The employees maintaining the server must be as reliable as employees of the company, or they must be restricted. Reliability Multiple electrical systems with backup generators help ensure that systems stay running. Ask how the ASP's location is prepared for earthquakes and other natural disasters. People may need to access the system from multiple time zones at any time of the day or night. Support services must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Redundancy keeps maintenance downtime to a minimum.
Performance and the Ability to Meet Peak Demand ASP users should expect immediate response from the service provider, without long delays. The ASP must be able to configure and maintain the server at peak volumes at any time of the day or month. The interconnection to the main network must be fast and reliable through the fastest server and high-speed routing. The hosting provider needs to maintain its own fiber network across major links and have peering arrangements with other fiber-link providers that allow for bypassing the public Internet when necessary. Comprehensive statistics and controls should be available with monitoring software.