Bell Data Systems

Affordable hosting solution scales seamlessly with growing business

Industry
Software developer and application service provider

Profile
Develop and host custom browser-based database applications for government, not-for-profit, and for-profit organizations.

Challenge
Bell Data Systems conceived a browser-based database application, one that could be accessed from any computer with Internet access by their government, not-for-profit and for-profit clients. Immediately, they knew they needed a server. Faced with the prospect of a significant capital investment at the outset of the company's venture, they decided to opt for a dedicated server instead of buying one and administering it on their own.

BDS had some specific requirements when it came to their dedicated server. First of all, it was essential that the server be available 100% of the time. The entire business would come to depend on this server, as every aspect of the business was online: developing, staging and demonstrating the application; hosting the application for clients; and hosting the company's own website. Guaranteed uptime was absolutely essential to the credibility and functioning of their business.

Secondly, the fact that BDS hosted the application for some customers meant that valuable data was residing on this dedicated server, so they had to take extra precautions with security. They could not afford to let valuable customer data be compromised.

Thirdly, Bell Data Systems needed a set-up that they could easily scale. They began small, but had big dreams, and they needed to be able to grow without added stress.

Solution
Bell Data Systems was assigned a dedicated account executive. Together they decided that the best option was a low-end dedicated server that was affordable and met their basic needs. As the company and the demands on the server grew, BDS upgraded to a dedicated server that gives them the freedom to grow without worrying about whether their server set-up can handle it.

Working with their dedicated account executive, BDS also decided to purchase a NetScreen™ Security Appliances firewall managed by PEER 1's in-house network security experts. The firewall uses information about every connection to the server to manage or block access to certain ports and resources and to filter traffic. This provides an important layer of security to protect their customers' valuable data.

With their server, Bell Data Systems receives Gold Support, which includes managed patching of the operating system on the server. But on top of that, PEER 1's security engineers send periodic email notifications to the entire customer base, free of charge, to alert them of any security threats related to software that isn't part of their OS. This saves BDS the trouble of trying to keep up to date themselves, while ensuring they get the security updates they need to protect their equipment, data, application and entire business.

Benefits

• 100% uptime guarantee so the site is available whenever staff, customers or prospective customers need it
• Very easy to scale
• Saved the large capital investment of buying their own server equipment
• Peace of mind of knowing that when a patch or security upgrade needs to be done, PEER 1's team will notify them
• Improved efficiency and flexibility in development and support