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The need for an FTP hosting service becomes apparent to any organization that handles, stores or shares sensitive files. Once your organization recognizes the need for an FTP hosting service, and once it realizes in-house solutions are cost-prohibitive, it’s time to answer this question: Should you rent a shared or dedicated FTP server?
No two organizations are exactly alike, so this question must be answered on a case-by-case basis. Dedicated FTP servers provide a number of benefits that your organization may want to take advantage of. Here’s a look at the 4 primary benefits of choosing to rent a dedicated FTP server rather than using shared FTP infrastructure.
The primary reason to rent a dedicated FTP server is the disk space. At FTP Today, our shared FTP server plans start with disk storage of 10GB. That’s plenty of storage for organizations that need a limited amount of sensitive file-sharing, while also implementing strict file retention control at the organizational level.
But, if you operate an organization that is regularly storing and sharing sensitive files with multiple parties, you’ll quickly discover the need for more disk space. The same is true if you regularly store and share large files — no matter how many parties you share with. FTP Today’s dedicated FTP server plans start at 1TB, or 1000GB.
For example, we’ve worked with law firms in the past that are storing large, sensitive files and also sharing them with clients, other law firms and courts. Intensive, high-volume file-sharing of this nature demands a dedicated server. The same applies to other organizations that are working with multiple parties on projects that include sensitive files and information.
If you anticipate sharing files at high-volume, or if you expect to store larger files (or a large amount of files), opting for a dedicated FTP server will provide the disk space you need. Keep in mind that you can change your FTP Today plan whenever you like, and our team can help you scale up or down as needed. Get in touch with us to learn more about scaling to dedicated FTP server hosting.
When you choose a shared FTP server, it may not be more disk space that your organization needs. You will likely share a server with a handful of other organizations or more. If those organizations go through periods when a high-volume of concurrent connections are needed, your FTP performance may lag. This is commonly known as the “noisy neighbor” effect.
Again, this may not matter to an organization that’s doing a limited amount of storing and sharing of sensitive files. But, to an organization that needs reliable performance on-demand, opting for a dedicated server is one of the best ways to guarantee performance.
The FTP Today team constantly monitors usage. In some cases, we encourage users who regularly go through periods of high volume to graduate to dedicated servers. This helps ensure that users on shared servers get the reliable performance they expect. But a dedicated FTP server eliminates even the possibility that organizations sharing your server may affect performance and the experience of your users.
A dedicated FTP server can also help your organization take advantage of new opportunities. Some corporations have policies requiring dedicated servers for sharing sensitive files, and they may also require similar infrastructure from their partners. In the future, you may find that choosing dedicated FTP server hosting over a shared option opens up new partnership opportunities with those corporations.
Similarly, you may find that some government agencies require a dedicated file server for FTP before agreeing to contracts with private organizations. If you currently do business with the U.S. government, if you expect to do business with the U.S. government, or even if you would like to do business with the U.S. government in the future, choosing a dedicated FTP client could make compliance far easier than otherwise.
A dedicated FTP server can also provide new opportunities internally. For example, a dedicated server through FTP Today allows an organization to divide their allocated storage across multiple departments with separate sites for each group for a low annual fee per additional instance. This setup provides organizations with a way to allocate costs based on departmental storage allowances — ultimately allowing storage expenses to be shared more fairly.
We’ve already noted that renting FTP servers is a more cost-effective approach than creating an in-house solution. But let’s dive a little deeper into the specifics of that cost-effectiveness.
When you opt to rent a dedicated SFTP server, you only have to worry about monthly subscription costs. You’ll spend up to $12,500 setting up an in-house solution, and then you’ll invest up to $21,500 yearly to maintain your in-house FTP solution. That’s a total of up to $34,000 in Year 1 and up to $21,500 each following year.
When you rent a dedicated FTP server, there’s little setup cost. And, rather than investing in maintenance each year, you only pay a subscription fee commensurate with the storage, features and capabilities your organization needs.
Best of all, FTP platform providers that have a dedicated infrastructure option (like FTP Today) create and deliver solutions that are compliant with many of the common standards and regulations that organizations are trying to adhere to. Not only do you limit ongoing CAPEX costs when renting rather than buying an FTP server, you also get out-of-the-box compliance as needed.
While FTP is the common acronym used, modern FTP hosting providers are actually offering FTP, SFTP and HTTPS services. We’ve previously written about the key differences between FTP and SFTP file-sharing. Traditional FTP means transferring files without encryption. Anything that’s intercepted during a transfer will be readable. There’s no in-transit encryption.
SFTP file transfers include a secure shell (SSL) that encrypts and protects files during transmission. If they are intercepted, they will be inaccessible and unreadable to whomever intercepts them.
At FTP Today, we offer both. FTP and SFTP are file transfer protocols that use different internet ports. Our customers can use either FTP or SFTP with a dedicated server depending on the protocols they allow within the FTP Today application. There aren’t FTP or SFTP servers. Rather, with a dedicated server, users choose how to transfer files, selecting from among FTP, SFTP, FTPS, FTPeS or HTTPS.
You’ll often see FTP and SFTP used interchangeably. SFTP has become the standard in the 21st century for any organization sharing files that are sensitive in nature. So, when you read “dedicated FTP server,” know that FTP Today offers the “dedicated SFTP server” option that most organizations are looking for.
The best FTP solutions scale and shift to meet the unique needs of your organization at any given moment. At FTP Today, we offer both shared and dedicated FTP server options, plus the ability to change plans as needed to support your business. When you need to store and share sensitive files, we deliver the right FTP solutions.
If you know you need a dedicated FTP file hosting service, or if you’re debating shared vs. dedicated FTP server options, our team is always here to provide expert guidance. Contact us for a demo of our FTP solution, plus answers to your dedicated FTP server questions.
