Hosting Services

SAnDS offer managed hosting solutions; this means that we take 100% care of your application 100% of the time. We provide a range of hosting solutions; from simple static websites to fully managed complex database solutions.

Did we mention that we guarantee 99.9% uptime on all our monitored servers? This means any down time for your hosted application is kept to an absolute minimum. We have extensive experience with hosting mission critical business applications that need to be available 24/7/365 so you can be assured you application is in very good hands.

SAnDS can develop fully custom solutions from the ground up. We will sit with you to ensure that we have an in-depth understanding of your company’s objectives. Every solution we produce has your requirements in mind, we make it our mission to deliver within your budget and exceed your expectations. As part of our goal to stay abreast of the latest technologies our servers are configured with Windows Server 2008 and IIS 7.0. Although we prefer to configure the sites we host to use the Microsoft .Net 4.0 framework we can also host applications built using the Microsoft 2.0 and 3.5 frameworks.

We have a range of options when it comes to database configurations but we have found that the majority of web applications are best configured to use the free version of Microsoft SQL server 2008 (SQL Express). Being free doesn’t mean that you are getting an inferior database, it’s based on exactly the same database engine as the more expensive versions of SQL server but doesn’t have as extensive features. Read more about it here (Microsoft SQL Server). However we do realise that more demanding application will require more advanced versions of SQL server and we’ll be able to recommend a version to you that will best suit your application’s requirements. Above all else we’ll save you money by recommending the best version for your application and budget.

Looking to move your application into a secure managed environment? No problem, even if the application wasn’t developed by SAnDS we can still provide you with cost effective solutions to get your application up and running as quick as possible.

Whatever the size of your application we can handle it. From simple web application to complex mission critical database applications we have the capacity and infrastructure to ensure your application is readily available and performing at its best.

Concerned about security? Our servers are housed at secure, off site, specialist data centres in locked server racks. We can even provide you with your own dedicated server that isn’t shared by anyone else. If data security is a concern, our applications can be configured to encrypt communication ‘over the wire’ through SSL certificates. A dedicated firewall appliance is in place securing our managed servers and if you are using our software development services you can be assured that we take security very seriously and have developed components, like our sign in control, to minimise chances of password guessing (also known as a dictionary attack) succeeding.

Why host with us?

Rapid fault diagnosis

Applications hosted by us are monitored 24/7/365 for any potential problems or faults. We have developed a comprehensive application monitoring infrastructure that hooks directly into the application and lets us know the moment anything goes wrong. If anything does goes wrong, we’ll identify the exact cause of the fault, implement a fix and get your application back up and running as soon as possible. And you’ll be kept informed every step of the way.

Domain name registration and management

We are able to register and manage your domain name. You will then be able to access your web- application from a URL that is appropriate and easy to use

ASP and ASP.NET hosting

We support ASP.Net and ASP (legacy) technologies. These are development technologies that allow for active web applications.

Seamless deployment of patches and upgrades

From time to time new versions of your application will need to be rolled out. With your application hosted online with us we are able to seamlessly deploy any upgrades or patches with absolutely minimal amount of downtime. Most of our upgrades take less than 15 minutes and the majority of the time all that’s required is a quick browser refresh. Being a hosted web application there’s no need to roll out extensive patches and install to each user meaning new features or fixes are available almost immediately.

Separate quality assurance environment

We have a dedicated quality assurance environment where users are able to login to their applications pre-release and test the functionality. Using this methodology our clients can easily provide us with feedback and make the final solution the best it can. This also means no surprises when the final version is released and application works exactly how you want it to.

Backup and recovery services

We have full server backups and also backup all databases with regular monitored plans. A number of backup strategies are available from daily full database backups to backups taken every 15 minutes. If anything goes wrong you can be assured your data is safe with us.

Microsoft Windows platforms and .Net frameworks

We offer Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft .Net frameworks 2.0, 3.5 and 4.0

Microsoft SQL server databases

We offer Microsoft SQL Server databases to manage and store data. Microsoft SQL Server

Additional service we offer:

1. Monitored ports for data communication including FTP and SMTP;


2. Managed firewalled security;


3. Email and text message alerts;


4. Secure communication over HTTPS (if required).