Dedicated vs Distributed Shared Resources
Powering Your eCommerce Platform
In the world of eCommerce, the resources you choose to power your website have a significant impact on performance, reliability, and control. The main options are dedicated resources or distributed shared resources, each with its own advantages and drawbacks. Here, we’ll explore these options in detail and look at why dedicated resources offer superior performance and control, especially as your business grows.
Defining Distributed Shared Resources
Distributed shared resources mean your eCommerce site shares server power, storage, and bandwidth with many other websites. This is common among smaller businesses or those using commercial eCommerce platforms. Sharing resources keeps costs low but comes with limitations in performance, security, and reliability. Research shows that 85% of small eCommerce businesses start on shared resources due to cost-effectiveness. However, as sites grow, limitations with shared setups can impact operations.
Exploring Dedicated Resources
Dedicated resources mean that all server power, storage, and bandwidth are exclusively for your site. This setup provides full access to computing power and eliminates the logical layers of shared technology that can slow down performance. For businesses expecting high traffic and needing greater control, dedicated resources are a better fit. Studies suggest that 73% of high-growth eCommerce sites switch to dedicated resources within two years to handle increased demand and improve performance.
Advantages of Dedicated Resources
1. Consistent Performance
With dedicated resources, your site’s speed and performance remain unaffected by other websites. A dedicated setup can improve load times by up to 40%, which translates to nearly twice the speed, as there is no competition for resources. Faster load times are crucial, given that 53% of users abandon sites taking longer than three seconds to load. This improvement can significantly enhance customer retention making your eCommerce platform stand out.
2. Full Control
Dedicated resources give you complete control over the server environment. You can customize security, data management, and server settings to fit your business needs. This level of control often results in 20-30% better optimization for specific eCommerce applications compared to shared environments.
3. Better Security
In a dedicated setup, your eCommerce site is isolated from the risks associated with sharing resources. Statistics show that 60% of cyber-attacks target sites on shared servers due to vulnerabilities from neighboring sites. Dedicated resources reduce this risk, allowing for custom security protocols and higher data protection.
4. Scalability
Dedicated setups are highly scalable. As your business grows, you can add more power and resources without interference from other sites. This flexibility is important, as 70% of businesses experience a performance dip when scaling up on shared resources, whereas dedicated setups allow for seamless growth.
5. Reliability
Distributed shared resources can lead to downtime if other sites on the same server have issues, impacting your site’s stability. Dedicated resources improve reliability by isolating your site from external issues. Research indicates that sites on dedicated resources experience 30% less downtime, supporting a consistent and dependable user experience.
For these reasons, we choose dedicated resources for our customers and avoid shared resources to enhance their success.
Final Thoughts on Choosing the Right Resources
For eCommerce, dedicated resources provide substantial advantages in performance, control, security, scalability, and reliability. While distributed shared resources are cost-effective for smaller sites, as your business grows, dedicated resources become essential to meet demands without compromise. In a competitive market, investing in dedicated resources can mean the difference between smooth, secure operations and frequent disruptions.