For the vast majority of businesses of all sizes, from a small family business or entrepreneurship to mid-sized companies or even larger companies, a VPS or virtual private server is the ideal option.
A VPS offers the available space and scalability to grow and respond to the needs of the company, but it also has the lower cost factor as compared to a dedicated private server. As a virtual server, it also offers several different benefits including increased security, administrative access and the freedom to customize the server to meet the needs of the business.
Choosing either a managed or an unmanaged VPS is often the biggest decision for the business to make. While with traditional types of hosting packages it is typically required to know the usage limits or minimums you require before committing to a plan, the use of VPS eliminates this concern.
Control Requirements
The major difference between a managed and unmanaged VPS plan is really in the amount of control over the server that is required. With the unmanaged plan, the company will be required to do all maintenance and management of the server, but the host does maintain the physical side of the plan as well as ensure the quality and uptime of the virtual server.
This will require some level of IT understanding. It is not impossible to learn what is needed to maintain and work with an unmanaged VPS plan, but it is a steep learning curve.
The good news is that top companies offering unmanaged plans tend to also offer a lot of information and support through their forums and support services. Often businesses will start out with a managed VPS plan and then, as they develop an internal IT team, move towards an unmanaged plan if they see the need for increased control over the technical side of the server, including software installation, security, and assistance with maintenance.