The Art of Staying Neutral

However, businesses that entrust their operations to carrier hosts also take on a very real risk: they are in danger of becoming dependent on a single provider. Businesses with colocated servers may find it difficult to switch providers, and if their carrier goes down, then those businesses could be grounded for some time. For this reason, so-called “neutral hosts” have become extremely popular.

Neutral providers are full-scale colocation companies, but unlike carrier hosts, they do not operate their own IP networks. Instead, they allow clients to choose a telecommunications company - and if clients decide to change to their minds later, their hosted operations won’t be affected. Leading neutral hosting company Redbus Interhouse allows it customers to negotiate directly with providers, or, if the client prefers, Redbus can obtain a quote on his or her behalf.

For the first-time client, however, identifying a neutral hosting operation may not be so easy. Many carrier companies have tried to capitalise on this important new market by identifying themselves “neutral hosts,” when all they really mean is that they allow other carriers into their data centre - while they aggressively promote their own services. For backbone providers, the cost of connecting to a data centre can be as much as £250,000, so only a handful of truly established neutral hosting companies are able to offer their clients more than 10 or 12 providers to choose from.