The production cycle of a website typically looks something like this- a graphic artist designs a mockup of the site for the client to review. Once the client likes the visual look of the site, the coding team builds the website on a development server for testing, troubleshooting, and presentation to the client. After everything has the green light, an implementation team deploys a web server, configures it, and finally the site is moved over to the live production server and delivered to the client. Imagine how much easier this process could be if development and production tasks could be accomplished on the same platform and in a cost effective fashion? With a managed virtual dedicated server, this becomes a very viable option.

In a world of unlimited resources, it would be great to toss up a brand new server every time you made a pitch to a prospective client. Unfortunately we don’t live in a world of unlimited resources, in fact the opposite is true and cutting costs is the order of the day. By using managed virtual dedicated servers as a development and presentation tool, web designers can impress clients with the look and feel of their actual site right from the first review session, and without the cost of expensive hardware.

With the advances made in processor technology, it’s now possible to run multiple server instances on the same physical hardware. For most standard websites with minimal computing overhead, this means a significant cost reduction while maintain the same functionality of a traditional server. More importantly, for web development companies this means instantaneous deployment. The client is live with a mouse click.

The immediacy of managed virtual dedicated servers becomes a benefit from the very beginning of the sales process. Client presentations are made on the exact same environment that the production website will live on, so you don’t have to explain things like “it won’t be quite like this once we’re outside of the firewall” or “this should have been the right password, let me call the office and see what’s wrong.” Virtual dedicated servers are generally up and running within minutes, allowing developers maximum flexibility.

Another added benefit in using managed virtual dedicated servers in a development environment is platform independence. Available in both Linux and Windows operating systems, developers aren’t hamstrung by hardware dependencies, and can instead take advantage of the strengths of each environment. Leverage the ‘managed’ aspect of managed virtual dedicated servers, and you don’t need to have Red Hat experts alongside MCSE’s just to keep your infrastructure running. That’s what the provider is for.

Used creatively, managed virtual dedicated servers can be a tremendous aide to web development teams, and provide a host of direct and indirect benefits. Add immediacy to initial client presentations, streamline the development process, make deployment seamless, and do it all with a cost effective, user friendly turnkey solution.

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Tags: benefits of virtual dedicated server, managed virtual dedicated server, Performance, Reliability, Virtual Dedicated Server