It amazes me how far technology has come. Running with the ever-improving blazing-fast servers we do today almost feels like cheating compared with what used to run the internet decades ago. While it would be fun to totally geek out and write an entire article about bleeding-edge hardware and components, that would be much more exciting for me than for you. So instead, let’s focus on a specific tech-fueled topic highly relevant to anyone in the online adult industry: the biggest trends in hosting we see emerging over the next year and beyond.
Virtual Private Servers vs. Cloud Hosting Costs
In the future, while cloud will grow as the popular option, virtual private servers (VPS) will provide cost-saving alternatives that will become more valuable to startups and smaller applications.
The market leaders in mainstream cloud hosting have used aggressive marketing and loss-leading tactics to make cloud hosting into the juggernaut it is today. Cloud is often vastly more expensive than bare metal hosting, but can be easier to manage due to the improvements in end-user interfaces. Moreover, by creating the cloud hosting market, those companies have also influenced architects and sys admins who now want to build only on the cloud. Cloud hosting offers scalability, flexibility and cost-effectiveness, which is really great for the fast-paced “move fast and break things” startup mentality. Being able to move and change things quickly is indeed the biggest benefit — but often at a cost.
In the future, while cloud will grow as the popular option, virtual private servers (VPS) will provide cost-saving alternatives that will become more valuable to startups and smaller applications. We expect that more smart companies are going to become wise to ever-increasing cloud and storage costs and will start moving more systems to managed hosting companies with lower-cost dedicated servers. The bigger your company and hardware footprint, the larger your opportunity to save, especially if your hosting needs have matured. By the time they have grown big enough to reap this benefit, however, most companies are scared of switching, even though it would save buckets of money.
Cyber Security Is More Necessary Than Ever
Every day there is a new threat from the web. Just yesterday I was reading about a woman who was conned out of nearly $10 million in a cyber scam that emptied her bank account into cryptocurrency. Telecoms and web hosts are always at the forefront of this cyber war. While nearly all attacks are thwarted automatically by web application firewalls (WAF), we see attacks on our network attempted every single day. No matter where your favorite porn site is hosted, if that website goes down for an hour or a day, it is likely the result of such attacks. In a world full of cyber threats, hosting providers must increasingly focus on security.
To combat security threats, there is massive large-scale adoption of two-factor authentication across the web. This will probably increase hackers’ motivation to access, clone or hijack your phone. Going forward, carrying the access key to your bank and email accounts in your pocket will become one of the biggest security threats. When it comes to your web host battling cyber attacks, the bare minimum measures are WAF protection along with DDoS protection, detection and mitigation.
Beyond Cloud: Serverless Hosting
There has been continued growth in edge computing, which reduces latency by better distributing websites around the world instead of relying on a centralized data center. Think of it as CDN, but for the actual website itself. This interesting cloud hosting model you may not have heard about is called serverless hosting.
This type of hosting uses a cloud computing model in which a cloud service provider manages the infrastructure required to run an application, while the developer is responsible for writing the functions that are executed in response to specific events or triggers, such as files being uploaded, form submissions, etc. Even though both serverless and cloud hosting happen in the cloud, serverless hosting operates on a different architecture and responsibility model where the cloud provider handles the underlying infrastructure required to run application functions.
The Massive Rise of AI
Like everyone else, I’ve played with ChatGPT. It didn’t write this article, but I’ve used it to write all sorts of other things. Besides, how could a computer ever replace my quirky attitude? Scratch that — by the time this article goes to print, it’ll probably be able to do that too. Then all I’ll have left to prove I’m human are my dance skills, which my wife adores. Beat that, ChatGPT!
But I digress. While AI is out there working for the average person by answering random questions and creating great AI porn, there is also “real” work being done by artificial intelligence. Hosting providers are streamlining and improving efficiency with smart routing to improve speed and reduce latency. Cyber threats are being AI-detected and mitigated in real time. While AI is automatically writing code and applications — yes, it does that too — hosting companies are the ones who will be powering the revolutionary smarter search engines and virtual assistants, which will probably seem real as the OS in the movie “Her.” Don’t worry, we’ll still be here to unplug the servers if something goes awry.
An Emphasis on Sustainability
It is no secret that hosting companies use a massive amount of power. The internet and all the apps on our phones are interconnected through them. While there are a lot of ways for data centers to save power and make more efficient choices, most still don’t.
This is likely to change, however. This summer is expected to be the hottest ever recorded. Climate change is directly affecting all of us, and it never hurts to make better choices for our environment. We will see more hosting companies adopt strategies to reduce carbon emissions — not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it will become increasingly cost-effective to do so.
By staying on top of the latest hosting trends, companies can better pivot their budgets and hosting decisions to ensure their needs are taken care of in a manner that is cost-effective, secure and efficient.
Brad Mitchell is the founder of MojoHost, which has been named XBIZ Web Host of the Year multiple times over its nearly two decades. A regular fixture at trade shows, Mitchell frequently shares hard-won wisdom while striking deals. Contact brad@mojohost.com.
