IOMart Servers

[DuaneJackson]

Does anyone have any experience (positive or negative) of dealing with IOMart?

We're looking at some of their services - dedicated hardware etc, so a little above the usual standard web hosting - and I'm interested in what your experiences may be of the company

(Please don't pitch me your services as an alternative!)

[stugster]

have you tried equiphase?

Harrrr :p


Iomart are pretty big mate, as long as you get proper SLA in place, I don't think they're going to be a problem.

[KM-Tiger]

(Please don't pitch me your services as an alternative!)

Spoilsport.

I was looking forward to a page of "I've sent you a PM".

[DuaneJackson]

Spoilsport.

I was looking forward to a page of "I've sent you a PM".

It's what I was expecting!

It seems though, that when you rule out those pitching their own stuff, you end up with just two responses!

[PrismTechWales]

Looked at IOmart before and chose Rackspace instead purely based on overwhelmingly positive reviews from fellow geeks.

[PrismTechWales]

BTW - we use Kashflow and it rocks!!!

[stugster]

D,

Have you thought about colocating your own hardware?

[awebapart.com]

Does anyone have any experience (positive or negative) of dealing with IOMart?
I'm finding it quite amusing what comes up on page 1 position 5 when you google for iomart (http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=iomart&meta=&rlz=1W1SUNA_en-GB&aq=f&oq=)!

Didn't you recently move over to Rackspace? Are you thinking of moving again or are you simply looking for other servers to complement what you already have at Rackspace?

For servers, if you are thinking about Rapid Switch, now part of Iomart, then there was some recent (September 2009) serious Rapid Switch downtime (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?p=999588), so it's worth asking what they have in place to prevent that particular issue happening again in the future.

[cmcp]

They're based up here in Maryhill, and don't have a good reputation as regards their Easyspace or Ufindus services. I only have experience of their Easyspace service, and it was nothing short of a nightmare.

[DuaneJackson]

Have you thought about colocating your own hardware?

We used to. It's be a step backwards for us.

Didn't you recently move over to Rackspace? Are you thinking of moving again or are you simply looking for other servers to complement what you already have at Rackspace?

Yes, we went from Co-lo to Rackspace 18mo ago and don't regret it. They're superb.

Our infrastructure needs are increasing dramatically so we're just looking around at alternatives for some of the new stuff we need to bring online.

BTW - we use Kashflow and it rocks!!!
Always good to hear : )

[HostThree]

Have you tried UnitedHosting.co.uk?

[DuaneJackson]

(Please don't pitch me your services as an alternative!)

Have you tried UnitedHosting.co.uk?
Sorry, should have said - "or anyone elses"

[Carl-CSNM]

I've used them (dedicated server for our helpdesk) and only just cancelled last month, they've had various network issues in the last year, they seem to be carrying out 'maintenance' every month and host their own telephone/support systems on the same network as customers which is always useful when you need to contact them when their entire network is down.

SLA's are worthless too (even 100% uptime guarantee ones!)

[DuaneJackson]

Thanks Carl, very useful.

And thanks cmcp, didn't realise they were the firm behind ufindus.

does anyone have a spare barge pole?

[webhostuk]

Hello,

What are the hardware configuration you are looking for..And are you looking for managed services or unmanaged servers?

[DuaneJackson]

What are the hardware configuration you are looking for..And are you looking for managed services or unmanaged servers?

Why? . . . . .

[stugster]

Why? . . . . .

Now... is that a silly question or what :p

[DuaneJackson]

Now... is that a silly question or what :p

I reckon it might be!

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/images/buttons/infraction.gif

[webhostuk]

Why? . . . . .

When you are asking for recommendation ..I guess members should know your exact requirement and accordingly members can help you ahead and give you better solution.

I don't think I asked something offtrack :p

[Dwebs-Ltd]

I've used them (dedicated server for our helpdesk) and only just cancelled last month, they've had various network issues in the last year, they seem to be carrying out 'maintenance' every month and host their own telephone/support systems on the same network as customers which is always useful when you need to contact them when their entire network is down.

SLA's are worthless too (even 100% uptime guarantee ones!)

Ah but you're missing the key reason for having the phone system hosted on the same network. When crap hits the fan they don't get any calls; which means they don't need bodies in chairs answering the phone.

[Carl-CSNM]

When you are asking for recommendation ..I guess members should know your exact requirement and accordingly members can help you ahead and give you better solution.

I don't think I asked something offtrack :p

Duane wasn't asking for recommendations, he was asking for opinions on Iomart.

Perhaps you should visit business forums in your native country if you can't read or understand English properly. You seem to want to promote your business at every possible opportunity.

[cmcp]

Thanks Carl, very useful.

And thanks cmcp, didn't realise they were the firm behind ufindus.

does anyone have a spare barge pole?

No worries. What about Amazons AWS?

[Dominic Taylor]

I know you're not looking for recommendations (which seems odd) but would urge you to post a request on http://www.webhostchat.co.uk - the membership comprise some of the UK's best hosts serving all sorts of organisations inc. household names, PLCs, etc...

[I, Brian]

Iomart have an awful reputation - it's amazing that they are even being considered.

For hosting requirements, there are plenty of decent players in the market, and depending on your requirements, may be worth looking at the USA market like The Planet or one of their resellers who can add management such as Hostgator.

[NuBlue]

For what it's worth they seemed very cheap to me.

We are with a datacentre in Manchester but I met an IOMart rep at Internet world this year who gave us a like for like quote for a number of racks with all the usual addons. The quote was nealry a third of what we were paying and to me it seemed suspiciously cheap.

I got cold feet at this point as our datacenter/server infrastrucuture is mission critical to us and price is not really a consideration so we decided to stay put. But I definately got the "we're massive and always compete on prize" vibe which is ok when everything is going well but when it all goes wrong you realise that they don't really care about the small people.

I have never used them however so this is just speculation from one conversation and not a direct review of there services which may be great.

Hope that helps

[cmcp]

At the higher end of app hosting have a look at http://www.attenda.com/

I've not had direct dealings with them, but I've worked on sites that have been hosted there and by all accounts they are the Rolls Royce of high end hosting.

[Dominic Taylor]

Iomart have an awful reputation - it's amazing that they are even being considered.

For hosting requirements, there are plenty of decent players in the market, and depending on your requirements, may be worth looking at the USA market like The Planet or one of their resellers who can add management such as Hostgator.
Not sure how you could possibly recommend a pile high sell cheap organisation over anyone else!

An accuarate response to Duane's question seems to be that nobody here has used them so we can't really answer.

For example Rapidswitch isn't really Iomart - it's a company they bought and operates independently.

[openmind]

I've used them (dedicated server for our helpdesk) and only just cancelled last month, they've had various network issues in the last year, they seem to be carrying out 'maintenance' every month and host their own telephone/support systems on the same network as customers which is always useful when you need to contact them when their entire network is down.

SLA's are worthless too (even 100% uptime guarantee ones!)
That wasn't Iomart, that was RapidSwitch who have now sorted their network out.

As for the SLAs, we claimed and got a credit for Septembers outage so they're not worthless in the slightest.

[I, Brian]

Not sure how you could possibly recommend a pile high sell cheap organisation over anyone else!

Never had a problem with The Planet, and Hostgator have fast and good support. I have multiple servers there and about about to migrate in another. Do you have experience of problems with them?

Iomart, on the other hand, promise the earth, and have managed to generate a terrible reputation over the years they've been operating - a sales-focused company, not a service-focused one.