. This includes changing BIOS configuration access, hardware reset and remote desktop (Windows) as well as SSH (Linux).

Customers also benefit from guaranteed bandwidth through the allocation of a virtual data pipe connected directly to their server. This means that for the first time SMEs do not have to share resources and bandwidth with other companies on the same "unmetered, unlimited" connection and they don't have to pay for additional bandwidth.

Fasthosts also believes that small firms cannot afford to wait for server delivery and set up, which can take up to four weeks.

"Time is money, especially for a small business," continued Andrew Michael. "Our new dedicated server can be set up instantly online. Its self-build architecture gives you instant access regardless of which operating system you choose. And deployment is fully automated. For £49 a month, this range of features is excellent value for money," he added.

Other dedicated server key features include:
· Security guaranteed - by using the latest switching technology each customer receives their own private LAN, which cannot be seen by other servers
· Online control panel - easy and direct control of operating system rebuilds, additional IP addresses and more
· Database integration options - flexibility with installing databases to suit the businesses need (MS SQL or MySQL or integrate with their cost effective shared database hosting)
· Latest technology - all servers are brand new and offer the latest hardware options
· State of the art firewalls - each server is protected by the highest level of firewalls and the latest internet security in their purpose built UK datacenters
· Fast connectivity - brand new purpose built UK datacenters
· 24x7 support from UK-based dedicated server experts

The Fasthosts research amongst its customer base, and the UK's top IT support companies was conducted during 2004 and 2005. The dedicated server is available from http://www.fasthosts.co.uk/dedicatedservers/ from £49 per month.

About Fasthosts
Fasthosts is the UK's largest independent hosting company.  Based in the UK, and operating 24x7 from their dedicated UK data centres, Fasthosts keeps over 1 million domains running smoothly and ensures over 6 million emails are delivered safely each day. All Fasthosts services can be self-managed through the award winning Fasthosts web-based control panel, enabling customers to set up and manage new websites, email accounts, databases, and other hosted services online.

For any press enquiries, please contact:
Elke Panzner or Zuzanna Pasierbinska at Rainier PR, tel. +44 (0) 207 494 6570, fasthosts@rainierpr.co.uk