If you are like most companies, you will have an old/newish server knocking around and have some spare bandwidth too.
Why not become a Web Host…..
If you have some spare bandwidth and 1 or 2 servers, you could not only host your own site and be in full control of your sites DNS but you could also rent out the space/bandwidth to other people, this would not take up much time to do.
How to become a Web Host…
To become a web host you need to consider a couple of things, does your ISP allow hosting of Websites, Mail servers, FTP servers etc, and how will you divide up the bandwidth that you are not using to divert it to the server hosting hardware,
A good practise would be to put the Server hardware you intend to use behind another firewall and forward all the ports to this firewall and then on to the server hardware.
Another consideration is what software will you use to host yours and indeed a clients web site, again this varies and what kind of techies you have working for you and if you
are willing to put any budget or money in to the project.
What do I need to get started….
If your a microsoft house then you will have to use IIS and Windows DNS Management systems, however if you have some geeky techs then you could consider using a linux distro such as CentOS or Ubuntu Server, then install a hosting control panel on it such as Cpanel or free alternative.
Either way if you go with IIS then there will be some software licensing and if you go with Linux you will have to put some time and a little effort in, I mean you are hosting clients websites and you don’t want them to fail, so put some effort in to choosing the right Hosting panel and software etc.
If you do decide to host some websites for clients its a nice way to add value to the business you do with them and to add an easy revenue stream to your current business.